Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher #2 Review: Corbin Thrives

Richard Corben finishes his rendition of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale “The Fall of the House of Usher” and it’s dark and creepy and beautiful.

Corben manages to retell this second part in pure Poe form. There is plenty of that classic 19th century gothic horror that it almost feels like Poe himself wrote it. The way Corben recreates Poe’s characters proves that he understands Poe. They are dark, insane and are pitiful.

Corben’s art exemplifies the story’s creepiness in the best way Corben can. He manages to take Poe’s imagery and make them as scary as possible. The shots of corpses, along with the crumbling state of the manor, pull of that creepy gothic feel. It’s enough to make even the most hardened horror fan jump. To talk of his use of dark shadows and low light to create atmosphere isn’t enough to do it justice. The reader needs to fully immerse themselves in it in order to get it.

One thing the reader may not get is Mag the Hag, who makes his return in issue two. He’s as pointless as before. He’s even more of a throwaway background piece here than he was in the first comic. Good thing he’s rarely around so seeing him isn’t a big distraction.

Corben shows off why he is one of the best comic writers today here. A perfect retelling of a classic along with Corben’s iconic creepy art makes this a feast for Poe and horror fans alike. It’s almost as if Poe and Corben both co-wrote this comic.