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Nevermore
The works of Edgar Allan Poe have enthralled and terrified readers for over 150 years. Their macabre blend of doomed romanticism, gothic melodrama and ghoulish destiny earned him a place at the top of the list of fiction's greatest authors. Famous for his poems and short stories, Poe, who was born in Boston in 1809, virtually created the detective story and perfected the psychological thriller. Nevermore showcases Poe's most memorable stories, from the 'The Tell-Tale Heart' to 'The Murders in The Rue Morgue'. Here Poe's fiction is re-imagined and revived in a vibrant graphic novel anthology, where the cream of modern comics creators are let loose in the playground of Poe's limitless imagination.
119 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
11 people are currently reading
453 people want to read
About the author
Edgar Allan Poe
9,942 books28.9k followersThe name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
July 18, 2016
I like Edgar Allan Poe's short fiction, and I have enjoyed various comics and film adaptations of his works, but this volume leaves a bit cold. It is not that these adaptations (whether viewed strictly as adapted material or merely as stories in their own right) are all bad, but there are far too many instances of mediocrity and fumbling for my liking. For instance, while working my way through the volume, I remarked on at least two occasions that a piece managed to bungle the ending, which is really one of the core elements of most Poe stories (and definitely in the pieces in question). Perhaps I ought to have been prepared; even the subtitle of the volume makes wince a little: "A Graphic Adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's Stories. This subtitle implies a singular adaptation, when we are in fact given nine very different (in both quality and visual style) adaptations, and also that it is all of Poe's stories, which is certainly not the case.
Looking at the individual pieces quickly, grouped together by my evaluation of them and starting at the bottom of the barrel, the volume opens weakly, first with an introduction by director Roger Corman, which I did not care for at all, and followed by Dan Whitehead and Stuart Tipples' adaptation of "The Raven", which for me is the absolute low mark of the volume. While preserving Poe's text (there may have been something edited out; while I have not double-checked it, the metre occasionally seemed off, which is certainly not the case with the poem, but it may be a layout issue), the visuals really do not add anything of value for me. Also, the volume mission statement of updating the adaptation to the present day (or in some cases the future) does not work for here. If anything it takes something away from Poe's poem; and it really should not have to. Rated on its own, these two elements would get single stars.
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by writer Jeremy Slater and artist Alice Duke, and the dystopian take on "The Masque of the Red Death" by writer Adam Prosser and artist Erik Rangel both bungle their endings, and have various issues (the former does not quite work for me in its updated setting, and the latter seems far too self-indulgent and takes me out of the fiction to the point where I do not really care about the plot or the characters). I would rate these two stories with two stars: weak okays, but nothing I would return for.
"The Facts in the Case of Mr Valdemar" by writer Jeremy Slater (his first entry of two in the volume) and artist John McCrea, and "The Fall of the House of Usher" by volume editor Dan Whitehead (his second writing credit in the volume) and artist Shane Ivan Oakley both are pretty clear two and half stars - they clearly work better than the two previous stories on many levels (e.g. the temporal update and the art), but they also fail in delivering the scare that ought be there. It just never really materialises, because of issues with the pacing and delivery. Perhaps it is a bit symptomatic that the writers here are the same as in the previous category; and is it not a shame that these two writers then are the ones to get two stories each of the nine in the volume?
While technically not a short story adaptation, Laura Howell's charming and somewhat fantastic-leaning two-page biography of Poe entitled "Facts in the Case of Edgar Allan Poe: January 19th 1809 - October 7th 1849" clocks in on three very solid stars for me. I like it. It is competent and entertaining.
"The Pit and the Pendulum" by writer Jamie Delano and artist Steve Pugh, and "The Black Cat" by writers Leah Moore (daughter of Alan Moore) and John Reppion and artist James Fletcher both deliver something that appeals to me more. Both adaptations successfully transfers Poe's fiction into a present day setting (or in the case of "The Black Cat", at least a setting between the original's era and ours). The latter takes quite a bit of creative freedom with the story (and as such is not my favourite comics adaptation of the story), but the result is nevertheless good, and both stories rate as three and a half stars for me.
