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Graphic Classics: Bram Stoker
Oh, what an awful scan. What’s new, right? Anyway, I’d heard of this series but hadn’t seen it before. It’s a great idea, having some really talented people interpret stories from various literary figures. They also have Jack London, Ambrose Bierce and H.P. Lovecraft (I’d love to see that one), which all begs the obvious question: where’s Edgar Allen Poe? Just curious. Here are the names in this that you might recognize: Jeremi Onsmith, Hunt Emerson, Spain Rodriguez, and Richard Sala. Various stories from Bram Stoker are interpreted here, some as pictures accompanying text and others just as illustrated versions of stories. Certain artists would take chunks of stories too, as a few different people did parts of Dracula (with the Hunt Emerson illustrated “strengths and weaknesses of vampires” being my favorite. Basically if you like the Big Book series from DC or like the work of the author in question, they’ve done a great job with this book. Well worth a look, especially considering that it’s only $9.95 for a fat book. Check out the website, why don’t you?
Graphic Classics: Mark Twain
I love the fact that nobody spent any time in this interpreting The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Clemens (that’s his real name, as a tiny bit of my schoolin’ is clinging to my brain) had pearls of wisdom and quirky little short stories that have probably never been equaled, and that’s what everybody here focused on. The Mysterious Stranger, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, A Dog’s Tale, P.T. Barnum and the Cardiff Giant, and A Ghost Story are a few of the stories in this book. I’d only heard of two people in this one (Rick Geary and Mary Fleener), but it’s obviously a lot more fun than the Bram Stoker volume. It is worth your time to actually seek out some of his books, but this is perfect to introduce children to his work or just a great collection of his stories. It’s still only $9.95 and everything I’ve seen of this series so far shows me that it’s a blast. Website!
Graphic Classics: Edgar Allen Poe
There’s probably not a single author out there more responsible for my sense of wonder as a human being as Edgar Allen Poe (with the possible exception of Tolkien). It probably had a lot to do with the fact that we were taught genuinely horrific stories in grade school about being buried alive, murder, plague and torture. It’s obvious, right from the gushing introduction from Joe Lansdale, that this whole book is a labor of love. All of the favorites are covered here (although there are plenty that aren’t, as there just aren’t enough pages in the world to do this man justice and still have the book be less than $100), and even the story of The Raven is redone in an interesting way, something that I didn’t think was possible after seeing tributes/rip-offs from all manner of media over the years. If there’s some way that you’ve made it to this point in your life without reading any of Poe’s work, check this out, as it’s only $9.95. I read it at work, in broad daylight, while listening to country music (hey, I don’t have control of the radio station), and I’m still creeped out and jumping at random noises. Buy this, but also check out his prose work, as I’m going to try and find a decent collection of his for the next thing on my reading list. Contact info is up there!
Posted by Kevin 
