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Unspeakable Vault (of Doom)
Encyclopedia
The Unspeakable Vault is a webcomic
by François Launet, which chronicles the "daily" lives of the Great Old Ones, including Cthulhu
, Nyarlathotep
, and Yog-Sothoth
, among others. It takes a lighthearted view of H. P. Lovecraft
's Cthulhu Mythos
to inspire laughter rather than the more usual soul-blasting horror. The comic was used as the basis of the second expansion set to the Cthulhu Mythos themed version of Steve Jackson Games
' card game Munchkin
.
The webcomic's name is often shortened to UVoD.
RPG), witnessed the craziness about Cthulhu plushes, sold on different booths: many old players of the Call of Cthulhu role-playing games wanted to buy this icon of the Lovecraftian Mythos. On the train that took him back to Paris, he started drawing the first funny Cthulhoo and Nyarly draft, along with a few layout of strips. Characters were designed in a very cartoonish style, with simplified features and layout, that contrast strongly with the author's illustrations style, more realistic and classical.
The name of the webcomic comes from the juxtaposition of a very Lovecraftian adjective "unspeakable" with the name "Vault", a Lovecraft's short story title. "of Doom" was used by the author's role-playing team to describe threatening spells or items.
Although its author is French, the webcomic is written directly in English, to be able to reach the largest audience, and because the English language is more direct and uses less words; this sometimes leads to grammatical or syntactical errors in the strips, which are often corrected by emails from native English-speaking readers.
The characters' appearance has changed a bit since 2004, becoming more precise and balanced, but some recently published strips shows old-looking creatures: the strips are not published in a rigorous chronological order, and sometimes a gag is taken from the book Welcome to the Vault.
The webcomic uses the Cthulhu Mythos and its caricatured characters in a modern environment, referring to the common popular culture and actuality, and even politics; ecological matters can also be perceived through a few strips dealing with pollution and overfishing.
The vision of the Cthulhu Mythos in the comic is heavily influenced by the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game; François Launet discovered HPL's works through gaming, and many strips directly refers to the game, its rules, its accessories and the players' habits.
The website also features a weblog, used to talk about Mythos-related events or item, a guest art section to display drawings done by fans and a small shop selling t-shirts.
Website is hosted by Macguff Paris, a special FX and post-production company, which employs François Launet as a SFX supervisor, and allows him to use some of disk space and broadband.
and Chaosium
. Books were not really officially distributed in Europe and therefore were very difficult to find.
A second tome, G.O.O.s on the Loose (ISBN 978-3-937826-69-1) was edited in 2008, featuring a lot of new characters, such as Cthoogha, the Elderz or Beta Red Agents.
.
) is a large, green, dragon
-like creature with huge claws on his feet, beady eyes, tiny arms, almost vestigial wings (still capable of flight), and a large, bulbous head with tiny tentacles in place of a mouth. His catchphrase is "Yum yum", usually uttered before devouring some hapless human. Apparently, the whole point of black magic is to feed Cthuloo, since he usually eats anyone who, deliberately or accidentally, summons him. Cthuloo also commonly uses the phrase "Fhtagn!", in the manner of an expletive
.
) is what appears to be a tentacle with a pair of beady eyes, a single large tooth sticking out of his mouth, and short arms and legs. He has a deceptive and cunning personality and enjoys playing tricks on the other GOOs and cultists. Unlike the other Great Old Ones, Nyarly appears to use much more "advanced" means of conquering or instilling madness, such as spam
and weapons of mass destruction
. Unlike his more frightening counterpart, who actually shapeshifts, Nyarly often dons an incredibly stupid costume such as a mask or a few simple costume pieces.
Shubby (Shub-Niggurath
) is a bizarre, pulpy purple creature with a pair of goat-like legs, stubby arms, horns, and what could either be 3 eyes or 2 eyes and a nose. Although Shubby is rarely seen being involved in human matters, her cult is often referred to. Strangely enough, Shubby is one of the few Great Old Ones that has yet to be summoned. In guest art created by fans of the strip, she is sometimes depicted instead as a (vaguely anime-styled) anthropomorphic black female goat, a reference to Shub-Niggurath's title "Black Goat of the Woods". She can usually be seen with several of her thousand identical offspring tagging along.