Finally, at the top of the list, we have two stories which really, really work for me, and which have each earned four solid stars: writer Ian Edginton and artist D'Israeli's futuristic "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and writer David Berner and artist Natalie Sandells"The Oval Portrait". The former offers an added twist and very satisfying (given the new setting) to Poe's story, whereas the latter is probably my favourite in the entire volume. In it, the update to present day, the pacing, and the punch of the ending not the least all deliver in a very satisfactory manner.
So, all was not bad, and I do not regret reading the volume. But after careful consideration, I am not willing to give it more than the two stars with which I have graded it. Well, I would be inclined to add half star for the high points, but the sum total still does not warrant for me to round that off to three stars.
You can definitely spend your time on something better. And if you want Poe adaptations, why not have a look at Bernie Wrightson's or Richard Corben's for instance.
Looking at the individual pieces quickly, grouped together by my evaluation of them and starting at the bottom of the barrel, the volume opens weakly, first with an introduction by director Roger Corman, which I did not care for at all, and followed by Dan Whitehead and Stuart Tipples' adaptation of "The Raven", which for me is the absolute low mark of the volume. While preserving Poe's text (there may have been something edited out; while I have not double-checked it, the metre occasionally seemed off, which is certainly not the case with the poem, but it may be a layout issue), the visuals really do not add anything of value for me. Also, the volume mission statement of updating the adaptation to the present day (or in some cases the future) does not work for here. If anything it takes something away from Poe's poem; and it really should not have to. Rated on its own, these two elements would get single stars.
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by writer Jeremy Slater and artist Alice Duke, and the dystopian take on "The Masque of the Red Death" by writer Adam Prosser and artist Erik Rangel both bungle their endings, and have various issues (the former does not quite work for me in its updated setting, and the latter seems far too self-indulgent and takes me out of the fiction to the point where I do not really care about the plot or the characters). I would rate these two stories with two stars: weak okays, but nothing I would return for.
"The Facts in the Case of Mr Valdemar" by writer Jeremy Slater (his first entry of two in the volume) and artist John McCrea, and "The Fall of the House of Usher" by volume editor Dan Whitehead (his second writing credit in the volume) and artist Shane Ivan Oakley both are pretty clear two and half stars - they clearly work better than the two previous stories on many levels (e.g. the temporal update and the art), but they also fail in delivering the scare that ought be there. It just never really materialises, because of issues with the pacing and delivery. Perhaps it is a bit symptomatic that the writers here are the same as in the previous category; and is it not a shame that these two writers then are the ones to get two stories each of the nine in the volume?
While technically not a short story adaptation, Laura Howell's charming and somewhat fantastic-leaning two-page biography of Poe entitled "Facts in the Case of Edgar Allan Poe: January 19th 1809 - October 7th 1849" clocks in on three very solid stars for me. I like it. It is competent and entertaining.
"The Pit and the Pendulum" by writer Jamie Delano and artist Steve Pugh, and "The Black Cat" by writers Leah Moore (daughter of Alan Moore) and John Reppion and artist James Fletcher both deliver something that appeals to me more. Both adaptations successfully transfers Poe's fiction into a present day setting (or in the case of "The Black Cat", at least a setting between the original's era and ours). The latter takes quite a bit of creative freedom with the story (and as such is not my favourite comics adaptation of the story), but the result is nevertheless good, and both stories rate as three and a half stars for me.
Finally, at the top of the list, we have two stories which really, really work for me, and which have each earned four solid stars: writer Ian Edginton and artist D'Israeli's futuristic "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and writer David Berner and artist Natalie Sandells"The Oval Portrait". The former offers an added twist and very satisfying (given the new setting) to Poe's story, whereas the latter is probably my favourite in the entire volume. In it, the update to present day, the pacing, and the punch of the ending not the least all deliver in a very satisfactory manner.
So, all was not bad, and I do not regret reading the volume. But after careful consideration, I am not willing to give it more than the two stars with which I have graded it. Well, I would be inclined to add half star for the high points, but the sum total still does not warrant for me to round that off to three stars.
You can definitely spend your time on something better. And if you want Poe adaptations, why not have a look at Bernie Wrightson's or Richard Corben's for instance.
February 14, 2017
3.25/5
Yorumu için: http://kronikokur.blogspot.com.tr/201...
Yorumu için: http://kronikokur.blogspot.com.tr/201...
