History ComicBook / Providence

--> '''Robert Black''': I mean, I don't know much about the occult, but I'd have thought that serious philosophers should be above all that.
--> '''Garland Wheatley''': Course they should! They talk about distant stars an' eternity's depths an' how man ain't nothin', though respectable society is, seems like.

** In his Commonplace Book entry for August 2nd, which Black pens shortly before visiting the Wheatleys, he describes a story idea about a young journalist who investigates a supernatural horror without realising its true nature until it is far too late. Black even notes that his protagonist would need a strong capability for self-delusion to remain believable. Doubles as * DramaticIrony

* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: Officer O'Brien's fate is subtly revealed by that his black coat is still in Pitman's house, and the ghoul mentions encountering another redhead dressed in black.]]

* CityOfAdventure: Manchester, the ''Providence'' analogue for Arkham in a very horror-styled take. It is the location of Saint Anselm's College (Miskatonic University) which has Hali's Booke of Wisdom (aka the Necromonicon), it has Hezekiah Massey and her Witch-House, Hector North Renanimator is faculty there, and the meteor from ''The Color Out of Space'' fell in the same location, and of course Elspeth Wade lives there.

Reporter and aspiring novelist Robert Black works for the New York ''Herald Tribune''. One day in June 1919, after completing an assignment on [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the Treaty of Versailles]], he is asked to write a fluff piece for the newspaper, and uses it as a chance to meet Dr. Alvarez whose literary criticism had impressed him. This meeting, coupled with personal tragedy, sends Black on a quest of introspection and self-journey. He decides that he will write that novel he wanted to write and quits his job to follow some leads investigating the Order of the Stella Sapiente and the mysterious Booke of the Wisdom of the Stars. The quest takes him to the heart of New England and brings him into contact with a gallery of interesting and sinister figures. Robert slowly spirals into the heart of a bigger mystery than anything he ever imagined, and the scope of the mystery slowly takes a hold on his sanity.

Reporter and aspiring novelist Robert Black works for the New York ''Herald Tribune''. One day in June 1919, after completing an assignment on [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the Treaty of Versailles]], he is asked to write a fluff filler piece for the newspaper, and uses it as a chance to meet Dr. Alvarez whose literary criticism had impressed him. This meeting, coupled with personal tragedy, sends Black on a quest of introspection and self-journey. He decides that he will write that novel he wanted to write and quits his job to follow some leads investigating the Order of the Stella Sapiente and the mysterious Booke of the Wisdom of the Stars. The quest takes him to the heart of New England and brings him into contact with a gallery of interesting and sinister figures. Robert slowly spirals into the heart of a bigger mystery than anything he ever imagined, and the scope of the mystery slowly takes a hold on his sanity.

Reporter and aspiring novelist Robert Black works for the New York Herald Tribune. One day in June 1919, after completing an assignment on [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the Treaty of Versailles]], he is asked to write a fluff filler piece for the newspaper, and uses it as a chance to meet Dr. Alvarez whose literary criticism had impressed him. This meeting, coupled with personal tragedy, sends Black on a quest of introspection and self-journey. He decides that he will write that novel he wanted to write and quits his job to follow some leads investigating the Order of the Stella Sapiente and the mysterious Booke of the Wisdom of the Stars. The quest takes him to the heart of New England and brings him into contact with a gallery of interesting and sinister figures. Robert slowly spirals into the heart of a bigger mystery than anything he ever imagined, and the scope of the mystery slowly takes a hold on his sanity.

The book is intended by Moore to be a SpiritualSequel and {{Prequel}} to ''ComicBook/{{Neonomicon}}'' and ''The Courtyard'' (both were collaborations with Jacen Burrows). ''Providence'' is vastly more ambitious in its scope and intent. It is simultaneously a {{Homage}} to Creator/HPLovecraft, a SidelongGlanceBiopic of the writer himself, as well as a {{Deconstruction}} and a {{Reconstruction}} of LovecraftCountry. Moore has stated that ''Providence'' is his most heavily researched work since ''ComicBook/FromHell'' and that ''Providence'' is going to become "my ultimate Lovecraft story".

* AlternateUniverse: Although the books are heavily researched and intended to take place in LikeRealityUnlessNoted early 20th Century New York, the series as a whole features much like ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' a world where fictitious events occur. The "[[TheKingInYellow suicide booths]]" prophesied by RobertWChambers are regarded and treated as a reality.

* AlternateUniverse: Although the books are heavily researched and intended to take place in LikeRealityUnlessNoted early 20th Century New York, the series as a whole features much like ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' a world where fictitious events occur. The "suicide booths" prophesied by Robert Chambers are regarded and treated as a reality.

