Launet, Francois
Entry updated 14 September 2026. Tagged: Artist, Comics.
(1971- ) French artist, cartoonist and comics creator who also uses the pseudonym Goomi. He specializes in art related to H P Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Launet was introduced to Lovecraft's work through the Role Playing Game Call of Cthulhu (1981), and has since done graphic design work for the German Call of Cthulhu franchise, including the covers for the seventh German edition, the third-edition Master and Player Handbooks, and the magazine Cthuloïd Welten. His art has also featured in the US Call of Cthulhu rulebook (seventh edition).
Launet is best known for his ongoing gag webcomic series Unspeakable Vault (of Doom) (2003-current). As a Parody of the Cthulhu Mythos, Unspeakable Vault (of Doom) presents deities such as Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth, and Cthulhu as cartoon characters whose frivolous antics drive humanity to madness. If Cthulhu is inadvertently summoned by any unsuspecting cultist, Scientist, or death-metal band, he eats them whole with a cheerful "Yum yum!" Launet reimagined the shapeless monstrosity the Shoggoth as an excitable doltish goop with the catchphrase "Sooo coool." The webcomic also has strips featuring Superhero characters from Marvel Comics and DC Comics, as well as the cast from Terry Pratchett's Discworld, interacting with the Elder Gods. Three volumes of Unspeakable Vault (of Doom) have been released in print, the third [not listed below] only in Spanish; its art and characters were featured in the Card Game Munchkin Cthulhu 3 (2008).
Besides Lovecraft, Launet is influenced by Métal Hurlant cartoonists and classical paintings. He applies a mix of techniques in his work, including digital painting, ink drawing, acrylic on canvas, and photography. [MS]
Francois Launet
born France: 1971
works
- Unspeakable Vault (of Doom): Welcome to the Vault (place not known: Pegasus Press, 2004) [coll: graph: Unspeakable Vault (of Doom): pb/Francois Launet]
- Unspeakable Vault Of Doom Vol. 2: G.O.Os on the Loose (place not known: Pegasus Press, 2007) [coll: graph: Unspeakable Vault (of Doom): pb/Francois Launet]
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