July 14, 2020
“Based on tales of EA Poe” is closer than adaptations. Some of the stories seemed to fit right with the original message such as the Raven and the Pit and the Pendulum but Murders in the Rue Morgue done as a futuristic tale and the Telltale Heart? Meh... :(
July 24, 2015
Öncelikle bu hikayeler Poe "uyarlamaları", bunu bilerek okumaya başlamak yaratabilecek hayal kırıklıklarını azaltacaktır. Zira çizgi öykülerin içinde ambulanslar, taksiler, The Simpsons izleyen insanlar var! Kitapta çizilen öykülerin orijinallerini okumadan bunu okumayı kimseye tavsiye etmem. Hali hazırda Poe sevip bahsi geçen hikayeleri okumuş olanlar ise kitabı sevecektir çünkü çizimler şahane, baskı kalitesi müthiş ve bazı uyarlamalar gerçekten çok güzel olmuş.
October 12, 2024
Was expecting so much more
November 13, 2018
The first few were good. Some of these were nicely set in modern times. But overall I felt the adaptations lost their touch with the original story there more I read on. The artwork was pretty good in a few, like The Fall of the House of Usher, otherwise I didn't think it anything special.
November 4, 2021
No lo sé...Amo a Poe y este libro tenía varios de mis relatos favoritos peeero creo que nos queda a deber, las adaptaciones no están bien logradas, la calidad de la edición es bastante deficiente y las ilustraciones, algunas, no terminaron de gustarme.
Creo que no es para mi....
Creo que no es para mi....
July 26, 2024
"The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where one ends, and where the other begins?" - The Premature Burial (1844)
"But what point is there to this relentless torture? If I am condemned, why prolong my agony?"
- The Pit and the Pendulum (1842)
"But what point is there to this relentless torture? If I am condemned, why prolong my agony?"
- The Pit and the Pendulum (1842)
January 12, 2023
Interesting graphic/comic retelling and modern re-imagining of Poe’s best known short stories. A delight.
July 10, 2016
This is a difficult book to rate and review because the stories and illustrations were adapted by several different writers and artists. With that being said, there were several stories that I enjoyed but I did not care for the art. The art was so erratic that the stories became muted and ignored. The art worked against the story and left the story feeling unfinished and untold. There were several stories that I did not like and how it was conveyed but the art was great. Overall, there were only 3 stories that I liked the story and the art.
The worst art and story line was "The Fall of the House of Usher". The art was erratic and confusing. To a certain degree the erratic art worked with setting the tone of confusion/psychosis/paranoia conveyed by Usher; however, this concept was taken a bit too far for my taste. There were times I wasn't sure which character I was looking at. I felt like I was attempting to understand this art in a drug induced state and was dizzy while trying to understand what was drawn. I understand what the artist was attempting to do but it just didn't work for me. The story felt hurried and was lacking the development necessary for the shock value that Poe delivers. On both fronts, this was a fail.
The best art and story line was "The Black Cat". This story was the best developed and lead to a shocking and wonderfully, "Poe-esque" conclusion. This was a beautifully creative collaboration of written and visual art. I loved the clear and beautiful art. I especially loved the scene where Harold sees the cat everywhere. The art and story moved together in a wonderfully creative and fluid way. This is a great depiction of the powerful delivery available using the graphic novel.
My regret is that I must rate this book as a whole.
The worst art and story line was "The Fall of the House of Usher". The art was erratic and confusing. To a certain degree the erratic art worked with setting the tone of confusion/psychosis/paranoia conveyed by Usher; however, this concept was taken a bit too far for my taste. There were times I wasn't sure which character I was looking at. I felt like I was attempting to understand this art in a drug induced state and was dizzy while trying to understand what was drawn. I understand what the artist was attempting to do but it just didn't work for me. The story felt hurried and was lacking the development necessary for the shock value that Poe delivers. On both fronts, this was a fail.
The best art and story line was "The Black Cat". This story was the best developed and lead to a shocking and wonderfully, "Poe-esque" conclusion. This was a beautifully creative collaboration of written and visual art. I loved the clear and beautiful art. I especially loved the scene where Harold sees the cat everywhere. The art and story moved together in a wonderfully creative and fluid way. This is a great depiction of the powerful delivery available using the graphic novel.
My regret is that I must rate this book as a whole.