), aka "I'm the gate! I'm the key!", is what appears to be a conglomeration of glowing, colorful bubbles. Since he is the master of Time and Space, Yogzotot is capable of sending anyone or anything to another place, time, or even dimension. Apparently, Yogzotot is very touchy about people mistaking him for soap
and usually reacts to the insult by zapping the said person.
) is a large, bluish, humanoid creature with no head, a beer gut, and a mouth on each hand. He appears to have a hearty but weird sense of
humor which no one can understand.
Like Shubby, he, too, hasn't, as of yet, been summoned, but unlike Shubby, he is one of the few GOOs whose cult hasn't even been seen yet.
s) are pink, gelatinous creatures with random assortments of eyes, teeth, and tongues. They have no brains and are very dim-witted. They are common throughout the webcomic, perhaps more so than any other character. They address any of the GOOs as either "Master" or, in the case of Shubby, "Mastress". Shoggies are the only characters other than 'Zathoth and Cthuloo to have a catchphrase - "So coool!"
) is a giant fish-like creature with bulgy unfocused eyes, fishy lips, wet scaly skin. He always carries a large monolith. Dagoon is worshiped by the Deepoines. It is unclear how he answers their prayers since he never speaks. He often accompanies Cthuloo during strips set underwater, and appears to be on good terms with him.
) is a huge white snouted star-shaped creature with misshapen eyes and a large, red tongue, which often hangs out of his mouth. He is called the "Blind Idiot God" as he is unable to speak. His vocabulary consists of a bellowed "G!" . He is extremely powerful but also extremely stupid.
He is sometimes found surrounded by flute and drum playing servitors. Nebulæ
are 'Zathoth's flatulence
, wormhole
s are the damage caused when he bounces on the fabric of time and space, His constant bleating creates the cosmic background noise meteorites are the crumbs left behind when he eats a celestial body
. Supernovas occur when he accidentally pops a star while playing with it. Pulsars are caused when he swings stars around.
) is a tentacled monster of some sort who is shrouded in a yellow mask and robes. He carries the Yellow Sign
. Speaking his name causes the speaker to burst apart. He seems to enjoy tricking humans into using his name. Hastur never tires of the joke. When last seen he was being arrested by police officers in Disneyland.
) is an emaciated, dog-like creature capable of passing through time and space. He does not like curves, something of an inside joke. In Frank Belknap Long
's story "The Hounds of Tindalos
" they were said to inhabit the angles of time. Other creatures such as humans inhabit the curves. It is unclear whether there is more than one Tindaloo and whether he is a GOO in his own right. He is usually treated as the GOOs' family pet.
) are strange insectoid entities with pulpy feeler-covered faces and leathery, bat-like wings. They have had several notable appearances in strips focused on them, and are referred to many times. They collect brains of scientists, such as described in "The Whisperer in Darkness
" short story. They appear to speak a different language than the other characters in the comic, and their speech is translated for the reader on the bottom of the panel whenever they talk.
) can be summoned when Fomalhaut
is up in the sky. This god seems to love rock'n roll, to burn its own cultists and to be responsible for Rome or London great fire in the past, as well as the Tungunska incident. Cthoogha appears in the G.O.Os on the Loose book, but its existence is suggested by the webcomic.
s) are flying horned purple humanoids which delight in carrying people off. They seem to have poor eyesight as evidenced in their first appearance.
Other mythos creatures were designed for a upcoming board game by Pegasus (Die Sterne Stehen Richtig), such as Chaugnar Faughn, Ossadagowa, Ghast, Tsatdsogua.
or Dick Tracy
. They often are armed with tommy-guns or other weapons used to be common in the twenties-thirties.
describes how three geeks become very bad cultists.
, those men-in-black are working for an unofficial agency designed to fight the Mythos critter: Beta Red. Name was changed to avoid copyright problems, as Pagan Publishing continues to work on the subject.
