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

Product Description

In a thrilling adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s best-known works, acclaimed artist-adapter Gareth Hinds translates Poe’s dark genius into graphic-novel format.

It is true that I am nervous. But why will you say that I am mad?

In “The Cask of Amontillado,” a man exacts revenge on a disloyal friend at carnival, luring him into catacombs below the city. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” a prince shielding himself from plague hosts a doomed party inside his abbey stronghold. A prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, faced with a swinging blade and swarming rats, can’t see his tormentors in “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” a milky eye and a deafening heartbeat reveal the effects of conscience and creeping madness. Alongside these tales are visual interpretations of three poems — “The Raven,” “The Bells,” and Poe’s poignant elegy to lost love, “Annabel Lee.” The seven concise graphic narratives, keyed to thematic icons, amplify and honor the timeless legacy of a master of gothic horror.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Hinds adds to his impressive library of graphic novel adaptations with this collection of stories and poems. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” a prince holds a massive party inside a fortified castle while his subjects die of plague outside his walls—that is, until a mysterious stranger appears at the door. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” a young man plots revenge against a man who insulted him. In “The Pit and the Pendulum,” a frightened man must escape the clutches of the Spanish Inquisition before it’s too late, and in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” a man is driven to murder by his benefactor’s haunting “vulture” eye. Hinds also brings his own interpretation to three poems: “Annabel Lee,” a love ode to Poe’s dead wife; “The Bells,” a poem about the eerie sounds of bells; and, of course, “The Raven,” arguably Poe’s best-known work. Hinds’s vivid, haunting mixed-media illustrations pair perfectly with Poe’s unfailingly bleak and terrible tales. Red and black tones are thrown about with controlled force, fully realizing the gothic influences of Poe’s writing. Particularly sinister is the artwork that accompanies “The Masque of the Red Death;” the specter that wordlessly passes among the partygoers is terrifying. The adapter’s note at the end discusses the selections that were chosen and includes a brief biography of Poe. VERDICT A spellbinding adaptation of one of America’s most legendary authors. This volume can easily be worked into literature courses and is a fantastic way to introduce Poe to new readers.—Tyler Hixson, Brooklyn Public Library

Review

Hinds adds to his impressive ­library of graphic novel adaptations with this collection of stories and poems…A spellbinding adaptation of one of America’s most legendary authors. This volume can easily be worked into literature courses and is a fantastic way to introduce Poe to new readers.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Graphic-novel veteran Hinds turns his astute eye to Poe’s best-known tales….Also included are historical notes about Poe and each vignette, making this volume equally valuable for classroom use or for independent reading. Befittingly dark, atmospheric, and evocative.
—Kirkus Reviews

Faithfully preserving the gothic tone of the original texts, from the macabre endpapers filled with symbols of death to the twisted anguished faces found throughout its pages, the author never shies away from the darkness found there, instead distilling Poe’s fascination with madness, death, and terror into single haunting images…A welcome addition for fans of graphic horror.
—Booklist

In a neat detail, each story opens with a legend indicating recurring themes (death, fire, and scary sounds in “The Bells”) so readers know what to expect; Hinds further reflects on and contextualizes each story in endnotes. Hinds doesn’t sugarcoat the blood and gore in these stories and poems—each haunting sequence is rife with