If your not used to the manga tradition of reading back to front this can be slightly confusing to start with but once you are used to it becomes easier. The book is well designed and beautifully illustrated though out and brings new life to classic works of Edgar Allan Poe.

I haven't read many graphic novels, and the concept for this book intrigued me. The artwork is well done, but unfortunately, it didn't all come together for me in the end. Perhaps I just prefer my classics in book form rather than in graphic novel form.

I love Edgar Allan Poe, but I've never read him in graphic novel/manga form before. It took a bit of getting used to, but once I did, wowie. This is such a great way to get people that might not like reading or be the best readers to pick up a classic and read it. Poe is one of those authors that you think about his work long after you finish it, and this will allow other people to experience that. I would recommend this. 5 out of 5 stars.

This Works Surprisingly Well

I turned to this volume as a bit of a lark, being curious as to how Poe could be translated to modern style manga. I was surprised and pleased with the presentation, and especially impressed by how much of the eldritch feeling of these particular tales was enhanced by the artwork.

The selection of tales, (The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, The Tell Tale Heart), is classic, and for a new reader they would serve as a fine introduction to Poe. For those who have read Poe regularly over the years this selection of tales still holds up as a comfortable and satisfying reminder of his power.

This being in manga format, the tales have had to be abridged and reworked a good bit in order to fit the style and the panels, but the adaptations are remarkably faithful and complete, and capture the feel, mood, and flow of the stories very well. "The Raven" appears in its entirety, as it must, but of course its form fits nicely with the layout anyway.

Sometimes manga artwork can become so busy and fussy, or so blank, spare and cryptic, that storytelling suffers. Here, I was pleasantly surprised by how effectively the drawings were melded with the narrative, and how each enhanced the other. Even if you aren't a huge fan of manga the drawing here really did work well with the stories, and brought the proper level of darkness, atmosphere, and brooding madness to the tales. I was also taken by the various artists' occasional indulgences, (especially in "The House of Usher", but actually in all of the tales), by which they would abandon a more realistic drawing style in favor of impressionistic and fantastic panels. Given the nature of the stories these flights of fancy, which were not overdone, worked well and highlighted the extravagantly terrible nature of the tales.

The upshot for me was that this ended up being a satisfying, entertaining, and enjoyable treatment of these Poe favorites, and a commendable approach to interpreting Poe. An interesting find.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)