Unspeakable Vault (of Doom)

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notability=August 2008
primarysources=August 2008Infobox comic strip
title= Unspeakable Vault of Doom


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author= Francois Launet
url= http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/home.html
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status= active
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publisher=
first= January 2003
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The Unspeakable Vault (of Doom) is a webcomic by Francois 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.

Origin

In The 2003 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 Cthulhu 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; Francois 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 Francois Launet as a SFX supervisor, and allows him to use some of disk space and broadband.

The Printed Books

In 2005, Francois 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 Wolf 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.

Characters

Most of the characters in the comic are given names slightly different from their counterparts in the Cthulhu Mythos.

(Great) Cthuloo

Cthuloo (Cthulhu) is a large, green, dragon-like creature with huge claws on his feet, beady eyes, tiny arms, almost vestigial wings (still capable of flight [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault19.html Vault #19] ), 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, purposely or accidentally, summons him. Cthuloo also commonly uses the phrase "Fhtagn!", in the manner of an expletive.

Nyarly

Nyarly (Nyarlathotep) 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. Unlike the other Great Old Ones, Nyarly appears to use much more "advanced" means of conquering or instilling madness, such as spam [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault42.html Vault #42] and weapons of mass destruction [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault60 vault #60] . Unlike his more frightening counterpart, who actually shapeshifts, Nyarly often dons an incredibly stupid costume such as a mask [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault205.html vault #204] or a few simple costume pieces [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault148 seen in vault #148] [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault106 vault #106] .

Shubby

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 [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault168 vault #186] , her cult is often referred to [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault116 vault #116] [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault181 vault #181] . Strangely enough, Shubby is one of the only Great Old Ones that hasn't, as of yet, been 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-Sothoth), 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 dimensions [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault148 vault #148] [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault99 vault #99] . Apparently, Yogzotot is very touchy about people mistaking him for soap [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault24 vault #24] .

Ygo

Ygo (Y'golonac) 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 [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault13 vault #13] 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 (Shoggoths) are pink, gelatinous creatures with random assortments of eyes, teeth, and tongues. They seem to lack much intelligence. 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" [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault93 vault #93] . Shoggies are the only characters other than 'Zathoth and Cthuloo to have a catchphrase - "So coool!"

Dagoon

Dagoon (Dagon) 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.

Zathoth

'Zathoth (Azathoth) is a huge snouted star-shaped creature, misshapen eyes, and a large, red tongue, which often hangs out of his mouth. The "Blind Idiot God" as he is called is unable to speak. His vocabulary consists of a bellowed "G!" (pronounced "Guh!").He is sometimes found surrounded by flute and drum playing servitors [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault98 vault #98] . Nebulæ are 'Zathoth's flatulence [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault100 vault #100] , wormholes are the damage caused when he bounces on the fabric of time and space, His constant bleating creates the cosmic background noise [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault178 vault #178] Meteorites are the crumbs left behind when he eats a celestial body.

Him Who Is Not To Be Named

Him Who Is Not To Be Named (Hastur) 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 die gruesomely. Hastur [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault234.html never tires] of the joke. When last seen he was auditioning for a series of ads for a Royal Burger hamburger chain [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault235 vault #235] .

Tindaloo

Tindaloo (or the Tindaloos) (Hounds of Tindalos) is an emaciated, dog-like creature capable of passing through time and space. He does not like curves [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault166 vault #166] , 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 GOO's family pet.

Mi-Goos

The Mi-Goos (Mi-go) are strange insectoid entities with pulpy feeler-covered faces and leathery, bat-like wings. Although they have only made two appearances in the comic to date [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault187 vault #187] [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault149 vault #149] , but are referred to many times. They collect brains of scientists, such as described in "The Whisperer in Darkness" short story

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 [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault51 vault #51] . Deepoine/human hybrids are easy to spot as they have the same traits. They may also carry a fishy scent [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault134 vault #134] .

Cthoogha

As a ball of fire with red eyes, surrounded by smaller flying fires with teeth (the fire vampires), Cthoogah (Cthugha) 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 long as the Tungunska incident. Cthoogha appears in the "G.O.Os on the Loose" book, but it's existence is suggested by the webcomic [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault76 vault #76] .

The Elderz

The Elderz (Elder Things) have barrel-shaped body and a star-shape red head, with a 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 [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault02 vault #02] .

Night Gaunts

Night Gaunts (Nightgaunts) are flying horned purple humanoids which delight in carrying people off. They seem to have [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault220.html 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 Creature described by Lovecraft.

Cultists

Wearing long red or violet robes and jewelry, they try to summon 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.

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.