". In the webcomic, he's playing music that please the Old Ones, but believing it keeps them away. He's the main character of a series of 3 cases strips in UVoD volume 2 book, and appears in Vault#161. Cthulhoo listens to his music via the Izann, a device imitating an iPod
. He lives at Rue D'Auseuil. He dies in Vault#385.
, author of the infamous Necronomicon
, Crazy Abdul is portrayed as a boring, chatty Arabic beggar, always wanting to preach the surrounding crowd about the Old Ones. He is often ripped apart by an invisible force, like in Lovecraft's "History of the Necronomicon
". Mad Abdul makes two appearances in the webcomic but is more important in the UVoD volume 2 book.
card game by Steve Jackson Games
have included Lovecraftian characters; in January 2008, an edition with 56 Unspeakable Vault character cards was added to the collection.
In October 2008 PS Games released the Dutch translation of Munchkin Cthulhu
, as Munchkin Koethuloo, which includes an extra card featuring the Tindaloos.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
by François Launet, which chronicles the "daily" lives of the Great Old Ones, including Cthulhu
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
, Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
, and Yog-Sothoth
Yog-Sothoth
Yog-Sothoth is a cosmic entity of the fictional Cthulhu Mythos and the Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft. Yog-Sothoth's name was first mentioned in his novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward...
, among others. It takes a lighthearted view of H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
's Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
to inspire laughter rather than the more usual soul-blasting horror. The comic was used as the basis of the second expansion set to the Cthulhu Mythos themed version of Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
' card game Munchkin
Munchkin (card game)
Munchkin is a card game by Steve Jackson Games, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic, that has a humorous take on role-playing games, based on the concept of munchkins ....
.
The webcomic's name is often shortened to UVoD.
Origin
In 2003 the Essen Game Fair in Germany, the author, who was there signing books for the Pegasus Spiele game publisher (as illustrator of the German Call of CthulhuCall of Cthulhu (role-playing game)
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
RPG), witnessed the craziness about Cthulhu plushes, sold on different booths: many old players of the Call of Cthulhu role-playing games wanted to buy this icon of the Lovecraftian Mythos. On the train that took him back to Paris, he started drawing the first funny Cthulhoo and Nyarly draft, along with a few layout of strips. Characters were designed in a very cartoonish style, with simplified features and layout, that contrast strongly with the author's illustrations style, more realistic and classical.
The name of the webcomic comes from the juxtaposition of a very Lovecraftian adjective "unspeakable" with the name "Vault", a Lovecraft's short story title. "of Doom" was used by the author's role-playing team to describe threatening spells or items.
Although its author is French, the webcomic is written directly in English, to be able to reach the largest audience, and because the English language is more direct and uses less words; this sometimes leads to grammatical or syntactical errors in the strips, which are often corrected by emails from native English-speaking readers.
The webcomic
Presented in different formats (mostly 1- or 3-frame strips, sometimes more), short gags are published irregularly on the website, and are named "Vault #" followed by a number, since its creation in January 2004. Strips are independent, though some gags are running on a few linked pages. Some strips refer to previously published gags, and are difficult to understand for newcomers.The characters' appearance has changed a bit since 2004, becoming more precise and balanced, but some recently published strips shows old-looking creatures: the strips are not published in a rigorous chronological order, and sometimes a gag is taken from the book Welcome to the Vault.
The webcomic uses the Cthulhu Mythos and its caricatured characters in a modern environment, referring to the common popular culture and actuality, and even politics; ecological matters can also be perceived through a few strips dealing with pollution and overfishing.
The vision of the Cthulhu Mythos in the comic is heavily influenced by the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game; François Launet discovered HPL's works through gaming, and many strips directly refers to the game, its rules, its accessories and the players' habits.
The website also features a weblog, used to talk about Mythos-related events or item, a guest art section to display drawings done by fans and a small shop selling t-shirts.
Website is hosted by Macguff Paris, a special FX and post-production company, which employs François Launet as a SFX supervisor, and allows him to use some of disk space and broadband.
