Edgar Allan Poe’s The Premature Burial Review: Corben Does It Again

Richard Corben seems to be on a mission to make a comic out of every Edgar Allan Poe story. So far, he has done these classic stories justice. His newest adaptation is of “The Premature Burial” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” Both adaptations are as spot on as you can get.

“The Premature Burial” is about Lucian trying to get Victoria to sleep with him. After she rejects him he poisons her wine glass, killing her. When he digs her up he finds out she is still alive. After almost dying of fright Lucian marries Victoria but is now terrified of death. Things seem normal, but things aren’t always what they seem with Poe’s stories.

This is a really quick one that gets to the point at breakneck speed. What we get is a story that plays on humanity’s fear of being buried alive. Unlike today where there’re machines and medicines to make sure you’re dead, these didn’t exist in the nineteenth century. Lucian’s fear is shown in Corben’s gruesome style with hideous skeletons. Corben even managed to do justice to the ending in Poe’s chilling fashion.

“The Cask of Amontillado” has Montresor telling Amelia Fortunato the story of what happened when he met her husband at a carnival. What makes this story even stranger is that Montresor is telling the story in his family’s crypt.

This story may not be Poe’s best, but the ending is where the best action happens. As with the previous story, Corben shows these events in some really scary images. You do get the sense of the cold, dark and scary feeling that a crypt gives off. It sets up the atmosphere nicely.

Once again, Mag the Hag is back. This time he is seen even less than in previous stories. This is a step in the right direction as it seems like Corben is realizing Mag the Hag serves no purpose to the stories.

“Edgar Allan Poe’s The Premature Burial” takes Poe’s gothic style and does it justice in comic form. The two stories here are as macabre and scary as Poe intended them to be with just the right touch of Corben’s knack for freaky drawing. Now Corben has about 60 more tales to turn into comics. Poe is waiting, Corben.