Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe

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.

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.

The artwork was eerie and unsettling at times, a perfect pairing for the stories. The mask of the red death may very well have been my favorite but they were all really well done.

Deliciously creepy, both the drawings (I am speechless) and the story (but we knew that already). I hope more stories by E. A. Poe are to come in this format, because as far as I'm concerned, this volume is a huge success.

First off, I want to give a huge thank you to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: This book is based off the classic stories by Edgar Allan Poe. The book is a manga modernized version of the stories. The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe includes; The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, The Masque of the Red Death and The Fall of the House of Usher. This graphic novel is targeted for young adult and teenage readers. It has different artwork by different artist for each story.

Review: I absolutely loved this manga! I know I usually post fiction reviews but I have to admit I like my manga too. My inner nerd was screaming out to me when it saw manga and Poe in one book. I felt like this book was the perfect modernized creation of Poe possible. The artwork was beautiful and the stories had me on the edge of my seat turning pages. Who knew Poe could be so much fun? I think this book is great for students, so they can learn the work of Poe without all that out of date language. Students and other young people will be able to get the same great feel and thrill that Poe gives us, it would just be delivered in an more modernized and artistic fashion.

I was so pleased with this Manga version of Edgar Allen Poes works! it's beautifully illustrated and follows the poems and short stories so well. It's one of my new favorite classic manga editions!

I received an advanced copy of Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allen Poe from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Edgar Allen Poe’s stories have been transformed into almost every media possible, so it should come as no surprise that he’s finally made his way into manga form. Five of his most famous works are included in this novel, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, and the Fall of the House of Usher. This book is releasing at the perfect time of year, being out and available on the shelves by Halloween.
The Tell-Tale Heart is the story of a man going mad and murdering an older gentleman he lives with. This story is truly creepy and eerie and is really enhanced by the imagery accompanying it. The face of the man shows his emotions (and lack of sanity) in such a way that it brings the story to a whole new level.
The Cask of Amontillado is probably my favorite of Poe’s works, and is about a man driven by the concept of getting revenge on a man who has slighted him. There’s a lot of play of words going on in this story (for example the two characters in the story have vastly different ideas of what a mason is). The story is both beautiful and disturbing, as is the artwork that accompanies it.
The Raven is possibly Poe’s best known work, and is a poem about a man descending into madness at the loss of his lover. It’s a poem that has almost a musical quality to it, and which artwork compliments perfectly.
The Masque of the Red Death is about a Prince’s desperate attempts to stave off mortality (represented as the plague called the Red Death) by shutting himself and his court into a lavish and isolated abbey. This story is very much an allegory about death and its inevitability, and flows very well with the help of artwork to tell the story.
The Fall of the House of Umber is a perfect example of Poe’s totality (where every detail and event is connected to the rest), it’s the tale of a man who rushes to the aid of his side friend, only to discover that things are worse than he believed. Events descend into madness as the emotional state of the characters takes its toll. This story translates superbly into manga form, and flows very smoothly with the details being translated into a more visual sense.
This novel would be perfect for both people who are new to Poe’s works, as well as for long-time fans of his. Stacy King flawlessly translated Poe’s works into manga, making as few changes to the stories (usually just trimming them down) as possible. The effect enhances the stories being told, blending his spine-tingling tales with visual evocative images. I’ll confess I was only able to read one story a night, as I found them so intense and so beautiful I couldn’t continue to the second right away.

4.5 stars

Once again, I never read the original book and to be honest I don't really know what to think of it. The manga is divided into 5 short stories. And some of them are really tiny! I have no idea how they are in the original classic but in this one, although some are a bit difficult to understand since there's not much of a context, they are fascinatingly terrifying!

Also, I have to mention that all the short stories are drawn by a different artist, which I thought to be really interesting. Not only because we can see different styles but because it makes it easier to separate the stories...

I will talk about them briefly in separate:

The Tell-Tale Heart - This one was quite short and not the easiest to understand but it was just so dark and fascinating! I'm not sure I understood it at all because in manga format it's really a bit too tiny but it seems to be about guilt? Basically, it's about a guy that is trying to show that he is sane. In his brain, for him to commit such a calculated murder he has to be sane... The victim was an old man with a "vulture-eye" and he explains how everything happened. It's quite macabre.


