Book Review: Dark Horse Edgar Allan Poe Stories by Richard Corben

Dark Horse Edgar Allan Poe Sampler by Richard Corben

Dark Horse Comics has a long tradition of publishing horror comics. They have a series of Edgar Allan Poe stories adapted and illustrated by Richard Corben. Corben's work is a lot rougher and less beautiful than many other illustrators. His visuals have a bit of exploitation to them, especially depicting females with overdone curves and underdressed. He works in the horror genre, so the style is typical. He has done some stories in Hellboy that I liked though I find his art a bit off-putting. His style is evocative but unappealing. Here's a rundown of the various stories available: 

Conqueror Worm--Poe's poem is rather brief and abstract, so Corben crafts a narrative inspired by bits of the poem. A group of well-to-do people are invited to a puppet show that reenacts a travesty that happens at the beginning of the story. The tale is very grim and ugly, ending with grave worms killing everyone. I didn't think Corben's story was good on its own, even with its roots in the poem.

The Raven--A man is tormented one night over the loss of his beloved Lenore, though is he tormenting himself or is the raven that has gotten into the house driving him crazy? Corben gives a little more about Lenore than is in the poem and leans toward the self-tormenting interpretation. The art is less tawdry than in other Corben stories and he does a great job adapting the famous poem to a comic-book format.

The Red Death--King Prospero's kingdom is falling to a plague. Rather than provide humanitarian assistance to the people, he throws an extravagant and decadent party in his castle which has been quarantined. Guests can wear any color but red and can indulge in any activity in a variety of color-themed rooms. At midnight, he discovers a guest dressed in red which makes him angry. Fear streaks through the guests as the red-dressed guest is unkillable. He is the Red Death, spreading the plague over the partygoers. Corben does a good job contrasting the decadence of the elite and the plight of the poor at the beginning, making the ending more like just desserts than tragic loss. He is surprisingly restrained in depicting the debauchery, I was expecting a much more R-rated experience.

The Premature Burial--An engaged couple is bickering in a graveyard. He wants a taste of the marriage bed before they are lawfully wed. She refuses. He gives her some drugged wine. Since it's 1840 or so, the doctors assume she is dead and don't embalm her before a rushed burial. The guy comes to the graveyard to dig her up and have his way with her. She comes to just as he is about to assault her. She beats him off and flees, not realizing she hit him hard enough to knock him out. Well, he's mistaken for dead and buried in the same spot. More complications follow, if you can believe it.

Corben's plotting is salacious but also intriguing. The motivations are a bit mixed but the ending hits the mark. The original story is completely different, with a disturbed person writing about the horrors of being buried alive and his obsession with it which almost destroys his life. Again, there's very little connection with Poe.

The Cask of Amontillado--An old man named Montressor brings a widow into his wine cellar. He regales her of the tale of what happened to her husband, Fortunato. During a carnival many years ago, Montressor bought a cask of Amontillado wine and wanted a friend to confirm it as the real thing. He wandered through the evening street festival and he ran into Fortunato, who insisted on trying the wine even though he was not the friend with refined tastes. Montressor took him to the cellar where he walled him up. Old man Montressor claims there was some insult or some other thing that justified the deed but the widow flees for the police. Montressor has already decided to drug himself to death, so he is not worried as he has a last drink by Fortunato's wall.

Corben's art fits well with the grimness of the story and captures the awfulness of the situation. The original Poe story is more straightforward with clear knowledge of the insult and clear embracing of the evil of his act.

The Fall of the House of Usher--Allan rides through a creepy forest. It's so creepy that his horse flees before they arrive at the House of Usher. Allan has been summoned by his friend Roderick Usher. Roderick lives with his sister Madeline alone in the house (except for one butler). The recent flooding has forced them to move the coffins and corpses of the Ushers into the foyer, not the most pleasant introduction to the house. Roderick is extremely odd, using his sister as a nude model being the least odd of his habits. She comes to Allan and begs to be taken away for she fears her brother. The plea turns out to be too late as she dies after Roderick finishes an amazing likeness of her in paint. They lay her to rest in the basement. Allan discover more unhappy secrets as things come crashing down figuratively and literally.

Corben combines the Usher story with Poe's The Oval Portrait, raising the creepiness level. Roderick is a very disturbing character and nearly completely unsympathetic. This telling feels more like it is wallowing in misery rather than tragedy. Again, his art is borderline sexist in the ridiculously voluptuous female characters.

Morella--Myron is sick of his wife, Morella, who dabbles in the occult. She unexpectedly dies but tells him on her deathbed that her daughter Orella will come and take care of him. Orella is a step-daughter who is the spitting image of her mom, which turns into trouble for all concerned.

The tale is quite salacious, especially with the underdressed Morella trying to manipulate the situation. The Poe story has the wife as educated in the arcane but not necessarily occult. She gives birth to a child as she dies and the little girl grows up to be too much like her mother. So Corben takes liberties to condense the tale, though I find his version much less satisfying than Poe's.

Murders in the Rue Morgue--This classic tale follows Dupin, a Parisian gentleman who is fascinated by a newspaper report of two deaths by violence that seem inexplicable. He investigates with cool logic and thoroughness, solving the mystery. The ending is very bloody (it is a Corben adaptation, after all) but follows the original quite well.

The visual storytelling is a bit more interesting in this tale and fits better than others. The odd-looking people match the odd atmosphere and strange resolution of the mystery.

Overall, I still find Corben's style unlikeable even though I appreciate it. He has a running character called Mag the Hag who provides some commentary and the occasional joke, much like the Crypt Keeper in Tales from the Crypt. She's a bit vulgar, with oversized breasts and a bit of a leer. Again, she fits Corben's typical style which I just find unedifying. It's better to read Poe's stories than to read these comics.

Not recommended unless you are into Corben's art.