REVIEW: Edgar Allen Poe Graphic Novel Adaptations

Edgar Allen Poe: Graphic Classics and Max Graphic Novel Adaptations

Poetry written by Edgar Allen Poe. Graphic Novel adapted by Corben and Co. (Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allen Poe) and Pomplun and Co. (Graphic Classics: Edgar Allen Poe)

Poetry published 1824 to 1949.

Graphic Novel adaptations published 2006 and 2010.

Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allen Poe (Tell-Tale Heart)

· Most noted is that the original short story was given to the reader after the graphic adaptation so as for a means of comparison from the illustrator and the works of Poe

· The illustration is built on the pretense of the original reading, so actions are abridged in written detail as the actions are done by the drawn characters. This had varying degrees of success

· The lettering appeared to be built around the work in terms of its composition, so both do not complement each other necessarily with reading

· The actions of the police officers close to the climax had no means of drawing suspicion as illustrated, as they were merely standing around as if nothing happened. This could be interpreted as the maddening effect of murder on the narrator, yet this had to be assumed with reading as opposed to being told in the tale

· It was unnecessary to illustrate the destruction of the old man’s heart in the end, though this may have been the author’s spin on the tale

· The old man and the narrator were illustrated in a hilarious fashion compared to the dark telling of the tale, which didn’t compliment it for me. Compared to almost Herge’s Tintin design of he policemen the two characters seemed too unrealistic

· The stylized dread of the narrator seemed unrealistic as it didn’t convey the message of the narrator’s internal conflict as well as it could

· As stated before, the adding of the original text to the end made it so that the illustrated work seemed worse as one could compare their own interpretation of Poe’s work to that of the illustrator. This has the side effect of appearing to be padding on the publisher’s part

Graphic Classics: Edgar Allen Poe (Tell-Tale Heart)

· The story starts with the narrator directly addressing the audience, which doesn’t seem natural due to what is to happen later in the short story

· The lettering at least served to compliment the pacing of the comic, as the story was divided to as to show transition between panels according to the tale

· The narrator continued to directly address the audience, which breaks the pacing of the comic in a bad way as it leads to the question of to whom is he talking to

· The implied butchering of the old man due to the transitions between gutters was done well, as the horrors that happened are left to the reader to interpret (opposed to the previous read which left little to the imagination)

· The actions of the officers was well done, as the conversations and the interpretations of the narrator on their part felt natural as with the original story

· The officers noting of the narrator’s weird actions later on felt organic in its composition, as the smiles that started this piece was to be replaced with whispers and uneasy grins

· As with the other graphic adaptation, the implied actions of cleaning and such are left out by the narrator and the illustrator, so as to minimize the work of the illustrator. This made it felt lax as opposed to abridged

· The emphasis on backgrounds was a plus as it set the scenery that the characters interact with, though the short story did not go into the details upon this so such work was on the illustrator’s part

Bibliography

Corben, Richard, Rich Margopoulos, and Edgar Allan Poe. Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allan Poe. New York, NY: Marvel, 2006. Print.

Poe, Edgar Allan, and Tom Pomplun. Edgar Allan Poe. Mount Horeb, WI: Eureka Productions, 2010. Print.