The Cask of Amontillado - Okay after reading this one, I think this manga is better enjoyed if you've read the original stories or if you at least have heard of them, otherwise it will probably get confusing. This one is basically about revenge. And if you are wondering, Amontillado is the name of a wine, that was used by Montresor to lure Fortunato to his end. It's quite a messed-up story and not the easiest to have the whole idea in manga...


The Raven - I really liked this one, it's the only one I fully knew before reading the manga and I'm impressed. It's amazing how they managed to still maintain the poem aspect! I was literally reading it as a poem. This seems to be about grief. The main character is suffering the loss of his love, Lenore. And the poem shows him falling into madness. I really love this poem and it was quite unique to see it in a manga format, this is for sure a first and I think it was really well done.


The Masque of the Red Death - This one was scary and unsettling... I was holding my breath for the whole story even tho I was expecting the end due to the title... What an intense story! This one is about the plague and our main character is a prince. He is trying to escape the plague by staying in an abbey. He does an incredibly big party but... There are no boundaries for death... This is one of the tense ones in the book, it's incredible and for sure my favorite!


The Fall of the House Usher - This story is the weirdest of them all. Such an unsettling story! In this story, we have a character clearly suffering from some mental disease (make it plural!) not yet discovered at the time. This one has a bit more of a dark setting (even darker than the last ones, if that's possible) and the art was perfectly paired with the story. I think it's the most different in the book and first I wasn't really sure about it but it really fits well. The story talks about two friends, one is the narrator and he tries to help his friend feeling better - although it seems to be quite impossible to do so and he starts to be scared himself. I think this one is best understood if you've read the original classic, although it has a lot of detail and story in the manga, it's quite a complex story.


I actually enjoyed all the stories and the art. They are all really different from each other, the only thing in common being how dark they are. I surprisingly loved this manga and for sure I need to read more Edgar Allan Poe! Totally recommended if you are into dark or unsettling stories!

Gothic, eerie, and beautiful. I liked this Manga version of Poe's classics a lot. I haven't read all these stories in their original version but the dark atmosphere from them seems to have been well translated into this format. The art was overall well done and the classic stories dark and eerie depth strengthened it.

My favorite stories were The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven and The Mask of the Red Death.

I love Manga and was excited to see Edgar Allan Poe's work in manga form. The illustrations are beautiful and fit the stories perfectly. This is a great way to get younger readers to read more classics and they might be able to understand his work better as well. I look forward to reading more classics in this format.

Edgar Allan Poe. The mention of his name brings up images of horror and ghost stories. Things that go bump in the night and scare the heck out of you. In the new Manga Classics collection of Poe stories, you will find plenty of chilling tales to read on a dark and stormy night!

This collection includes The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Fall of the House of Usher.

Books in the Manga Classics series are all graphic novels that adapt classic tales into this format so that a new audience can enjoy them. Manga is read in the Japanese tradition from right to left and from the back of the book toward the front. Don’t worry; it’s very easy to get the hang of it!

The illustrations in this volume are superb. You can see the emotions on the characters’ faces and sense the atmosphere of the story by the settings in which the characters are drawn. The scenes are dramatic and haunting, such as the dark room in The Tell-Tale Heart, or the damp caves in The Cask of Amontillado. The masks worn by the characters are sufficiently creepy to give you the chills! The House of Usher is dark and creepy and an atmosphere that would not exactly be a welcoming place for a vacation. All this is conveyed by the artists’ touch in the richly-illustrated pages here.

The stories are told in their original language and the illustrations will help you understand the settings. It’s never been easy to picture the rooms in The Masque of the Red Death, but this graphic version really helped me see what Poe was describing. If you’ve ever read The Cask of Amontillado and wondered what one of those caves looked like, well now you can see for yourself.

Poe’s stories are perfect for anyone who loves to read scary stuff late at night. Grab a copy of this Manga version and start reading!

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

FULL REVIEW TO BE PUBLISHED ON INTRAVENOUS MAGAZINE.
I’ve been a fan of Poe’s work since I discovered both the author. and his creations. Even the life of this man has been of my interest. Also, manga and anime have taught me than even the simplest of the stories can have amazing artwork. “The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe,” which contains five of the most iconic tales of the author adapted by Stacy King, blends them both together with a great result.
Edgar Allan Poe was one the most underrated creators of the past, but this is one of those moments when you see that even with a Japanese look, he can send chills down your spine despite looking gorgeous and creepy at the same time. Yes, a weird, strange, mix, but a successful one.
I would recommend this to anyone that like darkly twisted stories that give you something to think about, but especially for fans of Poe. This manga was a delight to read and see! Looking forward for something like this in the future.

