Debatable and Disturbing
EDITORIAL SHARDS

Issue 001

copyright © 1981 by Robert M. Price
reprinted by permission of Robert M. Price

To all new readers (and that's all readers) --- welcome! What shuddersome secrets can you expect to see shambling forth from the Crypt of Cthulhu? All in all, we're going to try to pursue serious academic discussion of themes Lovecraftian, while not forgetting their roots in that uniquely American genre, the "pulp" horror magazine. Or, as Les Daniels might say, we'll be trying to dignify lurid trash, that's what. Yes, we'll be indulging our adolescent fascination with this crazy stuff by treating it as if it were "legitimate" literature. That's mainly because your editor has never risen to any higher level. In fact you're just plain lucky this magazine isn't about Daffy Duck!

So besides the critical pontifications you've come to expect from these cheap zines, Crypt of Cthulhu will feature scholarly articles on the Cthulhu Mythos. And we won't be restricting our scope to HPL himself. In future issues, you'll see surveys of other Mythos writers, including rip-roaring thrillers like "The Statement of Lin Carter" and "Brian Lumley Re animator". As for this issue, sit back and enjoy our feature article "Lovecraft's Concept of Blasphemy". Yeah, yeah, you say.

Robert M. Price
Hierophant of the Horde