Despeyroux,
Denise. Dark
Graphic Tales by Edgar Allen Poe. Enslow 96p $25.26 978-0-7660-4086-1 ms/hs Series:
Dark Graphic Novels
(Enslow) VG-BN Graphic novel
The essential elements of the creepy
nature of Poe’s tales are retained in text and darkly illustrated with
attention to background detail. The tales include “The Gold Bug”, “The Fall of the House
of Usher”
and “The
System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether”. This is
an English translation of a book originally published in Spanish in 2009. The illustrations are
indeed dark in color as well as tone, and there is great attention to detail regarding the interiors of houses and things
found in the countryside. The inmates
of an asylum in the lesser-known tale of “Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether” are deftly drawn. The
collection is suitable for students in upper-elementary school as well
as older students, who will be drawn into telling
of these early horror stories. This is
a perfect book to share on a camping trip under the
stars or read by flashlight at home on a night when the electric power
fails. It is just spooky
enough to thrill but not enough to give younger readers nightmares. Some American readers
may bristle at the use of words such as “idiot” and “moron” in the “Gold Bug”. The
author keeps the text faithful to the broad context of the original tale, thus bringing the
stories into contemporary times and a new generation of readers.
The series Dark Graphic Novels contains three books, featuring stories by Poe, stories by Shelley, and a collection of many
horror stories by various authors. The graphic-novel format features text that is
faithful to the original stories and illustrations that are dark in color and
mood, increasing the sense of
impending dread. It is strongly
recommended for school libraries to introduce students to classic horror
stories and novels in an easy-to-read
graphic-novel format. -- Lois McNicol
Macabre – Fiction,
Ghost stories, Short stories
