March 1, 2009

Graphic Classics: Edgar Allan Poe


Graphic Classics: Edgar Allan Poe edited by Tom Pomplun
Graphic Classics Volume 1

Pages: 144
First Published: 2006
Genre: graphic novel, short stories, poetry
Rating: 3.5/5

First sentence:

True I have been nervous ... very nervous.


Comments: An anthology of graphic adaptations of some of Edgar Allan Poe's works, both short stories and poems. Each story is written/illustrated by a different person such as Rick Geary, Matt Howarth, Lisa K. Weber and many more. Most of Poe's works collected here are his most famous but there are a few lesser known ones as well. A wide variety of styles are present, mostly the familiar cartoon bubble but also frames with narrative written beneath and even simply illustrated. For example "Hop-Frog" is presented in the original Poe text along with profuse illustrations by Lisa K. Weber.

My favourites were Rick Geary's retelling of "The Tell-Tale Heart" as I am fond of his work. I also enjoyed "The Imp of the Perverse" by Tom Pomplum and Lance Tooks which I had never heard of before. I also enjoyed Pedro Lopez' rendition of "The Cask of Amontillado" as that is one of my favourite Poe stories and the adaptation was well done.

Ultimately, an enjoyable and well done book. A great way to sample Poe's work before going on to read the real thing and also a new and different way for Poe's fans to enjoy his work in this modern format. I'll be looking into other books in the series.

2 comments:

Jill said...

Wow, that looks like fun!

Unknown said...

I've been wondering about this series, I'll have to check one of these out.