The printed books
In 2005, François Launet and Pegasus Spiele agreed on the publication of a printed version of the UvoD, under the supervision of JC.Steines, and Paul McLean from yog-sothoth.com for the editing part. Featuring most of the strips published at that time on the web, along with original gags, Welcome to the Vault (ISBN 3-937826-09-2) the 105 pages, comic-sized book was printed at 4000 issues and sold on the US by White WolfWhite Wolf
White Wolf is a publisher of role-playing games, notably the World of Darkness.White Wolf may also refer to:*White Wolf , a location in Yosemite National Park*White Wolf , a Canadian heavy metal band...
and Chaosium
Chaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
. Books were not really officially distributed in Europe and therefore were very difficult to find.
A second tome, G.O.O.s on the Loose (ISBN 978-3-937826-69-1) was edited in 2008, featuring a lot of new characters, such as Cthoogha, the Elderz or Beta Red Agents.
Characters
Most of the characters in the comic are given names slightly different from their counterparts in the Cthulhu MythosCthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
.
(Great) Cthuloo
Cthuloo (CthulhuCthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
) is a large, green, dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
-like creature with huge claws on his feet, beady eyes, tiny arms, almost vestigial wings (still capable of flight), and a large, bulbous head with tiny tentacles in place of a mouth. His catchphrase is "Yum yum", usually uttered before devouring some hapless human. Apparently, the whole point of black magic is to feed Cthuloo, since he usually eats anyone who, deliberately or accidentally, summons him. Cthuloo also commonly uses the phrase "Fhtagn!", in the manner of an expletive
Expletive attributive
Expletive comes from the Latin verb explere, meaning "to fill", via expletivus, "filling out". It was introduced into English in the seventeenth century to refer to various kinds of padding—the padding out of a book with peripheral material, the addition of syllables to a line of poetry for...
.
Nyarly
Nyarly (NyarlathotepNyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
) is what appears to be a tentacle with a pair of beady eyes, a single large tooth sticking out of his mouth, and short arms and legs. He has a deceptive and cunning personality and enjoys playing tricks on the other GOOs and cultists. Unlike the other Great Old Ones, Nyarly appears to use much more "advanced" means of conquering or instilling madness, such as spam
Spam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
and weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
. Unlike his more frightening counterpart, who actually shapeshifts, Nyarly often dons an incredibly stupid costume such as a mask or a few simple costume pieces.
Shubby
Shubby (Shub-Niggurath
Shub-Niggurath
Shub-Niggurath, often associated with the phrase “The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young”, is a deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft...
) is a bizarre, pulpy purple creature with a pair of goat-like legs, stubby arms, horns, and what could either be 3 eyes or 2 eyes and a nose. Although Shubby is rarely seen being involved in human matters, her cult is often referred to. Strangely enough, Shubby is one of the few Great Old Ones that has yet to be summoned. In guest art created by fans of the strip, she is sometimes depicted instead as a (vaguely anime-styled) anthropomorphic black female goat, a reference to Shub-Niggurath's title "Black Goat of the Woods". She can usually be seen with several of her thousand identical offspring tagging along.
Yogzotot
Yogzotot (Yog-SothothYog-Sothoth
Yog-Sothoth is a cosmic entity of the fictional Cthulhu Mythos and the Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft. Yog-Sothoth's name was first mentioned in his novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward...
), aka "I'm the gate! I'm the key!", is what appears to be a conglomeration of glowing, colorful bubbles. Since he is the master of Time and Space, Yogzotot is capable of sending anyone or anything to another place, time, or even dimension. Apparently, Yogzotot is very touchy about people mistaking him for soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
and usually reacts to the insult by zapping the said person.
Ygo
Ygo (Y'golonacY'golonac
Y'golonac is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos. He is the creation of Ramsey Campbell and first appeared in his short story "Cold Print" .-Summary:...
) is a large, bluish, humanoid creature with no head, a beer gut, and a mouth on each hand. He appears to have a hearty but weird sense of
humor which no one can understand.
Like Shubby, he, too, hasn't, as of yet, been summoned, but unlike Shubby, he is one of the few GOOs whose cult hasn't even been seen yet.
