History ComicBook / Providence

* BizarroApocalypse: [[Spoiler: As noted above, The Elder Gods of Creator/HPLovecraft come to Earth in the last two issues, resulting in a slow and steady breakdown of reality itself. Nightmarish creatures stalk the streets, the landscape changes into impossible configurations, and humanity adjusts to this new world with a resigned weariness, knowing that their previous life was a dream and this new nightmare is now the everyday.]]

** Doctor Muñoz from ''Cool Air'' is Dr. Alvarez, Obed Marsh from Innsmouth is Jack Boggs and the Marsh Refinery is likewise renamed as the Boggs Refinery. The Whatelys from "The Dunwich Horror" are now the Wheatleys. Dr. Herbert West becomes Dr. Hector North, Asenath and Ephraim Waite become Elspeth and Edgar Wade, Keziah Mason becomes Hezekiah Massey, Richard Upton Pickman is Ronald Underwood Pitman and Randolph Carter is now Randall Carver. The Church of Starry Wisdom becomes the Order of Stella Sapiente.

* PaintingTheMedium: An Alan Moore staple. Deep One hybrids have an emboldened and jagged speech, while ghouls speak with earthy yellow and brown speech bubbles. Additionally when panels are drawn with straight lines instead of by hand, it is implied that something paranormal is watching.

* BittersweetEnding: Zigzagged like crazy. [[spoiler:The Elder Gods return and their presence reshapes reality into a nightmare world, yet people are oddly serene about it as they let go of the notion that mankind controls its own destiny. Brears and S.T. Joshi note that this is still horrifying because it shows their own thoughts are being reshaped by the new reality. Still, both are more curious about the changes than frightened, and resolve to "learn to dwell among wonder and glory forever." Meanwhile, Robert's Commonplace Book can't be used to stop the apocalypse, but the pages are displayed and may find their way to other realities to prevent it from happening again]].

** Shadrach Annesley, who briefly appears in the third issue, is suggested to use the diet method of cannibalism, extending his life by two and a half centuries.
** Dr. Alvarez in the first issue uses the second method by chilling himself.
** [[spoiler: Etienne Roulet]] has managed to live as long as Shadrach by stealing people's bodies through the swapping of souls.
** Dr North is attempting the fourth with his experiments, but is largely unsuccessful so far.
** Hekeziah Massey of issue 5 managed to discover a fifth way of prolonging her life that was not mentioned in the Kitab.

*** There's also a fair few homages to Moore's earlier work. Robert's free association nightmare filled with allusions to Nazism recalls the one experienced by ComicBook/SwampThing, with its "Plain, Aryan Worms" at the beginning of Moore's career-making run after he learned he wasn't really Alec Holland. The ending also resembles [[spoiler:''ComicBook/WatchMen'''s, featuring somebody holding a book written by one of the main characters that has the potential to undo the far-reaching, tentacle monster-related changes the world has undergone. Unlike ''Watchmen'', however, Perlman ultimately decides it's not worth it, tears the book up and throws it in a river]].

* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:The finale is a major one. Brears gives birth to Cthulhu 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]].

* BiggerBad: The unseen "secret chief" of Stella Sapiente, who appears to be Nyarlathotep judging by Johnny Carcosa's mother's presence within his room at Saint John's church.

** The racist subtext of Lovecraft's original stories is directly brought to the surface and re-examined with a modern lens. The residents of the Innsmouth-expy resent others for racially discriminating against them. The Red Hook is shown as a positive example of New York's melting pot rather than the hysterical racist atmosphere in Lovecraft's story set there.
** Likewise, where Lovecraft described the occult in generally sinister terms, and seemed to feel that cosmic forces can make one GoMadFromTheRevelation, Moore, being an occultist himself, is more neutral towards these aspects. As such many of the evil and creepy wizards and sorcerors from Lovecraft's stories are shown to be AffablyEvil or given PetTheDog moments.

** Henry Anneseley for his part refutes these charges, and states that the Liber Stella Sapiente have modernized and become more accessible, less ritualistic and more scientific in their approach and researches and for them the Redeemer Prophecy is only one of many parts of the Order and not the sole one.

The book is a {{Sequel}} 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 "[[Literature/TheKingInYellow suicide booths]]" prophesied by RobertWChambers are regarded and treated as a reality.

* ArcWelding: The Stella Sapiente and its offshoots are the most obvious examples of tying together all of Lovecraft's stories (more so than they all ready were), but then there are more exact instances of this trope, like how [[spoiler:the Shining Trapezohedron from "The Haunter of the Dark" doubles as the meteor that caused the events of "TheColourOutofSpace"]].

** The title of the whole series "Providence" is first a reference to Lovecraft natal city, but also means a divinely ordained chain of events. It is implied throughout the story that Black's journey is due to forces above his own volition and he is continuously referred to as a "herald".

* {{Adorkable}}: Robert Black is this, quite often. [[spoiler:Lovecraft himself proves to be this, sharing Black's shyness in approaching Lord Dunsany for an autograph but more than a little pleased to meet someone who has actually read his story and shares some of his interest. The two of them hit it off, and Black promises to visit HP at Providence, Rhode Island]].

* AdaptationalVillainy: [[spoiler:The original Pickman in Lovecraft's story, while an arrogant and generally unpleasant person, merely photographed ghouls and painted them. Ronald Pitman on the other hand, while more mild-mannered and pleasant than his short story counterpart, is a SerialKiller who willingly gives the ghouls victims to feast upon]].