The Girl Called Cthulhu: A Modern Pulp Classic

Hard Case Crime publishes blasts from the past in book form. Most of their books are classic hardboiled fiction in a range of sub genres. But most importantly, their writers appeal to classic pulp sensibilities. Their comic books are similar, adding visual components to these classic literary styles. The Girl Called Cthulhu goes yet further as Von Buhler seeks to deliver something that isn’t just pulp literature with pictures but a book that is both pulp literature and pulp comic book.

Mindy Woodcock makes for a fascinating detective protagonist. Von Buhler imbues her with typical detective qualities for a story of this type set in this era. She’s strong in will, clever, and at times intellectual. But Woodcock goes still further, knowing that as an attractive woman she has additional assets. She doesn’t prostitute herself for knowledge or favors. But she can be sultry and sexy, and she knows it. In some ways The Girl Called Cthulhu is actually subversive where these elements are concerned. Classic pulp fiction often included elements of physical attraction and sex. The Mike Hammer catalogue is a prime example. Von Buhler turns that power dynamic around with Woodcock being the object of sex appeal while being in the power position as the detective.

These blatant appeals to sexuality are tempered as the story goes on, though. Von Buhler never shies away from them as a component of the story, but as the years pass Mindy relies less on them. It’s a very effective way to demonstrate significant character development over years.

The passage of time also greatly opens up the possibilities for connecting the fictional story of The Girl Called Cthulhu to historical characters and events. The immediate appearance in the opening pages of Harry Houdini and H.P. Lovecraft, as fairly well known figures, is an effective way to acquaint readers with the idea that Mindy will be interacting with other real people from history as her story commences. These interactions, in addition to how they fit into the story proper, add flavor to the narrative. The end result is a story that feels truly grounded in reality. “Was Mindy the inspiration for ‘shaken not stirred?’” In this world fashioned by Von Buhler, maybe she was.

Ironically, it is one of these historical figures–indeed, the one most central to the story–that proves to be The Girl Called Cthulhu’s only real stumbling point. Aleister Crowley is integral to events throughout the book. His behavior early on is shocking, but as the story goes in, his antics grow tiresome. Eventually, time spent away from Crowley becomes a welcome respite.

Even more than the story’s historical nature, The Girl Called Cthulhu feels like a trip back in time from the moment the book is opened. And while the story does take place in the past, the more immediately recognizable blast from the past is the pulp comic book art style Von Buhler employs. Though Von Buhler does not appear to be imitating any particular artist’s style, there are qualities reminiscent of past pulp artists. For instance, some of the more salacious art calls to mind the work of frequent Weird Tales artist Margaret Brundage. The use of Ben Day dots (or a style closely replicating them) further adds a classic pulp feel to the book. The result is a full experience that marries pulp detective fiction and pulp comic art rather than a story that merely borrows that description.

A major component of that larger visual experience is the repeated imagery suggestive of the image of Cthulhu. Von Buhler suggests that Lovecraft was inspired to create his monster by a drugged encounter with Crowley in 1927. Lovecraft feels himself surrounded by octopus tentacles. But that type of imagery even precedes the Lovecraft scene. Von Buhler uses it throughout, sometimes using octopuses and tentacles and other times using characters intertwined during sexual interactions. Mindy is not first called Cthulhu until late in the issue, but these art choices keep the idea of the fictional monster, which was inspired during an event Mindy was present for, top of mind throughout the book.