This certainly isn't the only instance of Poe being converted to the graphic novel form, but it's one of the best. In only using five stories we don't get much beyond the household names among the stories he provided us with, but we get the full flavour of them at leisure in these adaptations. Visually, they're great - although I might have knocked off half a star for making the characters beyond the first two stories much too young, and only so as to appease the manga audience. With classics of the genre such as these you can't really go wrong as far as the text is concerned, so this is a highlight of this publisher's catalogue of adapted classics.

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.”

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.

If you haven't read an Edgar Allen Poe story and you are over the age of 14, I'm sorry. I am a little bit of a Poe fanatic. It comes when you have an enthusiastic English teacher in high school. I don't remember acting out these stories (like we did with Shakespeare) but we definitely had a dramatic reading or two and watched The Simpson's The Raven episode. The stories are so dark and despite Poe being an American author, seem like they come from another place. So naturally, when I saw a collection of Edgar Allen Poe stories were available and that they were part of the Manga Classics series, I was sold. Unfortunately, not all of Poe's works are in the collection, but the ones that are included lend themselves especially well to being illustrated.

Stories included:

The Raven
The Tell Tale Heart
Mask of the Red Death
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Cask of Amontillado 

It's hard to critique stories that are such classics. I love most of Poe's stories and the illustrations for each story in this collection are very well done. They make the stories creepier and scarier. And, being the smart person that I am, I read them before bed each night. Thank God I didn't have any weird nightmares about being bricked into a wall (small victories).

If you have liked Poe stories in the past, you will love this! If you haven't really enjoyed his stories in the past, you may not like this, although I would still recommend giving it a try. The pictures can give you a very different reading experience and perspective on what is going on.

If you haven't read any Edgar Allen Poe stories, the Manga Classics edition is a good place to start. Some of the words/language that Poe uses we no longer use today, so the illustrations might make the stories easier to understand (I know they did for me!).

Needless to say, I enjoyed this collection of stories immensely. In terms of stars, I'm giving this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. The illustrations add to the already great stories and the comic-book style delivery of the dialogue and events does not take away anything from the way the reader understands the characters or what's going on. I would highly recommend checking it out!

The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allen Poe and Stacy King came out October 27, 2017

Thank you, NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for this free copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the book. The first thing I noticed though is that when I started reading the ebook edition it started from the back of the book. I had to skip to the last page,315, to get to the beginning of the book. That could just be an error on adobe part but I wanted to mention it. I am a big fan of Edger Allan Poe so I feel honored to have had the chance to read this. I have read all his works and this one has the best classics. My favorite was The Tell Tale Heart, it was excellent! The characters were drawn perfectly to how I imagined them. I loved how you could see his maddening expression as the story went on. And I did enjoy that there was rare instances that differed from the original tale. I also enjoyed the curious facts that appear a few times in this manga adaption. I learned some things I did not know before. Like the beetles in The Tell Tale Heart purpose. The artwork for the raven was especially good. The image of Lenore was incredible. The pages of The Fall of the House of Usher also amazed me. The artist was amazing at recreating the house from the description of Poe tale. Every crack and dead tree was described well. As well as the furnishings and the rooms inside the house. This is a great modern manga version of Edger Allan Poe works. I hope there is more to come!

I was given an early copy of this book for an honest review.

I always love the graphic novels with in the Manga Classics range. The Stories of Edgar Allen Poe are wonderfully presented in this format. I recommend this graphic novel to upper primary grades and higher - it will be popular.

This is the first manga novel that I have read, so took a little getting used to. I picked this up because of Edgar Allen Poe and was curious to see how an artist would draw his work and adapt to this format. It was quite impressive! The stories were true to the original and the drawings pulled out the sinister feel that pervades Poe's work.
Great fun!
Thank you NetGalley and publisher, Udon Publishing, for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is a great manga introduction to the fiction of Edgar Allan Poe. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The artwork was a fantastic addition to the already poetic stories of one of the masters of the macabre.

Many thanks to Udon and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. Great adaptation! I would have loved to see Red Death in color. That would have been quite striking. The heint was a superb rendering. Also the crowd scenes during Carnival in Casque were good. The people were well defined, didn’t look like a pile of shadows. I enjoyed the little fact snippets thrown in at the end of each story. Trivia gems are always appreciated. Another hit, Udon!

