Last week was quite a week in the world of Lovecraft-related happenings, the biggest news undoubtedly being the reboot of Hellboy that is officially happening with David Harbour (of Stranger Things fame) as the new star of the franchise. That’s some pretty big shoes to fill – no one can replace Ron Perlman – but Harbour is a good choice, I’ll give ’em that. This does mean, of course, that del Toro’s trilogy will never be completed, but that’s been abundantly clear for a long time now anyway, so. There’s a bit of mixed feelings on my part: sad about the past that could have been, cautiously hopeful about the future. The rumored R-rating makes me especially intrigued about the possibilities, but of course the whole thing could still collapse. The working title for the new film is apparently Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, so we’ll have to wait and see and hope for the best. Or the worst, depending on point of view…

Then there’s Alien: Covenant, that opened to good reviews and pretty decent international box office results. The film will open domestically on May 19. Until then, there’s always this Rick and Morty video to enjoy. And here’s Ridley Scott on the inspiration for the Neomorph, and on why the Xenomorphs were created.

The latest from S. T. Joshi includes his involvement with the Sigil & Sign RPG, which currently has one week left on Kickstarter: “At StokerCon I met C. A. Suleiman, who is spearheading this effort, and I agreed to participate in the enterprise, chiefly to ensure that the project is as authentically Lovecraftian as possible.” His contribution is in the form of a stretch goal, that has just been reached at the time I write this:

We’ve reached out to S.T. JOSHI, perhaps the world’s foremost living authority on the life and work of H.P. Lovecraft. We’ve asked him to go through the highly unreliable narration of the accounts in The Oathbound Hall and apply to them the pen of his most piercing and erudite critique! Once funded, this critique will be added to that dread tome, fattening its pagecount and deepening its mysteries accordingly. Any backer who pledged to receive The Oathbound Hall in any form will thus receive and enjoy Mr. Joshi’s work at no additional charge.

Go here to support this project.

The latest from Fantasy Flight Games includes a look at the Cities in Ruin expansion for Eldritch Horror, a brief overview of the creatures in the Undimensioned and Unseen Mythos Pack in The Dunwich Legacy for Arkham Horror: The Card Game, and the announcement that a dice pack is now available for the second edition of Mansions of Madness.

The webcomic Tiny Wooden Pieces is always worth reading, especially now.

GeekDad takes a look at Bestiary 6 for the Pathfinder RPG:

In addition to many marvelous weaker beasts, the Bestiary 6 contains one of the most powerful roleplaying foes ever created. Tawil at’Umr, a Great Old One so devastating that it would make a Tarrasque riding warrior look like child’s play. This foaming mass of bubbles and tentacles, contained within a gray robe and veil, can kill with nightmares, trap foes in the minds of others, and if killed, as an avatar of Yog-Sothoth, is instantly replaced. Have fun with that.

Destructoid advises you to buy Alan Wake before it’s gone for good:

Alan Wake is a game about pushing back the forces of darkness and confronting a cosmic Horror. Eventually you find yourself in the middle of a battle with reality warping entities and an insidious evil, but it takes its time to get there. Alan Wake builds slowly.

The Nightmare from Beyond is an upcoming cosmic horror third-person platform game, and it has a new trailer:

Inspired by the works of H.P Lovecraft The Nightmare from Beyond places you in the footsteps of Sanja, desperately searching a strange and mysterious land in search of her twin sister, Dajana. Can you discover the hidden clues to identify why your sister was taken, where you are, in an attempt to survive in this horror filled the land and rescue your sister?

Not Lovecraft, but Hyperallergic has an interesting article about the octopus as “a motif of evil in historical propaganda maps.”

The Thing will get a board game, called The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31:

An alien lifeform has infiltrated a bleak and desolate Antarctic research station assimilating other organisms and then imitating them. In the hidden identity game THE THING ™ INFECTION AT OUTPOST 31, you will relive John Carpenter’s sci-fi cult classic in a race to discover who among the team has been infected by this heinous lifeform.

The game should be out in October later this year.

Cthulhu pops up everywhere, as in this report about a “slime bath” that could help scientists 3D print the medical implants of the future.

Something called Necronomicon: The Gate of the Gods by “Baphomet Giger” is now available according to this press release.

On a similar note is this idiotic video on YouTube, in which “S. Ben Qayin warns of the dangers in the Lovecraftian system…” Sigh. Also yawn.

Veela is back in her bath, this time with a reading of “The Outsider.”

G. M. Danielson reads “Collapsing Cosmoses” by Lovecraft and R. H. Barlow, here.

And here is part one of “Quiet & Bold: The Scorned House” by Chris Lackey and Greig Johnson. This is an “audio comedy adventure, inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft.”

Also, for those who must, here is a Lovecraftian ASMR called “Unearthing a Cthulhu Relic.” Personally I don’t get the appeal of this, at all – I listened for about two seconds and it felt like someone was sawing on my nerves with a rusty file – but to each their own.

Polygon: Phil Kollar plays Conarium.

And here I’ll take a break for today, there’s so much stuff to cover that I’ll have to do a part two tomorrow (hopefully) with the remaining links to reviews, videos, and some Kickstarter projects. If you have read this far and if you find these posts helpful – well, you know what to do. Please spread the word and share this stuff on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, etc. It helps a lot in getting traffic and in motivating me to keep doing what I’m doing, when I’m doing it. Iä!