July 2, 2021
I was on a roll with the Edgar Allan Poe stories the past couple of months. This is a graphic novel anthology of Poe's short stories. Illustrated and retold by many different authors and artists. The collection includes: The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Black Cat, The Oval Portrait, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Masque of the Red Death. 9 re-tellings that I quite enjoyed. Giving this one a solid 4 stars.
Each story was pretty good. I enjoyed where the authors took the stories and modernized them. The illustrations in the Fall of the House of Usher wasn't to my liking, but that's because its in the style of Sin City. Too dark to really get any sense of what is going on. I'm not excited when I'm reading a story with just silhouettes as my main focus. The rest of the illustrations were great.
The Facts in the Case of Mr. Vademar is the only story in this collection that was new to me. It's about a man on his death bed. He asks to be put under hypnosis in order to not feel scared when death comes, but instead it back fires and the guys just lives on feeling nothing. In between really being alive and dying. It's pretty creepy.
Overall if you like Poe, you can't go wrong with another interpretation of his many great works. I enjoyed my time reading these and am happy to have it in my collection.
Each story was pretty good. I enjoyed where the authors took the stories and modernized them. The illustrations in the Fall of the House of Usher wasn't to my liking, but that's because its in the style of Sin City. Too dark to really get any sense of what is going on. I'm not excited when I'm reading a story with just silhouettes as my main focus. The rest of the illustrations were great.
The Facts in the Case of Mr. Vademar is the only story in this collection that was new to me. It's about a man on his death bed. He asks to be put under hypnosis in order to not feel scared when death comes, but instead it back fires and the guys just lives on feeling nothing. In between really being alive and dying. It's pretty creepy.
Overall if you like Poe, you can't go wrong with another interpretation of his many great works. I enjoyed my time reading these and am happy to have it in my collection.
August 13, 2016
I picked this book up randomly on my travels yesterday - after all I cannot resist scouring a few book shops. The book is basically a series of personal interpretations of some of the more famous (and a couple less famous) short stories from Edgar Allan Poe 10 in total. Each story has been presented in a different style and manner making the collection quite eclectic. In some circumstances I would have seen this as a negative as that alone emphasises the isolation of each story - the fact that only the author is the connecting factor. As I say this in some cases would have been a negative, almost unintentionally breaking up the book (it could almost have been a crude scrap book of articles cobbled together from some other publication) but it is not! The different styles I feel actually emphasis the breadth and range of the work of Poe and how truly talented he was. So for me an admirer of Poe I think this is a fitting homage to his work.
July 12, 2017
Versiones modernizadas y adaptadas al lenguaje del cómica de algunas de las mejores historias de Poe. Es un método muy interesante para acercar a lectores jóvenes al trabajo de Poe. No quiero decir que el lenguaje de cómic no tengo lo suyo, pero lo cierto es que si es "diferente" al lenguaje literario. Algunas adaptaciones son muy destacables, actualizando los temas e incluso, llevándolos a un futuro aún lejano. Creo que esa es la principal virtud del libro. El trasfondo subsiste, y la nueva forma adoptada es muy atractiva para ganar adeptos para la obra de Poe.
August 5, 2016
Creo que lo acabé muy rápido jeje aún así, es maravilloso. Las historias no vienen ilustradas como se supone va el cuento. Pero aún así causan cierta extrañeza después de todo. La Rue Morgue en el futuro lejano, un rato negro que en realidad es una Pantera de circo, y una chica ciega que esconde el cuerpo de un amigo de ojos azules para que no la mortifique. Mi favorito: la Comic Con de un tal Próspero, en medio s una pandemia.
February 16, 2019
310816: if you do not want to reread him... fine adaptations, quick, quirky. (or you can watch the roger corman films)...
September 3, 2018
A little boring. I love Poe’s stories, but was not wowed by this graphic novel.
December 24, 2019
Some were good, some were bad and others were average. The difference and diversity of illustration choices were interesting at least.
April 2, 2020
Okay enough. Most stories felt too rushed. Most of the art styles weren't to my liking.
September 24, 2020
At best the art is nice to look at, at worst it’s just super insulting. A very mixed bag that unfortunately leans towards being a bore. Also, wtf happened to McCrea’s art?
September 28, 2019
Not pure Poe- the writers take his stories into other places and times. Most are interesting and worth your time but the bad ones should never have made this collection- they could have been used as their own stories but not attached to Poe.
The concept used to re-arrange The Tell-Tale Heart was great but it's execution was completely off the mark- it took the two best parts away from Poe's story.
