In our review of The Thing On The Doorstep #3, Edward has reached a breaking point with Asenath and begs Daniel for his help.
The Thing on the Doorstep #3
Story: H.P. Lovecraft
Writer: Simon Birks
Art and Main Cover: Willi Roberts
Variant Cover: Robert Ingranata
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Dates: April 15, 2026
This review contains spoilers
The Thing on the Doorstep #3 begins in Summer 1930. Daniel and Edward meet up, and Edward looks horrible. As they walk along, Edward asks for his best friend’s help with Asenath, and expresses fears of losing himself. He tells him of the otherworldly places his wife has taken him, much to Daniel’s concern. But he produces a crystal to prove that he’s not crazy.
He’s sure that he’s being punished for not handing that book to Ephram Waite way back in his childhood, and says he’s sure Ephram is still alive…which is when Asenath takes hold once more.
Months later, Daniel gets a telegram about Edward, how he’d had an apparent breakdown and cried out for him. Being the good friend that he is, he packs some stuff and drives down to get him. When he reaches Ed, he’s treated to mad-sounding ramblings about the Shoggoths, and Ephram’s secret coven name “Kamog”, and that he’d kill Asenath if she drags him there again.
Daniel brings him home, promising to help him out, and Edward says she’s been taking over more and more. That she views men as superior and wants that superiority for herself. That Ephram and Asenath have the same glare, the same handwriting… That the formula for some cursed sort of immortality is in the Necronomicon. He’s sure Ephram took over Asenath’s body and will take control of him next, which is when Asenath/Ephram takes hold again and tries to grab the wheel while Daniel’s driving.
“Edward” apologizes for all of the mad ramblings, but Daniel’s scared for him all the same. He gets Edward home, then himself, where he hugs his wife.
Some time later, EdNath arrives to pick up his books. And that summer, while Clara and a few of her friends are discussing the sobbing they hear every so often, Asenath arrives to explain it away as a guest having a breakdown. Nothing to worry about. And that Edward is “just fine”.
We definitely see the toll that Edward’s toxic relationship with Asenath has been having, and it’s not pretty. The artwork’s effective at conveying how much it’s hurting him, that madness creeping into his eyes…but the psychological aspects? Oof, yeah, that’s not really good for him at all.
Loss of one’s self is a huge part of why stuff like, say, hereditary cogitive decline can keep someone up at night. Knowing that this loss of self is coming and trying in vain to do literally ANYTHING about it? It’s enough of a nightmare under normal circumstances, let alone when Lovecraftian elements enter the equation.
And the Lovecraftian elements definitely enter the equation in this installment. Edward’s telling his best friend/outright emergency contact all about the inhuman horrors he’s seen because of his wife.
Speaking of Asenath, I wonder what the real woman was like, before Ephram’s soul took over entirely. Would she have just been a relatively normal lady, with some more unique interests, making her kind of a kindred spirit to Edward?
One thing definitely shown here, again, is what an awesome friend Daniel is to have around. He’s clearly unsure what to make of Edward’s ramblings, but he’s right there to help however he can. And the reader can’t help but feel horrible for the guy, as he’s witnessing his best friend—the same guy he’d named his son after—slip away into utter madness.
The scenes in The Thing on the Doorstep #3 that show some of these eldritch elements are appropriately dark. They’re dark, a bit unsettling, and just perfect for a book of Lovecraftian horror, and I love it for that.
The first issue showed Edward/Asenath being shot in the asylum, so it’s already clear that this story isn’t going to have the most hopeful of endings. It’d be a bittersweet one, at best, provided Ephram/Asenath doesn’t find a new body to consume for their own use.
Final Thoughts
As unsettling as ever, The Thing on the Doorstep #3 is a good way to get your Lovecraftian horror fix. The whole story’s a bit of a slow-burn, but the buildup has been worth it so far. This issue fills in more of the gaps, and we get some answers as to what is going on with Edward, and I’m curious as to what issue 2 will bring.