Geeks

Other victims of the Great Old Gods, 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 arc describes how 3 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 Supplement, 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 Zann". 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 [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault162.html Vault#162] . Cthulhoo listen to his music via the [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault172.html Izann] , a device imitating an iPod.

Crazy Abdul

Caricature of Abdul Alhazred, 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 2 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 [http://www.answers.com/topic/running-gag running jokes] of the comic is where someone reads, either on purpose or by accident, the incantation to summon [http://www.answers.com/topic/cthulhu-2000-film Cthulhu] ("ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu Rl'yeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"), upon which [http://www.answers.com/topic/cthulhu-2000-film 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 poor 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 Cthonians, Ithaqua, Space Eaters, Shudde M'ell, Abhoth, Bast, Ubbo-Sathla or Atlach-Nacha.
* The Detourned Lovecraft's short story title: The Colour Out of Space, Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Rats in the Walls.
* The science conference: Strips shows how much science is wrong in domain such as astronomy or quantum mechanics, some Great One responsible for natural phenomenon.
* Bad role-player series: shows dumb Call of Cthulhu players in real life, and their alter-ego in the Game.
* Internet Meme Parodies: common Internet fads are caricatured with some Mythos spices: the [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/WEBIMAGES/WIKI/cthulhoo.jpgO'rly] howl (that becomes a disguised [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault131.html N'yarly] ), [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault226.html Lolcats from Ulthar] , or [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault213.html 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.
* Mythos Vs Superheroes: exposes the confrontation between Mythos creatures and Superheroes, such as Superman(219), Batman(220), Hellboy(221) or Hulk.

Crossovers and References

* Discworld/Mythos crossovers: Being a fan of Terry Pratchett's universe, the author created a series of strips involving characters from the Discworlds, confronted with Mythos creatures: Rincewind, the Luggage, Death, Great A'Tuin.
* In strip#66, Cthulhoo is shown wearing a Hockey mask and described as a serial killer, just like Blutch from the Chopping Block 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 Francois Launet made the front color illustration.
* Movies are often referenced in the strips: Godzilla, Lord of the Ring, 300 (vault#234), Pirates of the Carribeans, Matrix.
* TV series are also parodied: Lost (196) , Battlestar Galactica (Vault#200) or Surface.
* Mythos Vs Superheroes: expose the confrontation between Mythos creatures and Superheroes, such as Superman (Vault#219), Batman (Vault#220), Hellboy (Vault#221) or Hulk.

Appearances in popular culture

Recent editions of the Munchkin 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. [cite web | title=Munchkin Cthulhu 3 - The Unspeakable Vault | url=http://www.sjgames.com/munchkin/unspeakablevault/ | accessdate=2008-09-01]

Pegasus Press has produced a [http://www.pegasus.de/1410.html board game] based around the comic.

UVoD strips appear in [http://www.cthuloide-welten.de/ Cthuloid Welten] , [http://www.worldsofcthulhu.com/ World of Cthulhu] and [http://mephisto.name/archiv/ Mephisto] RPG/BoardGames Magazines.

In 2006, futurist Anders Sandberg noted Unspeakable Vault (of Doom) as an example of the trend of poking fun at formerly horrifying concepts. [cite web | last=Sandberg | first=Anders | title=Andart: Death, Be Afraid, Very Afraid! | url=http://www.aleph.se/andart/archives/2006/10/death_be_afraid_very_afraid.html | accessdate=2008-09-01]

References

External links

* [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/home Unspeakable Vault (of Doom) Website]
* [http://www.sjgames.com/munchkin/unspeakablevault/ Munchkin Cthulhu 3 - The Unspeakable Vault]
* [http://www.pegasus.de/1410.html Die Sterne stehen richtig] Pegasus board game (German)
* [http://www.shoggoth.net/article.php3?story_id=557&slashSess=f82e6a8794e0b1a004e6b66b37fc5ecf Shoggot.Net article]
* [http://vikirosen.blogspot.com/2008/02/unspeakable-vault-of-doom.html Blog article]
* [http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/p/2149/unspeakable-vault-of-doom Webcomics reference]
* [http://www.yog-sothoth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=417 Article on Yog-Sothoth.com review]
* [http://www.2m3.net/breve-4745-Unspeakable_vault_of_doom.html Review on 2M3 (French)]
* [http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/kick-open-the-unspeakable-vault Review of the issue 3 of the paper version]
* [http://www.sangcoeur.com/le-bar-f1/unspeakable-vault-of-doom-t344.htm Review and discussion (French)]
* [http://www.ursamajorawards.org/ReadList.htm Recommended reading list on URSA Major Awards]
* [http://community.livejournal.com/ru_unspeakable/profile?mode=full Review on LiveJournal (Russian)]