Shoggies
The Shoggies (ShoggothShoggoth
A shoggoth is a fictional monster in the Cthulhu Mythos. The being was mentioned in passing in sonnet XX of H.P...
s) are pink, gelatinous creatures with random assortments of eyes, teeth, and tongues. They have no brains and are very dim-witted. They are common throughout the webcomic, perhaps more so than any other character. They address any of the GOOs as either "Master" or, in the case of Shubby, "Mastress". Shoggies are the only characters other than 'Zathoth and Cthuloo to have a catchphrase - "So coool!"
Dagoon
Dagoon (DagonDagon
Dagon was originally an Assyro-Babylonian fertility god who evolved into a major northwest Semitic god, reportedly of grain and fish and/or fishing...
) is a giant fish-like creature with bulgy unfocused eyes, fishy lips, wet scaly skin. He always carries a large monolith. Dagoon is worshiped by the Deepoines. It is unclear how he answers their prayers since he never speaks. He often accompanies Cthuloo during strips set underwater, and appears to be on good terms with him.
Zathoth
'Zathoth (AzathothAzathoth
Azathoth is a deity in the Cthulhu Mythos and Dream Cycle stories of H. P. Lovecraft and other authors. Its epithets include Nuclear Chaos, the Daemon Sultan and the Blind Idiot God.-Inspiration:...
) is a huge white snouted star-shaped creature with misshapen eyes and a large, red tongue, which often hangs out of his mouth. He is called the "Blind Idiot God" as he is unable to speak. His vocabulary consists of a bellowed "G!" . He is extremely powerful but also extremely stupid.
He is sometimes found surrounded by flute and drum playing servitors. Nebulæ
Nebula
A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas, helium gas and other ionized gases...
are 'Zathoth's flatulence
Flatulence
Flatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...
, wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
s are the damage caused when he bounces on the fabric of time and space, His constant bleating creates the cosmic background noise meteorites are the crumbs left behind when he eats a celestial body
Celestial Body
Celestial Body is a Croatian film directed by Lukas Nola. It was released in 2000....
. Supernovas occur when he accidentally pops a star while playing with it. Pulsars are caused when he swings stars around.
Him Who Is Not To Be Named
Him Who Is Not To Be Named (HasturHastur
Hastur is a fictional entity of the Cthulhu Mythos. Hastur first appeared in Ambrose Bierce's short story "Haïta the Shepherd" as a benign god of shepherds. Robert W...
) is a tentacled monster of some sort who is shrouded in a yellow mask and robes. He carries the Yellow Sign
Yellow Sign
The Yellow Sign is a fictional symbol or glyph, first described in Robert Chambers' book of horror short stories The King in Yellow .-The King in Yellow:The King in Yellow never fully describes the shape and purpose of the Yellow Sign...
. Speaking his name causes the speaker to burst apart. He seems to enjoy tricking humans into using his name. Hastur never tires of the joke. When last seen he was being arrested by police officers in Disneyland.
Tindaloo
Tindaloo (or the Tindaloos) (Hounds of TindalosHounds of Tindalos
A Hound of Tindalos is a fictional creature created by Frank Belknap Long for the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. They first appeared in Long's short story "The Hounds of Tindalos" . Lovecraft mentions the creatures in his short story "The Whisperer in Darkness" .-Description:"They are lean and...
) is an emaciated, dog-like creature capable of passing through time and space. He does not like curves, something of an inside joke. In Frank Belknap Long
Frank Belknap Long
Frank Belknap Long was a prolific American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known for his horror and science fiction short stories, including early contributions to...
's story "The Hounds of Tindalos
The Hounds of Tindalos (book)
The Hounds of Tindalos is a collection of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories by author Frank Belknap Long. It was released in 1946 and was the author's third book...
" they were said to inhabit the angles of time. Other creatures such as humans inhabit the curves. It is unclear whether there is more than one Tindaloo and whether he is a GOO in his own right. He is usually treated as the GOOs' family pet.
