Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Gareth Hinds

Gorgeously illustrated with vivid, and sometimes scary, images that bring Poe’s dark tales to life! I really liked the “The Poe Checklist” at the beginning of the book, with keys to the motifs that the author uses, found again at the bottoms of the title pages of each tale. Great tool for new readers! I'd say that all of the selections are amongst my favorite of Poe's (except for "The Bells", which I've never liked), and they way they are presented in this book gave me new perspectives of my old favorites! I really liked that Poe himself is the man in on the pages of "The Raven"! Very cool!

I love this graphic novel adaptation! I have always been a huge E. A. Poe fan and I enjoy reading retellings of classics, but this book was one of the best ones I've read in this medium. The illustrations reflect the stories/poems and themes well. The contrast of colors and the use of light/dark as well as the vivid emotions and expressions on character faces were moving. My favorite is a toss-up between "The Masque of the Red Death" and "Annabel Lee," although all the artwork was good. The dialogue was easy to follow and concise. A great choice for adaptation fans, those who enjoy Poe, or readers of graphic novels.

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A huge fan of the works of Edgar Allan Poe, as well as of graphic novels, I jumped at the chance to read and review Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Gareth Hinds. Unfortunately, this was not up to snuff, leaving me feeling incredibly let-down. Though, truthfully, it might simply be that, again, I am not the intended audience.

I have numerous anthologies of Poe’s works which I’ve loved since middle school. Poe’s sublime imagery and cadence resonate strongly. In this adaptation, the works are summarized, possibly to make reading easier as the adaptation also includes a recurring motifs legend to further make the works understandable. As it’s likely this is meant for a wider audience of middle and high show more schoolers, I feel compelled to give it three stars because it does make it easier to understand, and possibly more fun. However, I cannot give it anything higher simply because the art style does not convey the emotion Poe evokes. It does not feel dark, beautiful, dangerous, or mysterious. Instead, it feels very dated and almost pulpy but with an educational tone.

If you know a student that is struggling with reading, or has Poe as an assignment, definitely try Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Gareth Hinds to whet their appetite, but don’t expect it to be anything more than a synopsis of Poe’s short stories. Additionally, buy the physical copy to ensure the formatting is as it should be (my kindle version was very much disjointed.) If you’re an adult, just buy the short stories or an anthology on its own. And if anyone else knows of another graphic novel adaptation with stronger imagery, please let me know! show less

An excellent visual adaptation of some of Poe’s finest works. I’ve read the short stories truncated here and only read the one poem “The Raven,” but all the selected works are very well chosen. The artwork reflects the feeling of each story/poem very well. I was thoroughly creeped out by several of the stories and the imagery did a lot to elicit these feelings.

Poe is great, this adaptation isn't. It has two problems:
1. The art is pretty amateur throughout.
2. Several stories have been abridged to the point that they have no drama. The tell tale heart has none of the killer/narrator's descent into madness. He just jumps from cold blooded murder to guilt ridden madness in about an hour.

Great adaptations of Poe's classic stories. The trigger warnings were well done and I appreciated the afterword where Hinds emphasizes that this is his vision, and the characters could be an ethnicity or sexuality.

I do wish he'd gone with the bleaker "The Pit and the Pendulum" ending, though.

When anyone mentions Gothic Horror, I think of macabre and Edgar Allan Poe. And, Gareth Hinds has translated Poe’s work into 7 graphic narratives in this classic graphic novel format.

Gareth is certainly great at drawing disturbing scenes and anguished subjects. The illustrations for the cover and each narrative are created differently. In additional to digital, we see watercolor, ink, acrylic, pencil, charcoal, and pastel and color pencil.

The use of light throughout the narratives was awesome. Truthfully, I am suprised Candlewick used the small portion of Tell Tale Heart for their sample spread. I personally think there are many better spreads inside such as The 'Masque of Red Death' where all the people are entering the castle, or show more 'The Cask of Amontillado' title page, or the 'Pit and the Pendulum' where the rats (best rats ever) are crawling up out of the pit. The Annabel Lee narrative and Raven was exceptional and I felt the scrolls used for the Poe checklist and contents page were even better as a sampling.

The use of candle flame and the light supply was ingenious as was the skull holding up the torch flame. I did love the bubble graphic and placement of text font better on the first section of narratives. But, that is probably because I am more keen on the antique look and the old style font.

Bottom Line: I was impressed by all the interpretations and some scences stood out more than others This adaptation with historical notes included will surely draw more fans to classic literature and the works of Poe.

I reviewed ARC for Net Galley show less