31 Days of Halloween - Day 18

Edgar Allan Poe's Spirits of the Dead - By Richard Corben
Dark Horse Books. 2014


Richard Corben is no stranger to adapting the works of Edgar Allan Poe to comics, having previously done so for Creepy and Eerie back in the 1970s. Now with a bit more room to breathe he has adapted a number of stories which appear collected here. Like Roger Corman's movie adaptations, Corben's interpretations stem from a mood or theme that Poe established in his poems, and filled out a narrative that built on that mood or theme and has turned them into a successful narrative adaptation. While Corben's almost sculpted, full color artwork may not seem to be what many people would think of as the most suitable style for adapting Poe, it works beautifully, grotesquely, or both simultaneously. This is not even the end of Corben's Poe adaptations, but is is a really nice collection and a welcome addition for fans of Poe, or Corben, to add to their library.