The book is intended by Moore to be a SpiritualSequel and {{Prequel}} to ''ComicBook/{{Neonomicon}}'' and ''The Courtyard'' (both were collaborations with Jacen Burrows). ''Providence'' is vastly more ambitious in its scope and intent. It is simultaneously a {{Homage}} to Creator/HPLovecraft, a SidelongGlanceBiopic of the writer himself, as well as a {{Deconstruction}} and a {{Reconstruction}} of LovecraftCountry. Moore has stated that ''Providence'' is his most heavily researched work since ''Creator/FromHell'' and that ''Providence'' is going to become "my ultimate Lovecraft story".

* CaptainErsatz: Most Lovecraft characters, as well as locations such as Arkham, are renamed. The exceptions so far are Robert Suydam and Thomas Malone from ''The Horror at Red Hook''. Moore is not dealing with copyright issues, as Lovecraft has lapsed into public domain (as shown by Cthulhu commonly appearing in horror work). Instead it appears that Moore is suggesting that in-universe Lovecraft took the characters and locations depicted and wrote about them in his stories, merely changing their names. However Moore could not do this with Suydam and Malone as they were already named in "Neonomicon", so he used their original Lovecraftian names.

* ForegoneConclusion: The prophesised rise of the Dreamworld is often discussed, where Lovecraftian creatures return to reclaim the earth. The beginnings of this is depicted in 'Neonomicon'.

** Since this series occurs in the same universe as "Neonomicon", it appears that in-universe H.P. Lovecraft discovered the various supernatural phenomenon featured here and then wrote at least some of his stories about them, changing the names.

* {{Prequel}}: The series functions as this for The Courtyard and Neonomicon, also by Moore and Burrows.

** Happens again in [[spoiler: Issue 11 where the narrative travels almost 80 years to the time period of Neonomicon.]]

* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: By the time of Neonomicon there have been over half a dozen "Heads and Hands Killers", [[spoiler: but Issue 11 only shows Merill Brears freeing Aldo Sax and the first three murderers from the mental institution.]]

** Issue 7 is one for ''Pickman's Model'', though the art-work showing the 1920 Boston Riots suggests an InternalHomage by Jacen Burrows to ComicBook/{{Crossed}}.

* MeltingPot: Brooklyn is shown as this in Issue II, with a lot of the details about Kurdish immigrants given a more accurate grounding than Lovecraft's racist original story.

* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:The finale is a major one. Brears gives birth to Chtulhu who is then given over to Johnny Carcosa. Humanity and all existence will continue to exist in a DreamWorld with most unaware of it, some gone crazy, while others accepting it and coming to terms with it somehow]].

** The final issue [[spoiler:depicts Chtulhu as a half-human hybrid, the child of the Deep One and Agent Merrill Brears. As Joshi, speaking on behalf of Moore comments, of all of Lovecraft's fictional gods, Chtuhlu is the one described as humanoid]].

* RealityBleed: [[spoiler: As the three FBI agents investigating Black's diary in Issue 12, the entire world is drawn/fades into the reality of Yuggoth.]]

** In the case of locations, Moore simply transplants the fictional locations used in Lovecraft's prose to the real-life equivalents cited by Lovecraft himself as his inspiration for the renamed landscapes in his works (with letters citing the inspiration printed on the back cover of each issue). Innsmouth is Salem, Arkham is Manchester, Dunwich is Athol. Miskatonic University is now the real-life [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Anselm_College Saint Anselm's College]] whose exterior facade is accurately reproduced in the book, and the Church of the Starry Wisdom is the demolished St John's Church of Providence.

* CosmicPlaything: Robert and H.P. Lovecraft are just acting out roles prophesised long ago and suffering while doing so, particularly Robert. [[spoiler:Robert finally wises up at the very end]].

* HalfHumanHybrid: Most Salem residents are half-Deep One, and the Wheatley siblings were fathered by Yog-Sogoth. [[spoiler: Issue 9 implies that H.P. Lovecraft may be as well, considering the light his mother Sarah describes his father Winfield at the conception sounds similar to Garland summoning Yog-Sogoth.]]

** Weird-fiction giant Creator/LordDunsany and of course, Creator/HPLovecraft himself finally makes an appearance in Issue 8.

** Shadrach Annesley appears in issue 3, and is implied to share his literary counterpart's cannibalism.

* CityOfAdventure: Manchester, the ''Providence'' analogue for Arkham in a very horror-styled take.

* DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu: [[spoiler: In volume 10, Robert gets a blowjob from Carcossa, a messenger from the outer spheres and an EldritchAbomination. Robert is in the least pleased by the experience.]]