I loved Edgar Allen Poe as a teenager, then reread his stories recently and found many of them lurid and immature. This Manga adaptation has breathed new life into them for me and I find I can appreciate them once more. Gorgeous artwork that really captured the spirit of these chilling tales.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley and Udon Entertainment in exchange for an honest review.
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I absolutely loved this manga adaptation of Poe's stories! The art styles were different for each story but beautifully rendered and they very much suited the stories' mood, setting and time period.

I have never read the actual stories of Poe, but these manga adaptations were an absolutely wonderful introduction to his work. I especially loved how the setting and character's expressions were shown during long monologues.

The Masque of the Red Death was my favourite story-wise. As for the art style, I loved all of them equally because the different art styles were so appropriate for each story. I especially loved the way Usher was drawn. His gaunt face and his eyes were very expressive and matched the description from the novel perfectly. The atmosphere of the masquerade in Red Death was absolutely beautiful.

I'll even go as far as to say that I would not have enjoyed all of these stories as much if I had not read them in manga form. This was a great read!

5/5 stars
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Short review on Litsy

ARC provided by NetGalley and Udon Entertainment.
An excellent manga adaptation of Poe's works. I have not previously read these stories and have a feeling I would not enjoy them as much outside of this manga format. The art styles were all distinct and very appropriate for each story. I especially loved the art during the masquerade scene in Masque of the Red Death and the way Usher was drawn in The Fall of the House of Usher.
5/5 stars

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I flipped to the first page (at the back!) of this book. While I've read comics and graphic novels, this was the first manga I have ever picked up. And quite frankly, other than knowing that manga was a popular style of comic, I had no idea what I was in for.

Thankfully, my introduction to manga was a brilliant one. I love classic literature to begin with, and Poe is a particular favourite of mine. I finished a re-read of his complete works only a few months ago, so I was delighted to see this adaptation.

Delighted, and somewhat concerned. All book lovers will be familiar with that tickle of apprehension at the words "adaptation of the classic tale..." None of us want our favourite works sullied by terrible adaptations.

Frankly, I wish these publishers would extend their available library of manga classics, because "The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe" was brilliant. There are several stories in the volume, illustrated (spectacularly!) by separate artists but with similar enough styles to lend a cohesive vision and flow to the overall work. The attention to detail in every single graphic is stunning, and they have managed to encapsulate the creepy, mysterious imaginarium of Poe to fantastic effect. I was even happier when I realized that a couple of the stories that have been selected for graphic adaptation are my favourites from Poe’s oeuvre. This volume contains The Raven; The Cask of Amontillado; The Fall of the House of Usher; and The Tell-Tale Heart; and The Masque of the Red Death. Unbelievably, the artwork somehow manages to capture exactly what I think the scene or the character or the tone of the story should look like, and while I have no idea how they managed it, I applaud the artists!

As an adult, I think this manga is brilliant. As a teenager, I would have thought it mind-blowing. Given how visually-oriented teenagers and young adults are, and how difficult it can be trying to convince them that books are worth the time required to read them, a graphic adaptation of classic literature is a great idea. I really wish these had been around when I was younger, and I seriously encourage people of all ages to have a look at manga classic literature adaptations: they are an excellent gateway to literature (and such pretty pictures, too!). I am honestly considering buying myself a hard copy of this volume, and maybe a couple of others because a) they are just gorgeous, and b) maybe I can convince more people to give classic lit a go if they're introduced to it in this format first?

Excellent read, people!!

I've recently discovered graphic novels and this was my first Manga book. As someone who grew up loving Edgar Allen Poe, I was sceptical about the format and I have to admit that I wasn't sure I'd ever be someone who enjoyed Manga. But this book is great; it's dark and really draws you in.

It took me a few pages to get into the rhythm of reading it (back to front and there is a method to reading the panels) but once I had I loved it.

Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Udon Entertainment and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

THis is such a great way for us to read these classic books that sometimes, quite frankly are boring. Ive always loved Edgar Allan Poe's stories and seeing them in manga(comic) form was great. The artwork was wonderful. it brought his stories to new life.

Edgar Allan Poe is a prolific writer whose works have been read again and again by a great number of people. I, myself, have only truly really liked a small number of his works though I know many who deeply adore much more than that. For me, horror has never been my most enjoyed genre. And yet, as a result of my reading a number of my previously beloved stories in graphic novel or manga format, I found myself curious about how the works of Poe would translate into such a format. And I can say that, while certainly creepy at times, the illustrations truly worked to move my interest in a more developed manner.

