The ways of the unspeakable: Some representations of the Lovecraftian horror in Alberto Breccia's adaptations [Las formas de lo indecible: Algunas representaciones del horror lovecraftiano en las adaptaciones de Alberto Breccia].

Abstract

This paper intends to review some of the inherent rhetorical resources from comics, in some adaptations Alberto Breccia did from diverse short stories from the Cthulhu cy-cle. Through the analysis of diverse techniques, it will shed light on the way Breccia rebuilds the elliptical representations of Lovecraftian horror, from a point of view which may be traceable through the adapter’s discourse. Consequently, it will be demonstrated that in the adaptation process, besides the fundamental role of the adapter’s point of view, the «rules of the medium», or media affordances, are relevant to the adaptation process. Hence, we will study some of the short stories adapted by Breccia in order to discover his reconstruction procedures to recover the cosmic horror that the American writer imprinted on his works and the way the Uruguayan artist, through adaptation, conceived such representations and gave them shape through his interpretation using media affordances.