Mi-Goos
The Mi-Goos (Mi-goMi-go
The Mi-go are a race of extraterrestrials in the Cthulhu Mythos created by H. P. Lovecraft and others. The name was first applied to the creatures in Lovecraft's short story "The Whisperer in Darkness" , taking up a reference to 'What fungi sprout in Yuggoth' in his sonnet cycle Fungi from Yuggoth...
) are strange insectoid entities with pulpy feeler-covered faces and leathery, bat-like wings. They have had several notable appearances in strips focused on them, and are referred to many times. They collect brains of scientists, such as described in "The Whisperer in Darkness
The Whisperer in Darkness
"The Whisperer in Darkness" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in Weird Tales, August 1931. Similar to "The Colour Out of Space" , it is a blend of horror and science fiction...
" short story. They appear to speak a different language than the other characters in the comic, and their speech is translated for the reader on the bottom of the panel whenever they talk.
Deepoines
The Deepoines (Deep Ones) are bizarre, frog-like creatures with skinny wet bodies, bulgy unfocused eyes, and fishy lips, much like their deity Dagoon. They speak with a bizarre accent. Deepoine/human hybrids are easy to spot as they have the same traits. They may also carry a fishy scent.Cthoogha
As a ball of fire with red eyes, surrounded by smaller flying fires with teeth (the fire vampires), Cthoogha (CthughaCthugha
Cthugha is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction, the creation of August Derleth. He first appeared in Derleth's short story "The House on Curwen Street" .-Description:...
) can be summoned when Fomalhaut
Fomalhaut
Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus and one of the brightest stars in the sky. Fomalhaut can be seen low in the southern sky in the northern hemisphere in fall and early winter evenings. Near latitude 50˚N, it sets around the time Sirius rises, and does not...
is up in the sky. This god seems to love rock'n roll, to burn its own cultists and to be responsible for Rome or London great fire in the past, as well as the Tungunska incident. Cthoogha appears in the G.O.Os on the Loose book, but its existence is suggested by the webcomic.
The Elderz
The Elderz (Elder Things) have barrel-shaped bodies and star-shape red heads, with one unique eye, and strange appendices of unknown function. Living under the sea, they appear in the G.O.Os on the Loose book; they are responsible for the creation of the Shoggies (an expired dehydrated soup). even though it suggested they were created by Cthulhoo and pals.Night Gaunts
Night Gaunts (NightgauntNightgaunt
Nightgaunts are a fictional race in the Cthulhu Mythos and is also part of H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle. The creatures appear in the poem "Night-Gaunts" and the novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, both by Lovecraft...
s) are flying horned purple humanoids which delight in carrying people off. They seem to have poor eyesight as evidenced in their first appearance.
Other mythos creatures were designed for a upcoming board game by Pegasus (Die Sterne Stehen Richtig), such as Chaugnar Faughn, Ossadagowa, Ghast, Tsatdsogua.
Human characters
Human characters are often drawn faceless, to illustrate the "insect" status of the human race, compared to the Elder Gods and Creatures described by Lovecraft.Cultists
Wearing long red or violet robes and jewelry, they try to summon and control the Great Old Ones, using ancient books and more modern tools such as printers or the internet. They generally are eaten by the invoked creatures.Investigators
Usually described as people dressed in the fashion style of the 1920s, and look like Indiana JonesIndiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
or Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
. They often are armed with tommy-guns or other weapons used to be common in the twenties-thirties.
Scientists
Often described as arrogant and self-sufficient, scientists of the UVoD are often featured making erroneous deductions from strange facts, and also victims of the creature from beyond. They often use the sentence: "My conclusion is simple yet brilliant". The author is very interested in science vulgarization and tries to stick to the scientific actuality. They are often victims of marauding Mi-Goos.Geeks
Other victims of the Great Old Ones, geeks use computers and the Internet, and willingly or not, summon supernatural creatures. In the G.O.O.s on the Loose book, a small story arcStory arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
describes how three geeks become very bad cultists.