There was certainly something quite fascinating about reading <i>The Tell Tale Heart</i> in the format of a manga. Naturally, the tale was dark and the images would reflect that, but somehow I enjoyed reading it quite a lot more than I ever initially had while reading the story on its own. To have the character telling the story while in a mental institution was, quite frankly, masterful to see and I enjoyed the other works illustrated in this book much more as well. It’s amazing, truly, what a few brilliant illustrations can do.

Ultimately, I was a lot more impressed than I imagined I would be. Initially I had requested this out of curiosity and as a result of having friends who have enjoyed the works of Poe for nearly their whole lives and I am pleased to say that I see this as a well-crafted and enjoyable restructuring of the stories we have all, at some point in our lives, been introduced to.

<i>I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, Edgar Allan Poe stories are made for Manga. 1) Reading from the back of the book to the front seems so Poe already. 2) Manga artwork is unusual, odd, and powerful - all things you can say about Poe's writing. 3) Manga gets at the essence of a tale.

This collection of Poe's work transformed into Manga is amazing. I flew through the book and was disappointed when I came to the end (which here is the beginning). I wanted more. I need that book in my collection. I want to re-read it often. Seeing Poe's words illustrated created an eerie atmosphere. I felt urgency. I felt fear. I felt dispair. This was the perfect reading experience.

Okay, as a former English teacher I am all for finding a way to take classic stories and make them more interesting for the modern day student-reader. Also, just as a side note 2018 has been my year to read a lot of manga and graphic novels.

So, I was set to give a review of THE STORIES OF EDGAR ALLAN POE a Manga Classic by Udon Entertainment. It features some of Poe’s most commonly read stories such as: THE RAVEN, THE TELL TALE HEART, THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO, THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, and THE MASQUE OF RED DEATH.

Now, I know these are the most common Poe stories that are read, but they are also (excluding the Usher story) my absolute favorite. I will review the classic itself and at the end of this post recommend some other Poe reads and adaptations for you to enjoy.

So, the story opens with THE TELL TALE HEART a story of a psychotic man who tries to prove that he is not psychotic by describing how he murdered an old man with a creepy eye and the sound of the dead man’s heart drove him to confess. Again, he believes he is not crazy.

I was happy to see that Poe’s original dialogue was not mangled by being put into a manga. I also had the thought of, “Wait, why does this guy hang out with this old man?” In all the time I have been reading Poe, I never thought to wonder how the narrator was involved with the old man to begin with. Was he a relative? Was he a Victorian version of a hired CNA to care for the old geezer?

Following this short story is THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO. My favorite parts to this story are: the word amontillado; the aspect of the man being drunk and panicking as he watches someone close him up in a wall. Like, imagine a parody retelling of this story. It would be hilarious.

THE RAVEN follows that story. Here the artwork is what intrigued me most, since the poem is something I am all too familiar with at this point in my life. The narrator is drawn to be younger than most other depictions cast him. I think the tragedy of the story itself that is represented in the poem is better illuminated given that you are seeing a younger narrator. The little facts about the poem that are presented at the end of the story said that Poe at one point debated using a parrot instead of a raven as the bird of choice. Imagine if we had grown up with Iago from Alladin reciting that poem. Now I just want to see it because…well, it is a thought now.

The next story is my all time favorite story to teach, read, analyze and that is THE MASQUE OF RED DEATH. Any time I see anything that is hinting at this story I give off a little fangirl squeal. The story itself can be analyzed in so many ways and that would be a blog post all on its own. Lets just say the artwork was wonderfully done. I again loved this story.

Last is THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. I first encountered this story in eleventh grade and I have not been a fan ever since. I don’t find much enjoyment in this story. I don’t fully understand it. Lets just say I was glad it was last because I just wanted to get through it.



Overall, I loved this retelling collection. I loved that manga was the art form used. Are there Poe pop-up books because that would be awesome as well. For anyone wanting to encounter the classics in a new way I definitely recommend this series as they also have many other classics in manga form from ROMEO & JULIET to SENSE AND SENSIBILITY.

Definitely give it *****.

