This Manga Classics volume collects together five of the most popular and well-known of Edgar Allan Poe's stories. Included are: The Tell-tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, The Masque of the Red Death, and The Fall of the House of Usher. It's been quite some time since I indulged in Poe's works, so this was a real treat. I'd forgotten just how creepy they could be.

Each story was illustrated by a different artist, and all of the artwork was brilliantly done. My favourite in terms of artwork was Cask, though my favourite story was Masque. Scattered at the ends of some stories were tidbits of information regarding the story, or extra artwork. At the end of the book is a brief section about Poe himself.

A must-read for any Edgar Allan Poe fan!

***Did mere to Udon Entertainment/Netgalley for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really loved this and will be buying the physical copy for my collection of the classics turned into mangas!

A fantastically different way to enjoy some of the most popular works of Edgar Allan Poe. The illustrations are wonderful and quite eerie. Highly recommended.

Beautiful done manga of some of Edgar Allen Poe's best short stories. The artist managed to convey the horror and creepiness of the stories well and I really enjoyed it. Can recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Poe's works!

A very good manga take on a classic horror

When I was young, a half century or so ago, there was a line of educational comics called Classics Illustrated. These presented classic public domain works of literature in a comic book format. The art tended to be static and pedestrian, difficult or disturbing plot material got left out, and very little of the stirring language that made these works classics remained. But they read fast, and had helpful pictures for kids not ready to tackle Cliff’s Notes.

There have been several revivals and imitators since then, and currently Udon Entertainment has brought out a line of such works under the group name Manga Classics. The word “manga” is used rather loosely here as the material is neither produced nor created in Japan. The artists do use “mangaesque” art styles, and some of them are at least of Japanese heritage. It will be published in the chunky paperback format familiar to manga fans, and printed to read right to left for aesthetic purposes. The hope is that the sort of kid who enjoys other manga will pick up these volumes.

The current volume retells four of Edgar Allan Poe’s weird stories, and the poem “The Raven.” The strong narrative voice and short length of the works means that nearly the entire prose of the story can be used as word balloons or caption boxes for the illustrated panels.

The collection begins with “The Tell-Tale Heart” in which a murderer explains that he is not insane, just gifted or cursed with sensory sensitivity. The format is used to switch between scenes of the narrator telling his story to a doctor or lawyer (it isn’t clear which) and the narrator’s actions that led up to his imprisonment.

“The Cask of Amontillado” is a tale of the perfect revenge (for what, the narrator never quite makes clear) as a fool is led to his doom by his love of and expertise in wine. The art goes heavy on the screentone.

“The Raven” has a man thinking of his lost love and being tormented by the title bird with its cry of “Nevermore.” The art style makes the man look too young for the tone of the poem, but it’s otherwise a good adaptation.

“The Masque of the Red Death” is about a party held in the last refuge from a plague; the rich and powerful safe and well-fed while the poor die in droves. This one works very well, but suffers a bit from not being in color, since the color schemes play so much into the atmosphere.

“The Fall of the House of Usher” finishes the volume with a long tale of the last dregs of a noble family and their symbolic dwelling place. There are some rather large implausibilities here, but the faces of Usher as he succumbs to madness are well done.

Poe’s masterful writing is the best thing about this volume, but the art is pretty good too. Most recommended for younger teens who enjoy both spooky tales and manga-style illustrations. It seems less likely to appeal to older readers already familiar with the material.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free download of this upcoming book through Netgalley for the purpose of writing this review. No other compensation was requested or offered. There may be changes in the final edition.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book for review.

I have read quite a few Manga Classics already. I still think this is a fun way to introduce some classic stories to Manga fans, especially younger fans, and perhaps even inspire them to read the original books.

I absolutely loved reading Poe's poems and stories when I grew up, so I was happy to see this get the manga treatment. I think it was a good introduction and thought the art style was fitting. The choice of stories was good.

I would recommend this title to fans of Edgar Allan Poe, those curious about him, and manga readers.

I've only ever been exposed to Edgar Allen Poe in school, so I'm somewhat familiar to his works. This was enjoyable and beautiful. The story was amazing and the so was the artwork. Definitely recommend!

only my second manga book.
I really like Poe's work, so that was why I picked this book. I enjoyed it. It's still taking me some type to figure out the way to read it.
But it does give his work justice. It was cool to see an artist take on the stories.

I wasn't sure how well the manga style would work for horror and Poe, but it is both gorgeous and creepy in the best of ways.