Role players
Shown around the game table or "in-game" (with their alter-ego: the "investigators"), they can also be victims of the Gods, but most of time are just bad at role-playing, making all the known "mistakes" in a Call of Cthulhu session.Beta Red Agents
Direct reference to the Delta Green SupplementDelta Green
Delta Green is a setting for the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game created by Adam Scott Glancy, Dennis Detwiller, and John Tynes, aka the Delta Green Partnership, of the Seattle gaming house Pagan Publishing...
, those men-in-black are working for an unofficial agency designed to fight the Mythos critter: Beta Red. Name was changed to avoid copyright problems, as Pagan Publishing continues to work on the subject.
Erich Zann
A musician, center of the short story "The Music of Erich ZannThe Music of Erich Zann
"The Music of Erich Zann" is a short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. Written in December 1921, it was first published in National Amateur, March 1922.-Synopsis:...
". In the webcomic, he's playing music that please the Old Ones, but believing it keeps them away. He's the main character of a series of 3 cases strips in UVoD volume 2 book, and appears in Vault#161. Cthulhoo listens to his music via the Izann, a device imitating an iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
. He lives at Rue D'Auseuil. He dies in Vault#385.
Crazy Abdul
Caricature of Abdul AlhazredAbdul Alhazred
Abdul Alhazred is a fictional character created by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. He is the so-called "Mad Arab" credited with authoring the imaginary book Kitab al-Azif , and as such an integral part of Cthulhu Mythos lore....
, author of the infamous Necronomicon
Necronomicon
The Necronomicon is a fictional grimoire appearing in the stories by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first mentioned in Lovecraft's 1924 short story "The Hound", written in 1922, though its purported author, the "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred, had been quoted a year earlier in...
, Crazy Abdul is portrayed as a boring, chatty Arabic beggar, always wanting to preach the surrounding crowd about the Old Ones. He is often ripped apart by an invisible force, like in Lovecraft's "History of the Necronomicon
History of the Necronomicon
"History of the Necronomicon" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in 1927, and published in 1938. It describes the fictional book the Necronomicon, a now-famous element used in several of his stories....
". Mad Abdul makes two appearances in the webcomic but is more important in the UVoD volume 2 book.
Musicians
According to the musical tastes of the author, Metal and Gothic band members are shown overusing Mythos imagery in their lyrics, with disastrous consequences.Running gags
While new comics appear on the UVoD, there are some common gags:- One of the running jokes of the comic is where someone reads, either on purpose or by accident, the incantation to summon Cthulhu (ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu Rl'yeh wgah'nagl fhtagn), upon which Cthulhu appears (with a loud "Woof" or "Wouf" and a puff of smoke), promptly grabs him/her/them, and, upon saying "Yum yum" (sometimes after saying something else), devours the human(s). A lot of the strips are composed only of this particular formula. Only the place, situation and victims change.
- The Deep Explorer Series: a small orange submarine named "deep explorer" followed by a number (growing after each destruction) explores the bottom of the sea and encounters various Mythos creatures, only to end up being devoured/burned/crushed. The last radio communication from the submarine is always misinterpreted.
- The lone Cthulhoo series: the strips show Great Cthulhu meeting less known creature from the Mythos, often being a victim of their special abilities: he meets the CthoniansChthonian (Cthulhu Mythos)Chthonians are fictional creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos. The species is the creation of Brian Lumley and was first featured in his short story "Cement Surroundings" —though the creature never made a direct appearance...
, IthaquaIthaquaIthaqua is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. The titular creature debuted in August Derleth's short story "Ithaqua", which was based on Algernon Blackwood's tale "The Wendigo"....
, Space Eaters, Shudde M'ell, Abhoth, Bast, Ubbo-Sathla or Atlach-Nacha. - The DetournedDetournementA détournement is a technique developed in the 1950s by the Letterist International, and consist in "turning expressions of the capitalist system against itself." Détournement was prominently used to set up subversive political pranks, an influential tactic called situationist prank that was...
Lovecraft's short story title: "The Colour Out of SpaceThe Colour Out of Space"The Colour Out of Space" is a short story written by American fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft in March 1927. In the tale, an unnamed narrator pieces together the story of an area known by the locals as the "blasted heath" in the wild hills west of Arkham, Massachusetts...