Now, if you want some Poe retelling in your life let me recommend the following:



THE RAVEN (2012) A movie that follows Poe through a mystery of finding his girlfriend while someone is killing people using his stories as inspiration.

THE MASQUE OF RED DEATH by Bethany Griffin: This is a dystopian novel based around a Poe like world and society. It is a duology and I fell head over heels for it when i first read it in 2013.

*~.Book Analysis.~*
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader :)

Rating: 5 stars
Reading period: Nov. 29th, 2018
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley – I have received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: Oct. 27th, 2017

PROS
I don’t even know where to begin! I have read a fair share of Poe’s works so far and I love almost everything I’ve read. To see such classics turned into manga with such quality and great adaptations is a dream come true!
Udon Entertainment chose some of my favorite stories to adapt and I must say everything looked even spookier with real images! Brr, why am I shivering in this warm weather??

CONS
Why only 5 stories?? Why only one volume?? Oooh, I wish Udon Entertainment did adaptations of all his stories! :(

COVER ANALYSIS
Just as Poe’s stories, this cover gave me the creeps! It’s beautiful, but full of fear and horror! I meant it all on a good way, I swear, haha!

RECOMMENDED FOR
Manga, Comics and Classic lovers!

Know what's better than reading Edgar Allen Poe's stories? Reading them in a Manga format!
Although I am still getting use to manga and the whole reading right to left system, it was a bit of a struggle to read, but honestly, it's so worth it.

The illustrations are beautifully drawn, freakishly eerie, and detailed to a level I wasn't expecting. I love graphic and these were definitely GRAPHIC, but I think that will work well for those who aren't into reading as much as seeing the story unfold.

I have always enjoyed "Tell-Tale Heart", "The Masque of the Red Death", and "The Cask of Amontillado", which is my favorite story, but what I enjoyed most about this version of the stories is that the images to words ratio is balanced perfectly. The spines of the plots are there, but the meat is presented differently, which made these stories both familiar and refreshing to me (as someone who adores Poe).

A huge thank you to Udon Entertainment and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this.

Like some other comic book adaptations of classic works, this book chooses to include the full text of each story, broken down across various panels. This approach either works very well or very poorly because it's hard to take word-heavy stories by writers like Poe and put it in dialogue balloons and description panels without making the story seem overdone.
In this case, the approach works very well. Stacy King's done an excellent job of organizing the text into just the right panels for dramatic effect, and the art is consistently great throughout. The art's style varies a little between each story due to the different artists, but it always finds ways to imply more than show violence, a trick that makes the stories terrifying without being disgusting. A very artful and compelling adaptation of Poe.

Thank you to Netgally and Oudon Entertainment for providing me a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Overall Rating: 5 Stars
Individual Ratings and Reviews:
The Tell-Tale Heart by Virginia-Nitouhei: 5/5
I love this story. I find how Poe writes the story and the manga version worked together really well. The artwork in the manga really brought the story to life. It allowed me, as a reader, to see the slow decline of the narrator not only through his words bu this expressions. I loved this.
The Cask of Amontillado by Chagen: 4.75/5
I had read this story for a class before and we had discussed the complex tones of this story. I really loved how the manga artist caught the dark undertone of Montrestor. They also caught his cunning flattery to get Fortunato to do what he wants. This was so good.
The Raven by Uka Nagao: 5/5
Wow this brought a new depth to this poem. I have always liked The Raven but this made me appreciate so much more depth in it. The added story that the manga artist did for this was absolutely amazing and made me look at this poem in a new light.
Also fun fact about ravens: they can imitate human speech and sound human when they speak. Which makes the raven in this even more creepy.
The Masque of the Red Death by Pikomaro: 4.5/5
This was one Poe's stories that I hadn't read yet and wow. I am honestly shocked by this story and it's underlying tones, it's so good. Poe's words and themes work so well with the manga artist who worked on this. The artist was able to capture the undertones of the story and make it creepy right when it was right. This was well done.
The Fall of the House of Usher by Linus Liu and Man Yiu: 4/5
This one was always one of my least favorite Poe works as I feel it drags a bit. However, the artwork in this really made it ten times better for me. I loved seeing the visual of this story and the slow decline of Usher. This was sufficiently creepy and I'm feeling a bit jumpy after this story. The artwork for this was perfect for the story.
Overall, I throughly enjoyed this Manga Classic. I have wanted to read the Edgar Allan Poe one for awhile now and I was happy to be given a copy of it. I loved the art style of this manga series and the fact that it brought so many different artists together. Every artist caught the themes and the nature of every story or poem that they told. The stories they picked were sufficiently creepy and the artwork added more depth to these stories. This is a book I will be buying a physical copy of in the future as I loved it that much and want it in my manga collection.