Edgar Allen Poe has always been a favorite of mine, and in manga form, it's definitely more accessible. Plus the dialogue and narration work well with the images, and make it a decent substitution for reading the short stories.

I hadn't realised that these stories were horror related, but I thought they were quite good although 1 or 2 were a little boring. Also, I don't think that it was a great idea to turn all of these stories in manga form as some of them were mostly narrations.

This book was downloaded via NetGalley during a comic/graphic novel binge that I was on.I had a digest book with these stories when I was younger, which lay forgotten at the back of my mind till I started on this Graphic novel. The stories are deep and dark by themselves and the graphics add to the eerie feeling that comes over with its reading.

The book was very enjoyable ( not in a happy frivolous way due to the content itself) and the illustrations seem perfect for the tales. The stories included are : The Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado ,The Fall of the House of Usher  , The Mask of the Red Death , The Raven ( a poem). Definitely meant for fans of the macabre.

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.

'Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe' by Edgar Allan Poe and adapted by Stacy King is a series of manga adaptations of poplular stories and poems.

Included in the collection are The Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado and The Raven among others. Every story features a different artist and I liked all the styles but my favorite was The Raven by pikomaro. The art is really pretty good for all of these chapters.

The adaptations are really good as well. I've seen graphic novel adaptations that aren't as complete. The Masque of the Red Death story is allowed time to simmer and build as are all of them.

It's another great adaptation in the Manga Classics line. I grew up with Classics Illustrated, and these adaptations are more complete.

I received a review copy of this manga from Udon Entertainment, Manga Classics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.

This brought a whole extra level of creepiness to the classic stories. I really enjoyed them, and I wish this was part of the assigned reading in high school. If you've never read one of his works, than watch out!

I am typically not a fan of Manga books, but I was intrigued to read it in comparison to Gareth Hinds’s adaptation of Poe’s work, with both works coming out within months of each other.

The Tell-Tale Heart (art by Virginia Nitouhei)- The first story was challenging for me, as I felt the unnamed narrator was too perfect looking (aka Manga-like). But once I got past that, the illustrations told the story very effectively.

The Cask of Amontillado (art by Chagen)- The background of the festival where they two men meet and later the catacombs they enter were well drawn and really gave it a sense of atmosphere. The last page was chilling.

The Raven (art by Pikomaro)- The art work in this story is gorgeous. The visions that the narrator has of his lost Lenore were heartbreaking and the last page of the raven with the grieving man was perfect.

The Masque of the Red Death (art by Uka Nagao)- This ended up being my least favorite, for the story’s very essence centers around the colors of the rooms and what they represent. The lack of color affected the interpretation and it fell flat.

The Fall of the House of Usher (art by Linus Liu & Man Yiu)- I have never been a fan of this story, but the illustrated version of the story elevated it to me. The crumbling estate is aptly drawn and the madness of twins Roderick and Madeline is evident. The sense of impending doom and Gothic despair shine through.

This adaptation is the latest in a series of Manga classics, and I would recommend it if you enjoy Manga and already own previous classics from this collection. I would hope that readers would look at Poe’s additional works, if they enjoyed this strong version of five of his short-stories. I received the online book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and the timing worked out well for me to compare both excellent adaptations of the premier horror writer’s work.

It’s no surprise to me that Udon Entertainment is the publisher behind this collection of Edgar Allen Poe stories. This book is well done with carefully drawn illustrations that show so much of what the characters are thinking and what the setting looks like. I love how these books manage to convey more than the written word alone.

Students are drawn to graphic novels, and I think it’s wonderful that they can get so much enjoyment out of reading classics that they would ordinarily pass by. Often the pictures help those who might struggle a bit with reading because by looking at them, they get a sense of what is going on, and it helps them think about what words belong there.

I loved this edition, and I highly recommend it.

Hmmm Edgar Allen Poe is a wonderful author and his stories are extremely dark. But in manga form it just doesn't come across the same way. It just took away from the actual stories.

Another spooky interpretation of Poe, a stellar Manga adaptation, and such a wonderful addition to a solid series. The illustrations embody all of the original works' emotions and themes and the text is easy to follow. Great for Poe fans, Manga and retelling followers, and reluctant readers.

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I adore Edgar Allan Poe, and after reading this book I will now have a plethora of students that are going to love his work as well. The illustrations in this book are something to behold, and they truly bring this story alive. I have already purchased copies for my library and I cannot wait for them to arrive. Make sure that you do not miss the chance to read this book!! If you were not a Poe fan before, this might just change your mind!!

Quoth the Raven “Read this book.”