My 624 and a full 12 Cannonball review is actually one that is a bit lackluster. Now, I enjoy a good Edgar Allen Poe as much as the next English Major Casual Fan, but The Fall of the House of Usher: A Graphic Novel (adapted and illustrated by Raul Garcia) is not one of my favorites. However, as it is adapted into the graphic novel format, I felt it would be a better way to understand the story (The Lottery by Shirly Jackson has been read by me several times, but I finally understood it with the illustrations to assist). Yet, it still did not “click” as much as I wanted/hoped it would.
The main part of things is that the story by Poe is done with some outlandishly good and medium illustrations. Everything is what you would expect. It is enjoyable, but due to the darkness of the plot and images, it can be a bit hard to follow. The original text has been included, allowing a classical feeling to overtake things, as the illustrations are more modern interpretations of old school gothic imagery.
The first few images capture the tone of what is to come, then a few showing the past which are bright, colorful, even perhaps a smidgen sensual; then the rest of the illustrations are the castle that would make Dracula proud. Cracks and crumble, lightning and darkness settled on the page. We then go into the castle, to start our adventure. Things are pushed by the illustrations, even though they are minimalistic in most places, the text is almost an afterthought.
If you like Edgar Allen Poe, then this is a fun way to experience his writing. If you are new to Poe or graphic novels this could help you picture a few things, but overall it is not a WOW book, but interesting and maybe shouldn’t be your first attempt at either genre.
There is an additional making of the book and the full story text that’s included as well.