NecronomiCon-Providence 2013 and the Cthulhu Commune

Two weeks have passed since I drove up to Rhode Island to attend NecronomiCon-Providence 2013, and I'm still processing the events of that weekend. Of course, photos are downloaded, books unpacked and stacked to be read, art hung on walls and statues set upon shelves, and business cards sorted, but even all this considered, most of the work by myself and others has taken place on social media where I've become Facebook friends with more Lovecraftians than I'd thought existed. 

Yet there is still more that remains undone. I recorded several hours of audio I hope to transcribe and post, there are drawings I did in the streets of Providence I'll soon scan and post, and hastily scribbled notes made during lectures and walking tours will be contextualized in some form of essay or narrative.

Two weeks ago I also received a box of the first issue of the Cthulhu Commune, a publication I spent the summer piecing together. I have referred to it as a zine for and about the Lovecraftian community, since I am enamored not only with Lovecraft's fiction, but the artistry and enthusiasm of all those who have followed in his footsteps, as well, be they artists, academics, or readers and fans. I didn't want to be a mere observer of HPL fandom, I longed for active participation, I wished to enter into a dialogue and experience its sense of community.

The zine's genesis lies in NecronomiCon's Kickstarter campaign during December 2012, seeing fans as excited as I was about the event, what I thought might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If the stars will be right, I would be there, and I didn't want to go empty-handed.

And so it was fitting to time the zine's debut with the convention, presenting it to perhaps the only audience that will see in it any value. If it seems at all familiar, it is likely in the way it pays homage to other Lovecraftian chapbooks I have cherished, such as Bob Price's Crypt of Cthulhu and the very special publications that Necronomicon Press put out.

Welcome to the Cthulhu Commune blog, where posts about Necronomicon-Providence 2013 are to be expected shortly, followed by art and photos and an emerging game plan for Cthulhu Commune, copies of which I hope to make available to those who weren't able to join our community in Rhode Island this year.