The Autumn People

by Ray Bradbury

Comic book versions of stories from E.C. · Foreword · fw · There Was an Old Woman · ss Weird Tales Jul ’44 · The Screaming Woman · ss Today May 27 ’51 · Touch and Go! · ss Detective Book Magazine Nov ’48; ; as “The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl”, EQMM Jan ’53 · The Small Assassin · ss Dime Mystery Magazine Nov ’46 · The Handler · ss Weird Tales Jan ’47 · The Lake · ss Weird Tales May ’44 · The Coffin [“Wake for the Living”] · ss Dime Mystery Magazine Sep ’47 · Let’s Play “Poison” · ss Weird Tales Nov ’46

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Classics

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).

The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".

Reviews

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Just when the idea occurred to her that she was being murdered she could not tell...."

Basking in the beautifully written works of Ray Bradbury is always a favorite past time of mine 🖤 This is a great short read with some wickedly wonderful comic style illustrations to go along with these creepy tales!

[Aaron Francione · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frazetta cover art, Bradbury stories, & Tales from the Crypt comics. That's a triple threat. This book is out of print and somewhat of a collectible. It features the collection of Bradbury stories that were adapted by Al Feldstein into comic form for EC's infamous Tales From the Crypt comics. It’s a little strange reading the book sideways, as that is how the panels are printed, but that simply adds to the novelty of this fun book.

[Mark Oppenlander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an illustrated (comic strip) version of eight of Ray Bradbury's classic short stories. It's an intriguing book, but more interesting as an anomaly than anything. I had read all of these stories before finding them here, so there were no surprises for me. However, it was fun to watch how a mid-60's illustrator, Albert D. Feldstein, adapted them into "pulp" style comics. (Although it was a little frustrating to have to turn the book on its side to read them, but that's a minor quibble.)

My final takeaway from reading this was that Bradbury's work is so evocative that it is probably best left in one's imagination. My visualization of these stories is still stronger in my mind's eye than anything the well-intentioned Mr. Feldstein could create for me. I've felt the same way about most of the film adaptations of Bradbury's work too. None of them live up to what I feel when I read his prose.

[The Literary Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comic book version of some of Bradbury's creepiest tales. Favorite paragraph; The music began to play. . . .It was green music. Organ music, very slow and melancholy, typical of gothic arches and long black tapers. It smelled of earth and whispers. It echoed between stone walls. . . . It was music of potted plants and Crimson and blue stained windows. It was late sun at twilight and a cold wind blowing. It was a dawn with only fog and a far away fog horn moaning. . .

[Donald Kirch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ray Bradbury and "EC Comics!" What a winning team. The best memories of childhood. Hide behind your couch when reading this one!

[Dope Ghost Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 1965 collection of black-and-white E.C. Comics adapting Ray Bradbury stories...the monochrome comic book version of The October Country!

I was lucky to receive a copy of this from its original printing. The paperback binding is still good, all of the pages were intact, and there was very little wear & tear. Having read all of the stories before in their original printed format, there was no element of surprise to be had. Still, the stories are faithfully adapted into comic form and my personal favorites from this particular experimental collection were "The Small Assassin" and "The Coffin", although "The Lake" and "Let's Play Poison!" are very well-done. All of the illustrations look great and there's really this macabre Autumnal feeling about this collection that's not exactly emitting October vibes, but it feels perfect to read in either September or November.

I'm going to be more active on this platform for the next couple of months (hopefully).

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea this even existed, but I’m so glad I was able to pick up a copy. You don’t really see comics in this paperback format typically. It was really cool to see. Obviously Bradbury’s storytelling is fantastic, and the art is consistently great throughout. Definitely felt reminiscent of the other EC horror comics I’ve read. The only thing that I felt didn’t always work was when they tried to do a double page spread a lot of the artwork gets lost in the fold, but I understand why they did it. Again, very happy with my purchase.

[Anthony A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book was a comic book, many of the stories were stories that were brand new. I have been reading every one of Ray Bradbury's book from the very beginning and only a couple of the stories were repeats. When I ordered this book, I was not aware that it was a comic book, but the art is good and I ended up enjoying the book. On to his short story collection "I Sing the Body Electric."

[Scott Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book.

A few of the stories are also in Bradbury’s ‘The October Country’ but it’s great to see them illustrated.

I used to buy reprints of the old EC Comics books years ago and this took me right back to then

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

8 short stories illustrated in the E.C. Comics style - black and white and super creepy!

Loved to see “The Small Assassin” in here! One of my favorites by him! “See, baby? Something bright! Something shiny!”

Not the 8 best stories by Bradbury, but still very entertaining, and creepy! And several of them were new reads for me, so that was even better! Definitely enjoyed the format!

[Saranya · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read, as with all Bradbury books. Kept me interested and wanting more. Definitely recommend.

[Bill]

Very good comic adaptations of Ray Bradbury horror stories. I first read it in the 60's and I still have vivid memories of the book.

[Roy Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took some time to get accustomed to the sideways format of reading EC Comics in a mass market paperback, but it wasn't so distracting that it spoiled the book. As I read those comics, I found myself amazed that I hadn't read so many of Bradbury's horror stories in one book before. The fact that they were in comic form only made it better. The illustrations did not detract from Bradbury's original text, and in fact enhanced it. After his death, I purchased this and another EC mass market collection, Tomorrow Midnight, which leans more toward the sci-fi/fantasy style than straight horror. I'll have to read it soon so that I can compare them. As for The Autumn People, I loved it. If you can find a copy (they seem pretty rare), I recommend it.

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this paperback on my boyfriend's shelf and wanted to throw something at him for not bringing it to my attention sooner as I love all things Bradbury. I was surprised and pleased to find it's actually an illustrated version of some of Bradbury's more popular stories. The graphic novel/comic book approach was old-school and enjoyable, and Bradbury's portrayal of children is both touching and frightening (I'm convinced Bradbury's terrified of children, and rightly so). The Little Assassin has long been a favorite story, and the small illustrated version in this copy didn't detract even an iota from my initial feelings.

It'll be a sad day for me when Bradbury dies.

[Jenna Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a sucker for anything Bradbury and anything graphic novel. When I stumbled across the existance of this book I kind of died a little bit inside. My paperback edition is old but it is in great condition with some nice yellowing/ oranging on the pages. It was a pretty quick read and just as great as when I had read those stories originally. I'm very happy to have been able to aquire a copy of this book and it looks wonderful among my other Bradbury books.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a paperback copy of this. It's an illustrated version of some of Bradbury's finer horror stories. I didn't find it as good as I'd hoped, perhaps because I'd already so strongly visualized the stories when reading them as prose.

[Dmk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Addams family with poetic narratives. Wonderfully written and very wierd, but sometimes boring.