I’ve always been an Edgar Allan Poe fan and read a lot of his works. That being said there were a few I had not read so it was an exciting new way to experience the ones I hadn’t read. For the ones I had I really enjoyed the way the art bought the expressions together. Poe was the perfect choice to make into manga because the artists really captured the expression of horror involved with his writing. The artists chosen for this collection did a great job.
I think this is perfect for horror and Poe fans alike and I would love to see more volumes of his work done. I can’t wait to check out more from the Manga Classics line.

I teach Poe and this would be very helpful for students. One thing they struggle with is the language of classics. The manga does a great job of combining the original text with images to clarify.

The stories are the perfect choice. I really enjoyed this series.

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 of Amantillado, The Raven, 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.**

Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe by Stacy King, 308 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL
Udon Entertainment, 2017. $24.
Language: PG (3 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS – ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
This collection includes four short stories and one poem by Edgar Allen Poe, each illustrated by a different artist. These classics have new life breathed into them as the illustrators skillfully help readers visualize Poe’s works.
I feel like my mind is blown and my understanding is expanded every time I read a Manga Classic. My favorite of the works in this collection is The Raven because it was a poem that I had a hard time relating to in high school. Reading it in this context, I feel like I understand Poe and he understands me – separated through time as we are. The mature content and violence ratings are for the Poe-ness of the stories, including murder and ill intent that is presented as a solution to problems.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I always heard things about Edgar Alan Poe; mysterious, gothic, depressed, creepy and <i>death</i>, but I never dared pick a book or a poem by him. Why, you may ask? Because I'm a coward. There you have it.

I'm always scared to venture outside my comfort zone, especially when it comes to reading, because I'm always scared it will ruin my reading patterns and habits. So, when I got the chace to see the words "Manga classics", combining my two favourite things, I jumped to the opporunity.

The stories included in this books are:
- The Tell-Tale Heart
- The Raven
- The Mask of the Red Death
- The Cask of Amontillado
- The Fall of the House of Usher

Each story is more captivating than the other, and between each story there's a little information about Edgar, how he was raised, and an interesting thing that caught my attention was that he was paid $10 for his manuscript of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” nearly $314 (3,040 MAD) in today's economy.

My favourite story is "The Raven", because it's a poem and the writing style is captivating and enchanting, and I loved how the action and the words got you so intoxicated.

Another thing is how well the theme are shown in each story in a dark twisted way, like how the progression of life was despicated in "The Mask of the Red Death", the madness and the dept of insanity in "The Tell-Tale Heart", and the conflict of the soul and the self-hatred is described in a imaginitive way in "The Cask of Amontillado".

I'm totally gonna check the other stories of Poe, and read the other Manga Classics, since there's also Jane Austen's <i>Sense and Sensibilty</i> and <i>Emma</i>, and Emily Bronté's <i>Jane Eyre</i>.

Having read Poe’s works many years ago and new to Manga Classics, I was interested to see how the stories of Edgar Allan Poe could be interpreted. I was pleasantly surprised how well two formats worked and have been combined lovingly with the 5 stories of Poe presented with the respect they deserve by the different artists tasked with interpreting them.

I think it will be appreciated more by those who are fans of manga and graphic novels, hopefully introducing Poe to them for the first time and creating new fans of such an influential writer.

As for fans of Edgar Allan Poe like me, it just encouraged me to go back and read the stories again after such a long time.

Basically, a win for all readers.

This was surprisingly true to the source material. It was also interesting to experience an artist's interpretation of Poe's work. In this case, the art was quite spartan, rather than going into the detail that artist's renderings of gothic stories so often are. While I don't think this should ever serve as a substitute for the original, it's definitely an excellent way for readers to get to know Poe's work, especially since the art manages to convey the themes of fear, darkness, and madness in quite a compelling way.

Definitely worth picking up for fans of manga, younger readers, or readers who work better with visual cues rather than just words on the page.

I'm a big EAP fan as well as a graphic novel fan. I knew I would want to check this out since I am not very experienced with manga.

This collection chose some of the most famous and discussed Edgar Allan Poe stories. I found the artwork to complement the stories perfectly.