Manga Classics Stories of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allen Poe is one of my all time favorites. I love his writing and I believe this manga adaptation captures the essence of his stories beautifully. I loved the graphics and the story telling. I will definitely be purchasing a hard copy of this one to keep on my shelves.

*Thank you to Netgalley for providing the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe is one of several entries in the Manga Classics series, which pairs text (usually taken word-for-word, I believe) from classic works with manga-style illustrations.

This didn't work out very well here. These works ("The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado,"The Raven," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "The Fall of the House of Usher") weren't written to act as graphic novel scripts, and shoe-horning them into that role resulted in "adaptations" that were mediocre at best.

The artwork was generally decent - my favorites were probably "The Tell-Tale Heart" (art by Virginia-Nitouhei) and "The Fall of the House of Usher" (art by Linus Liu). "The Masque of the Red Death" (art by Uka Nagao) would probably show more have been another favorite of mine if it had been in color - the stained glass windows practically begged for it.

All in all, I felt that this did Poe's works a disservice by trying to include too much of the original text - if you're going to adapt something into graphic novel form, you have to be willing to recognize that, at times, it's best to leave out some text and trust the artwork to do the talking.

Extras:

Full-color cover images for each of the stories, some sketches, and additional information about Poe and a few of the stories.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

I have to start by admitting Poe has always been my hands down, by far, absolute, #1 all-time favorite author. This is just my second literary adventure into Magna, so I still have to catch and correct my reading direction. (Magna is read right to left.)

Some of Poe's most popular stories are included. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a five-star example of eerie, gothic prose. The artwork by Virginia-Nitouhei is nothing short of amazing. "The Cask of Amontillado" is another scary tale of murder that stays with you. I felt Chagen's cube style was granular and difficult to follow. 'The Masque of the Red Death" was brought to life by Uka Nagao' stunning illustrations. "The Fall of the House of Usher' has always been toward the bottom of my show more favorite Poe stories. However, incredible art by Linus Liu drew me into the story like never before. Of course, "The Raven" is one Poe work that needs no introduction. The art by Pikomaro was eerily beautiful and easy to follow.

A Magna newbie this was a real treat. I enjoyed it so much I want the hardcover edition to share with my granddaughter. Magna is a wonderful way to introduce a new generation to the genius work of writers long since passed.

Happy Reading! show less

I love the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Poe's dark, and sometimes demented, tales of death, madness, and murder are some of the best classic horror tales. I have Poe's works on my keeper shelf in various forms (classic version, illustrated, comic books, etc) and even have a motion graphic novel app on my phone. He is my go-to mood builder for my favorite holiday -- Halloween! I read through his works every fall.

So far, I am very impressed with the Manga Classics I have read. The books stick to the original story for the most part. The tale is just condensed a bit, and illustrated with manga style art. I'm picky about Poe adaptations, but was pleasantly surprised by this book's depictions of several favorites: The Tell Tale Heart, The cask show more of Amantillado, The Raven, The Mask of the Red Death, and The Fall of the House of Usher. The dark themes of madness, murderous intent, and death were well depicted. The artwork is fantastic!

I'm ordering a copy of this book to add to the Poe section of my keeper shelf! Loved it!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Udon Entertainment via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** show less

{My thoughts} – I have never really been a huge fan of Edgar Allan Poe. However, with that said. I really enjoyed reading through this book. The illustrations seem to portray every creepy and icky feeling that you get when reading some of his work. This book successfully made me feel like I was being creeped out throughout it’s pages.

As, I have stated I am not a big fan, but those that are, I really think will enjoy this book. There is so much to enjoy from the creepy text, too the eerie almost unsettling illustrations. I can see this book having a large appeal with readers that enjoy this kind of read.

If you like to read eerie and be creeped out when reading, this is the perfect book for you! I am sure that you too will feel all show more the same emotions I’d encountered as I was reading. There are so many and the illustrations help to portray them so nicely. It’s definitely in my opinion if anything a once and a lifetime kind of read. I just don’t recommend reading after dark! show less

Having studied Poe as an undergrad, I felt intrigued by his works translated to graphic form. Unfortunately these versions of his stories underwhelm. I believe the fault lies in the editors abridging the stories, which ruins any work of literary fiction. Some of the stories fared better than others though. The graphics used for the Masque of Red Death soar above all the others. At the bottom of the heap lies The Fall of the House of Usher. Too much of the story was abridged. But above all else, that hairy, overgrown soul patch needs to go! The other stories are ok. Young adults may like the graphics but I do not think the narrative will pull them along. Poe’s stories need to be read in their entirety, with or without graphics.

Manga adaptations of classic works is one of my favourite things in the book universe. Being able to see a story in a different way is always such a great experience.

I love Edgar Allan Poe, so I figured this was an excellent choice for me. I would highly recommend educators picking up books like these and give them to their students. Having an option to see the story as well as pick them apart would be a great way to learn!

This book includes a little bio of Edgar, who is quite the interesting soul if you didn't know about him. His spooky tales seemed to be inspired by his tragic life. There's also more than a few classics scattered throughout this anthology of manga/stories: The Raven, The Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The show more Fall of the House of Usher, and Mask of the Red Death

The pictures are haunting (in a good way). The black and white colour scheme fits well with Poe's tales. They are dark, spooky and weird. The style fits really well, which is just an added bonus to seeing the story.

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for providing me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. show less