The portal-hopping multiversal explorers Rick and Morty have encountered some formidable foes in their misadventures over the years, but none so ferociously evil as horror legend H.P. Lovecraft’s amphibious Great Old One, Cthulhu.
Now, Portland-based Oni Press is injecting the madcap heroes into the fathomless depths of cosmic nightmares for the recently released “Rick and Morty vs Cthulhu (opens in new tab).” Written by industry veteran Jim Zub and crammed with psychedelic artwork from illustrator Troy Little and colorist Leonard Ito, this odd four-part odyssey offers plenty of the signature insanity and hilarity we’ve come to expect in the franchise. You can watch “Rick on Morty” now on Hulu (opens in new tab).
Related: ‘Rick and Morty’ Gets Some Science Right
Cthulhu, the terrifying octopus-like humanoid dragon featured here, plays a major role in Lovecraft’s unsettling fiction and was first introduced to readers back in 1928 in the short story “The Call of Cthulhu” and published in Weird Tales magazine.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“What could be worse than an off-planet sugar deal gone wrong? Tripping through a Lovecraftian hellscape with the Smith family as they fight, uh, cosmic sentient color and racist fish-people? That can’t be right…
“Welcome to the Rick Sanchez School of Actually Getting S**t Done! And that poor bastard Jerry declares ‘everything smells like cinnamon and sorrow’ in this Lovecraftian epic.”
“Lovecraft horror has stuck around for decades because it asks important questions like ‘Does humanity matter in the face of an unfeeling unknowable universe?'” Zub said in the series announcement. “Rick and Morty ask equally pertinent questions about ourselves, our existence, and the jerks who create our pop culture, so I figured it was time to peanut butter that chocolate and take a big bite.”
Check out our full gallery of covers for “Rick and Morty vs Cthulhu #1 (opens in new tab)“:
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Spawned by the twisted minds of Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, “Rick and Morty” debuted on The Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block of adult-themed programming in December of 2013. and has exploded into a pop culture phenomenon that crosses all demographics and mediums. Season 6 of the animated sci-fi comedy just wrapped this past week and Season 7 is already in the works per the creators.
Oni Press’ “Rick and Morty vs Cthulhu #1 (opens in new tab)” arrived Dec. 7, with eye-grabbing variant covers from Zander Cannon, Marc Ellerby, Jim Zub, Julieta Colás, and Ryan Lee.