The Mask of the Red Death was also a good set-up but it had none of the suspense.
The two page comic (both meanings) biography at the end was a fun touch.
I would've put the distant future rendition of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" last because it was awkward having to dial my mind back in time.
The concept used to re-arrange The Tell-Tale Heart was great but it's execution was completely off the mark- it took the two best parts away from Poe's story.
The Mask of the Red Death was also a good set-up but it had none of the suspense.
The two page comic (both meanings) biography at the end was a fun touch.
I would've put the distant future rendition of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" last because it was awkward having to dial my mind back in time.
June 5, 2023
While this collection was fine, I don't really feel as if any of the adaptations really added anything to the original stories, or reconfigured them. What Moves the Dead did a far better job of augmenting the original, though it had the benefit of more words. When you summarize Poe, you lose too much, and that's what happens in this graphic version.
March 29, 2018
Collezione di adattamenti a fumetti di classici racconti di Poe in chiave moderna, a volte ambientati nel presente, a volte nel futuro, in generale l'idea è molto interessante e piuttosto innovativa, ma alcuni racconti, tra cui quello che chiude l'antologia, sono decisamente poco riusciti, contrastando pesantemente con i racconti migliori del volume e compromettendo in parte la qualità dello stesso.
Ottima idea, ma poteva essere eseguita in modo migliore.
Ottima idea, ma poteva essere eseguita in modo migliore.
March 7, 2021
I am completely torn on this book. I love Poe and everything written by him. This graphic anthology has some Poe poems and stories that stay true to how he originally wrote them, while others not so much. I enjoyed some of the ones that diverged from the original work but I kind of wish they had diverged more. They kind of half did it and my thought is if you are going to change the story, go for it and leave those little nods to Poe instead of small changes. That is just me though.
March 7, 2025
Pretty meh loose adaptations that were "inspired" by Poe stories.
Some adaptations are far removed from the source material in ways that come off as forced as opposed to creative. All of them never come close to touching the madness of the source material, so just read those instead.
"The Raven" gave me hope at the beginning, but it was mostly downhill from there.
Some adaptations are far removed from the source material in ways that come off as forced as opposed to creative. All of them never come close to touching the madness of the source material, so just read those instead.
"The Raven" gave me hope at the beginning, but it was mostly downhill from there.
October 30, 2017
Hikayelerin çok kısaltılmış ve basitleştirilmiş, kısacası hiç bir etkileyiciliği kalmamış versiyonları ile ortalama çizimlerin bir araya geldiği bir derleme olmuş. Hikayelerin orjinal versiyonlarının okunmasını, çizgi roman için farklı eserlere yönelinmesini öneririm.
January 13, 2021
Leí este libro traducido al español, y la traducción no me gustó. Y las adaptaciones que hicieron hubo unas que no estuvieron mal, pero otras la verdad es que no tenían mucho sentido. Sinceramente no le hace justicia a la obra de Poe.
October 13, 2023
Great shorts. But I prefer Mr. Poe's way. I didn't even like the art of The Raven, art by, Stuart Tipples and The Fall of The House of Usher by, Ivan Oakley. I didn't enjoy the art. Could barely be seen. All the other arts were perfection. Still, I prefer the original macabre of Edgar Allan Poe.
December 3, 2023
An interesting attempt - revisit some of Poe's work but set in different times. Some worked for me, some didn't. There were some Poe tales I hadn't read in the original form, of those I knew, some seemed to play a bit loose with the tales.
March 26, 2024
The stories, ranked:
1. The Pit and the Pendulum
2. The Masque of the Red Death
3. The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
4. The Oval Portrait
5. The Murders in the Rue Morgue
6. The Black Cat
7. The Tell-Tale Heart
8. The Raven
9. The Fall of the House of Usher
1. The Pit and the Pendulum
2. The Masque of the Red Death
3. The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
4. The Oval Portrait
5. The Murders in the Rue Morgue
6. The Black Cat
7. The Tell-Tale Heart
8. The Raven
9. The Fall of the House of Usher
August 22, 2025
La historia está interesante, no sé si es una adaptación fiel, ya que la original no la he leído, pero no creo que el lenguaje utilizado sea el más adecuado para niños/adolescentes, creo que para el nivel que pueden tener, sería prácticamente incomprensible.
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