Tales of Mystery and Madness by Edgar Allen Poe (Illustrated by Chris Grimly)

"What happens when you combine one of the masters of Horror with some truly unsettling illustrations? This book. And it is both stunning and unsettling all at the same time. "

5 Stars

Pros: An awesomely unique way to bring Poe's stories to life/Hop Frog, now that was a good story, always cheering for the underdog. They all got what they deserved.

Cons: As with most comic books, there were points where the inking was difficult to read since it was made to look like handwriting.

Full Review:

The book is comprised of 4 stories by Poe. The Black Cat. The Red Plague. Hop Frog and The Fall of the House of Usher.

I had already read The Black Cat and few of Poe's other stories, so I knew what to expect but the other three stories were duly unsettling, since this is Edgar Allen Poe after all.

What made this book stand out was the illustrations that went along with it. It was an interesting mix between a children's book and a comic book. Each illustration helped bring home the point of the text. And though all of the text was verbatim from each story (as far as I could tell) the illustrations made it easy to see what Poe was getting at, even if you didn't understand all of the words.

This was given to me as a Christmas gift and it's truly special. The illustrations made the atmosphere and bone deep chilling essence of Poe's story truly come to life. Grimly does an incredible job of adding visuals to help bring Poe's insanity to life.

Comments

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