Broken Frontier

Just in time for Halloween and beyond, The Poe Museum’s highly successful exhibit, “Poe in Comics” has announced that the show will be on display for at least another month at their Virginia home.

This first-ever museum exhibit devoted to Poe’s presence in comics and graphic novels opened to the public with a bang last April, and brings together sixty years of comic books featuring adaptations of Poe’s tales and poems, stories in which Poe appears as a character, and parodies of Poe’s works. In addition to the comic books on display are dolls based on comic characters and fantastic original artwork by major comic artists including Michael Golden, Gahan Wilson, Richard Corben, and Rick Geary.

According the museum curator, Chris Semtner, Michael Golden’s work is a prominent part of the show. “Among the items loaned to us for the exhibit are Golden's illustrations for "The Cask of Amontillado" for Marvel Classics as well as a copy of that issue of Marvel Classics,” confirmed Semtner. “The drawings have been a great addition to the exhibit. Since we normally devote our exhibit space to manuscripts and artifacts from Poe's time, this show has given us a good opportunity to appeal to a younger audience, particularly the school groups who visit.”

Other highlights of the show include the superb draftsmanship and dramatic composition in Corben’s drawings for "The Tell-Tale Heart." And, Spanish artist Isidro Mones interprets “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” with the accomplished technique of a seventeenth century Dutch master.

It’s no wonder that the works of Edgar Allan Poe have been an inspiration to comic book artists. Called "America's Shakespeare," Poe created or mastered the short story, detective fiction, science fiction, lyric poetry and the horror story. His dark genius has invited children and adults to read and love literature for over 150 years.

Richmond's Poe Museum boasts the world's finest collection of Edgar Allan Poe's manuscripts, letters, first editions, memorabilia and personal belongings. Opened in 1922, in The Old Stone House, the museum is only blocks away from Poe's first Richmond home and his first place of employment, the Southern Literary Messenger.

You can find out more about the museum and the “Poe in Comics” exhibit by visiting: www.poemuseum.org.