Alan Moore writes Lovecraftian fiction better than Lovecraft did. That's a bold statement, but I don't feel that Lovecraft was widely known for his crisp and brain-hugging prose so much as he was known for his dark and creepy imagination. Moore has the imagination and the lyrical prowess to present it, and it shows in this short graphic novel about an FBI agent who finds the alluring call of Cthulu.

The story begins in a semi-dystopic town with oodles of grit and an obvious subculture where strange things are happening. AKA, Lovecraft. But it devolves into something truly Cthonic (is that a word?) and the art style shows this fairly well. It's maybe not as surreal as I'd like. When I envision the strange world of Lovecraft, sharp images and well-colored panels do not spring to mind. Complete madness springs to mind, and while Burrows art-work is pretty, I'm not sure it matches Moore's wordiness in a truly inspirational way. Nevertheless, I enjoyed The Courtyard enough that I'm itching to get my hands on its follow-up, the Neonomicon.