Gou Tanabe’s Next Manga, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is on Trial!
Gou Tanabe’s adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward has begun in Japan, but English-language readers may have a long wait ahead. Thankfully, several Lovecraft-inspired graphic novels are arriving soon to keep cosmic horror fans busy.
The news is real. Gou Tanabe is adapting The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, and the first chapter is out in print! Although a translated release is likely years away, fans can either seek out the original or wait. The current release is seeing print through Kadokawa’s Comic Beam magazine. Fan translations may exist, but for now, that’s all readers are going to get. And considering this is one of Lovecraft’s longer works, don’t expect the story to wrap up for at least two years.
Tanabe tends to expand source material with sweeping vistas and densely detailed art. Like other artists invested in world-building, such as Mamoru Nagano and Gothicmade, formerly Five Star Stories, readers living abroad are at a disadvantage. By the time this adaptation reaches tankobon format, there may be two volumes.
Arriving just before Halloween, this deluxe edition is being offered over the traditional softcover. That’s good news for those who feel a regular edition isn’t enough for this seminal tale about the coming of Yog-Sothoth! This story originally ran in the October issue of Comic Beam back in 2021, and that time frame can help readers gauge when The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is likely to see print.
And from the official press release:
The horror was born before dawn on February 2, 1913, the feast of Candlemas, although the people of Dunwich call that ancient festival by a different name. Of unknown father, Wilbur Whateley was not christened, yet he descended still from a once-proud Puritan family that left Salem in 1692 to found Dunwich, Massachusetts. And the descent of the Whateleys and their old town has been deep indeed, its now crumbling houses overlooked by bare hills topped by stone circles, where unhallowed rituals were held before the first settlers ever came.
Yet it was none other than ten-year-old Wilbur Whateley who led Dr. Henry Armitage, head librarian at Miskatonic University, to drive the dusty, rutted roads out to Dunwich and meet the child prodigy who had been corresponding with him on the most abstruse and disturbing lore. Dr. Armitage could hardly believe the sight of the priceless hoard of occult books rotting away in the Whateley farmhouse, nor that of the dark, goatish Wilbur, for whom those books had been his only education.
After a successful monthly run, this tale by Romuald Giulivo and Jakub Rebelka fictionalises Lovecraft’s final day on Earth and folds in imagery and themes from the Cthulhu Mythos. What’s presented is surreal, and it’s a must for readers who’ve ever wondered what was going on in that man’s head. The story essentially shows his xenophobia manifesting into eldritch life, so readers who followed along monthly may already feel ahead of the curve. But collected, those who missed it won’t feel left behind.
When the collected version of Daniel Upton and Edward Derby’s fateful story will arrive is still uncertain. The series began publishing in February and runs five issues. Upton swears he never committed the crime, and newcomers will have to either collect the single issues or wait for the trade to find out what really happened that night at Arkham Sanitarium. Those who’ve read the original Lovecraft story already know, of course.
The series is written by Simon Birks (Antarctica, Sinners, Gone, The Shadow Over Innsmouth) with art by Willi Roberts (Antarctica, The Dark, Clodagh, The Blood Below, Remothered), and it should be a good time.
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Author: Ed Sum
I'm a freelance videographer and entertainment journalist (Absolute Underground Magazine, Two Hungry Blokes, and Otaku no Culture) with a wide range of interests. From archaeology to popular culture to paranormal studies, there's no stone unturned. Digging for the past and embracing "The Future" is my mantra.
View all posts by Ed Sum
The news is real. Gou Tanabe is adapting The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, and the first chapter is out in print! Although a translated release is likely years away, fans can either seek out the original or wait. The current release is seeing print through Kadokawa’s Comic Beam magazine. Fan translations may exist, but for now, that’s all readers are going to get. And considering this is one of Lovecraft’s longer works, don’t expect the story to wrap up for at least two years.
