pamela
Written on Feb 8, 2020
Definitely worth picking up for fans of manga, younger readers, or readers who work better with visual cues rather than just words on the page.
The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe is a brilliant collection of some of his
best-known stories: The Tell Tale Heart (a murder's haunting guilt), The Cask of
Amontillado (a story of brilliant revenge), and The Fall of the House of Usher
(an ancient house full of very dark secretes). Also included in this collection
are The Mask of the Red Death (horrors of 'the Plague'), and the most famous of
all his poems: The Raven (a lover's decline into madness). Best read in a
dimly-lit room with the curtains drawn, Poe's brilliant works come to life in
darkly thrilling ways in this Manga Classic adaptation.
- ISBN13 9781772940213
- Publish Date 2 November 2017
- Publish Status Transferred
- Out of Print 13 June 2023
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Udon Entertainment Corp
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 308
- Language English
Reviews
Definitely worth picking up for fans of manga, younger readers, or readers who work better with visual cues rather than just words on the page.
Melanie
Written on Nov 4, 2017
4.5 stars
I saw that Stormi at Books, Movies and Review Oh my! got an Edgar Allan Poe manga for review from NetGalley, I decided I had to have it. I love Edgar Allan Poe and I thought the idea of reading his stories with illustrations would be fun. I was very excited that approved to review it. This is my first manga and my first digital comic. It took me a little bit to figure out the reading order (this book does include instructions on how to read a manga, back to front and right to left).
This manga contains five of my favorite Edgar Allen Poe stories, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Mask of the Red Death, The Raven and The Fall of the House of Usher. These are great short stories and one poem. I’m not going to go into the stories. They are Poe. You either know his work or you don’t. He writes some really creepy stories. I think these stories are perfect for a newbie into Poe, as it is some of his best work. I also liked how the manga also included some pages that gave history into Poe and some of his stories.
What I really want to focus on is the artwork. I think the artist at Manga Classics did an amazing job with the artwork in this book. It is as creepy as the stories. I think they really brought out the horror and madness of the characters. There is also artwork that isn’t as creepy, because the story didn’t call for creepy in some pictures. They did exactly what the scene required.
I highly recommend checking out Manga Classic‘s books. They have some other great works including The Scarlet Letter, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations and more.
Here’s a small sample of the artwork that you will see.
**Book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway.
Quirky Cat
Written on Oct 10, 2017
Edgar Allen Poe’s stories have been transformed into almost every media possible, so it should come as no surprise that he’s finally made his way into manga form. Five of his most famous works are included in this novel, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, and the Fall of the House of Usher. This book is releasing at the perfect time of year, being out and available on the shelves by Halloween.
The Tell-Tale Heart is the story of a man going mad and murdering an older gentleman he lives with. This story is truly creepy and eerie and is really enhanced by the imagery accompanying it. The face of the man shows his emotions (and lack of sanity) in such a way that it brings the story to a whole new level.
The Cask of Amontillado is probably my favorite of Poe’s works, and is about a man driven by the concept of getting revenge on a man who has slighted him. There’s a lot of play of words going on in this story (for example the two characters in the story have vastly different ideas of what a mason is). The story is both beautiful and disturbing, as is the artwork that accompanies it.
The Raven is possibly Poe’s best known work, and is a poem about a man descending into madness at the loss of his lover. It’s a poem that has almost a musical quality to it, and which artwork compliments perfectly.
The Masque of the Red Death is about a Prince’s desperate attempts to stave off mortality (represented as the plague called the Red Death) by shutting himself and his court into a lavish and isolated abbey. This story is very much an allegory about death and its inevitability, and flows very well with the help of artwork to tell the story.
The Fall of the House of Umber is a perfect example of Poe’s totality (where every detail and event is connected to the rest), it’s the tale of a man who rushes to the aid of his side friend, only to discover that things are worse than he believed. Events descend into madness as the emotional state of the characters takes its toll. This story translates superbly into manga form, and flows very smoothly with the details being translated into a more visual sense.
This novel would be perfect for both people who are new to Poe’s works, as well as for long-time fans of his. Stacy King flawlessly translated Poe’s works into manga, making as few changes to the stories (usually just trimming them down) as possible. The effect enhances the stories being told, blending his spine-tingling tales with visual evocative images. I’ll confess I was only able to read one story a night, as I found them so intense and so beautiful I couldn’t continue to the second right away.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks