Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities EDGAR ALLAN POE

The earliest POE biography comic just turned up...

from ENCHANTING LOVE 2
(Kirby Publishing / November 1949)
"THE BEAUTIFUL ANNABEL LEE"
Art by Bill Draut & Bruno Premiani

https://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2020/03/poe-1949-pt-4.html

SEVERAL years overdue...

from SPELLBOUND #2
(Marvel / April 1952)
comes the 3rd comics version of Poe's
"THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM"
Art by Russ Heath

http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2015/11/poe-1952-pt-2.html

My latest acquisiton & restoration!

JOYAS DE LA LITERATURA #128
cover by HERNAN L. SUAREZ
(Nueva Impresora y Editora S.A. /
Niesa Editores / Mexico / 2003)
"EL ESCARAJO DE ORO" / Version 17
Adaptation by Emmanuel Hass L / Text by Antonella Samamniego /
Art by BENITO GONZALEZ

This was the very first of these books I ever saw online, 4 or 5 years ago. But until a couple weeks back, NOBODY had ever had one up for sale! This was half of an Ebay auction, where I didn't NEED the other book... but put in for it anyway. About 6 days later... I "won" the auction, as the ONLY bidder. I could have done without the suspense.

The color plate registration on this cover is not very good... a shame, as it's otherwise a gorgeous piece of work. the color ion the INTERIOR story is also pretty gorgeous. The big question is, will I ever get around to processing this book to put it up?

IN THE SHADOW OF EDGAR ALLAN POE
cover by STEPHEN PARKE (Vertigo / DC / October 1, 2002)

This may be one of my LEAST-FAVORITE items I've gotten ahold of, in my entire mammoth Poe project. Which is rather shocking. It's a BOGUS "Poe biography", which not only adds a horrific, supernatural element to his real-life misery, but also takes any hopeful, uplifting elements of his relationships and DRAGS THEM THRU THE DIRT.

I guess this is what "Vertigo" books tended to be at DC. The only "Vertigo" I've actually bought in the past was the run of "SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE", and while I enjoyed the crime element and the slowly-building character relationships, on at least one instance I wrote in a letter to complain about the EXCESSIVE PERVERSITY of some of Matt Wagner's stories. (I got a response from the editor... who apparently mis-interpreted what I was saying. Very odd.)

When I first started this project, and for the longest time in, I had no intention of dealing with Poe biographies. I've since changed my mind... but THIS one... a purely-fictional biography, may have been stretching that point too far.

NOT reccomended... unless you like reading stories that make you wanna kill yourself by the time you're done.

The single longest story in this entire project so far:

LE AVENTURES DE GORDON PYM
(Collection LeRuban Rouge / Librairie Arth?me Fayard /
France / 1948)
art by BERNARD LAMOTTE

https://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2020/07/poe-1948-pt-2.html

Possibly the single most time-consuming "upgrade" I've ever done...

from YELLOWJACKET COMICS #4
(Charlton / December 1944)
comes the 1st comics version of Poe's
"THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER"
Art by Gus Schrotter

http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2018/05/poe-1944-pt-9.html

Okay, a week late on scanning & processing, but... MY LATEST ACQUISITION (and minor cover clean-up)...

PANICO #3
(Safari Editorial, S.A. / Mexico / 2000 ?)
"Enterrado Vivo" ("The Premature Burial")
Adaptation & Art by Ruben Jaimes

This publisher is a real mystery. Apart from ads on a variety of sites (including Ebay) by ONE seller who got his hands on a number of titles from them, I have not been able to find ANY info about them ANYWHERE online.

I have to make a wild guess that the book came out sometime between 1990 - 2000, based entirely on a photo of a cell-phone in a PHONE SEX advert on the back cover. (Yes, that's what I said.)

I just happened to see the cover on Ebay by dumb luck. I couldn't miss the title "Enterrado Vivo", or the cover painting obviously based on the poster for 'X-- THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES" with Ray Milland, made the same year as Corman's "THE PREMATURE BURIAL".

Yes, the story is very loosely based on Poe's story (though his name is not mentioned anywhere in the book), it seems slightly inspired by the Corman film, but it's also partly... a WESTERN. Go figure.

I couldn't get the sticker off, I wasn't even going to try, and while it looks a bit beat-up, I decided the best thing was to just adjust the brightness & contrast slightly, and leave the rest of it AS-IS.

This book is, oddly, 4" wide x 5-5/8" high. So, bigger than a "mini-comic", but smaller than a "digest".

from SUNDAY CITIZEN / SUNDAY EXTRA
(Co-Operative Press, Ltd. / London / England / April 24, 1966)

"THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM" / Version 7

Art by FRANK BELLAMY

http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2021/08/poe-1966-pt-1.html

To date, the single MOST time-consuming part of this project:

from MINI TERROR #132
(Editorial Argumentos, S.A. / EDAR / Mexico / May 10, 1969)
comes the 11th comics version of Poe's
"THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER"
Art by Juan Reyes

http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2020/11/poe-1969-pt-6.html

Just looking at the Frank Bellamy art. Lovely Prof. Thanks for that.

Bellamy is a bit of a legend on this side of the pond.

I hate doing anything twice, let alone THREE times, but here we go...

from STRANGE FANTASY 4
(Ajax-Farrell / February 1953)
comes this sequel to Poe's
"THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO"
Story & Art by [IGER SHOP] / NOW IN COLOR!!

http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2015/11/poe-1953-pt-1.html

[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.c...jjYkkqsm1tqEynF-9YNv5yfuxd5phsDv-=s16000[/img]

from TIT-BITS 1991
(Editorial Manuel Lainez S.A. / Argentina / August 1947)
comes the 1st illustrated story version of Poe's
"THE GOLD BUG"
Art by AMADIO

https://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2020/07/poe-1947-pt-7.html

This one's really "different"...

from HORROR #5:
(Gino Sansoni Editore / Italy / April 1970)

"IL FARO" ("THE LIGHTHOUSE")

Story by Edgar Allan Poe & Robert Bloch
Art by GINO BATTAGLIA

AND, from FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #53
(Warren Publications / January 1969)

Photo-illustrations supplied by Forrest J. Ackerman

http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2022/06/poe-1970-pt-2.html


And while I'm at it... here's the "Gallery Of Illustrations"
by various artists from 1953-2022

http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2022/06/poe-1970-pt-3.html

This one's entirely thanks to the help of Canadian fan Richard Gagnon...

from PROMETHEAN ENTERPRISES #2:
(Promethean Enterprises / May 1970)

"THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH"

Art by ROBERT INWOOD

http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2022/06/poe-1970-pt-4.html

from DOSSIER NEGRO #16:
(Ibero Mundial De Ediciones / Spain / July 1970)

"LA CAIDA DE LA CASA USHER"

Art by MIGUEL GOMEZ ESTEBAN

http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2022/06/poe-1970-pt-5.html