", "The Shadow Over InnsmouthThe Shadow Over InnsmouthThe Shadow Over Innsmouth is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft. Written in November-December 1931, the story was first published in April 1936; this was the only fiction of Lovecraft's published during his lifetime that did not appear in a periodical....
", "The Rats in the WallsThe Rats in the Walls"The Rats in the Walls" is a short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. Written in August–September 1923, it was first published in Weird Tales, March 1924.-Plot summary:...
". - The science conference: Strips shows how much science is wrong in domain such as astronomy or quantum mechanicsQuantum mechanicsQuantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
, some Great One responsible for natural phenomenon. - Bad role-playerRole-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
series: shows dumb Call of CthulhuCall of Cthulhu (role-playing game)Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
players in real life, and their alter-ego in the game. - Internet Meme Parodies: common Internet fads are caricatured with some Mythos spices: the O'rly howl (that becomes a disguised N'yarly), Lolcats of Ulthar, or forum communication signs.
- Nyarly's Joke and Novelty Shop: under this appellation are shown objects and devices related to the Mythos: CDs, Lava lamps, multi-tool knife, etc. The shop's slogan is "You won't * regret it", however, the note says "live to", which implies leading to a soon death.
- Mythos Vs Superheroes: exposes the confrontation between Mythos creatures and Superheroes, such as Superman (#219), Batman (#220), Hellboy (#221), Iron Man (#273), Wolverine (#299) or Hulk (#232).
- Mi-Goo series: Features gags involving Mi-Goo collecting brains on earth, usually discussing their acivities with each other while categorizing the victim.
Crossovers and references
- Discworld/Mythos crossovers: Being a fan of Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
's universe, the author created a series of strips involving characters from the Discworlds, confronted with Mythos creatures: RincewindRincewindRincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spends just about all of his time...
, the Luggage, DeathDeath (Discworld)Death is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and a parody of several other personifications of death. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton usually carrying a scythe...
, Great A'Tuin. - In Vault#66, Cthulhoo is shown wearing a hockey mask and described as a serial killer, just like Blutch from the Chopping BlockChopping BlockChopping Block is a webcomic by Lee Adam Herold, hosted on Keenspot. It chronicles the exploits of Butch Reginald Mann, a hockey mask-wearing serial killer who is equal parts Jason Voorhees, Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates, and Ziggy...
webcomic. - Vault#93 (Mature content) is a direct reference to the now stopped Sexy Losers webcomic.
- Vault#57 is a direct references to the Call of Cthulhu supplement Cthulhu Dark Ages, originally published by Pegasus and for which François Launet made the front color illustration.
- Movies are often referenced in the strips: Godzilla, Lord of the Ring, 300, Pirates of the Caribbean, Matrix.
- TV series are also parodied: LostLost (TV series)Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
(#194), Battlestar Galactica (#198) or Surface. - Mythos Vs Superheroes: expose the confrontation between Mythos creatures and Superheroes, such as Superman (#219), Batman (#220), Hellboy (#221) or Hulk (#232).
- Nyarly seems to be also a Wikipedia vandal, as depicted in the Vault #231
- Vault#340 references Paul the octopusPaul the OctopusPaul the Octopus was a common octopus from Weymouth, England. Paul lived in a tank at a commercial attraction, the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany and became internationally famous after his feeding behaviour was used to correctly predict the winner of each of the Germany national football...
. - Vault#341 is a direct reference to the Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
universe
Appearances in popular culture
Recent editions of the MunchkinMunchkin (card game)
Munchkin is a card game by Steve Jackson Games, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic, that has a humorous take on role-playing games, based on the concept of munchkins ....
card game by Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
have included Lovecraftian characters; in January 2008, an edition with 56 Unspeakable Vault character cards was added to the collection.
In October 2008 PS Games released the Dutch translation of Munchkin Cthulhu
Munchkin (card game)
Munchkin is a card game by Steve Jackson Games, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic, that has a humorous take on role-playing games, based on the concept of munchkins ....
, as Munchkin Koethuloo, which includes an extra card featuring the Tindaloos.