Poe 1951, Pt. 6

(Continued from Poe 1951, Pt. 5)
 
CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED  84
 "THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO"
     (Conclusion)

Gilberton's 5th and final foray into Poe was also their 2nd all-Poe issue.

Third and final...

"THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO".

If the information at the GCD site is correct, "CASK" would appear to be the 2nd Poe story illustrated by Rudy Palais.  Unlike the updated EC Albert Feldstein / Graham Ingels adaptation only 4 months earlier, this one was faithful to the original Poe story.  I imagine most people are more familiar with the Roger Corman adaptation in the film "TALES OF TERROR", in which the story is combined with "THE BLACK CAT".  That probably seemed a reasonable thing to do, as both stories involve someone getting bricked up in a wall.  However, perhaps inadvertently (or perhaps not), the logic of both stories was destroyed in the combination; no such problem here.

I recall vividly when I read the original text a few years ago, I pictured actor Vincent Price in the story-- but not as the victim, but rather, the narrator meting out revenge on one who has wronged him.  Wonder of wonders, when I found the CI version here, the character of "Montressor" could easily have been based on Price!

It's perhaps fitting that after this issue, Gilberton never tackled Poe again, and the author's works instead began appearing with never-ending frequency in other company's "horror" books.

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED  84
cover by ALEX A.BLUM   (Gilberton  /  June 1951)

"THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO"  /  Version 2
Adaptation by ??  /  Art by RUDY PALAIS
Page 37  /  "And now... the EPIC conclusion!"

Page 38

Page 39

Page 40

Page 41

Page 42

Page 43

Page 44

Page 45

And now, the reprints...

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED  59
cover by ALEX A.BLUM   (Ayers & James  /  Australia  /  1951)

EDICAO MARAVILHOSA  (WONDERFUL EDITION)  52
cover by ANTONIO EUZEBIO NETO   (EBAL  /  Brazil  /  July 1952)

THE GOLD BUG and OTHER TALES
cover by ALEX BLUM
     (Regents Illustrated Classics  /  Prentice Hall College Div.  /  1982)

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED STUDY GUIDES  17
cover by JEN MARRUS   (Acclaim  /  August 1997)

EL ESCARABAJO DE ORO
cover by ALEX A. BLUM   (Books 4 Pocket  /  Brazil  /  October 17, 2012)

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED  46
cover by ALEX A.BLUM
     (Classics Comics Store UK  /  England  /  September 2013)

ILLUSTRERTE KLASSIKERE  53
cover by ??   (Hjemmet / Egmont  /  Norway  /  March 2015)

It turns out that this story was inspired by a real-life rivalry between Poe and another writer, Thomas Dunn English.  As it happens, artist Rudy Palais based his rendition of Fortunato on English!

As I only just discovered, Palais' depiction of Montressor also bears a striking resemblance to actor Romney Brent, who played the character 2 years earlier in the CBS-TV series "SUSPENSE".  Here he is with Bela Lugosi as a much-older version of Fortunato.

Copyright (C) Gilberton  &  the various publishers.

Scan of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #84 cover from the Heritage Auctions site.
Scans of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #84 interiors from the XXXXXX site.
Scan of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #59 (Ayers & James) from the GCD site.
Scan of EDICAO MARAVILHOSA #52 from the De Olho Na Magia blog
     with special thanks to Adriano Siqueira!
Scan of REGENTS ILLUSTRATED CLASSICS from the Lee's Comics Rack blog
     with special thanks to Lee Hartsfeld!
Scan of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED STUDY GUIDES #17
     from the My Comics Shop site.
Scan of EL ESCARABAJO DE ORO from the Ediciones Obelisco site.
Scan of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #46 (2013)
     from the Classics Comics Store site.
Scan of ILLUSTRERTE KLASSIKERE #53 (2015) from the GCD site.

Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa

For more:
Read about Edgar Allan Poe at The Poe Museum site.
Read about Edgar Allan Poe at the Biography site.

Read about THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO at Spark Notes.
Read about THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO at Cliff Notes.
Read the complete story at the Poe Stories site.
See the AMONTILLADO Gallery of Illustrations.

     Audio / Video:
Hear the WEIRD CIRCLE radio episode!
Watch the Bela Lugosi-Romney Brent SUSPENSE TV episode!
Hear the Basil Rathbone recording!
Hear the CBS RADIO MYSTERY THEATER episode!

     Comics:
Read the Graham Ingels AMONTILLADO adaptation!
Read the Rudy Palais AMONTILLADO adaptation!
      Read the Iger Shop AMONTILLADO sequel!
Read the Gedeone Malagola AMONTILLADO adaptation!
Read the Fran Matera AMONTILLADO adaptation!
Read the Reed Crandall AMONTILLADO adaptation!

Read the Osvaldo Talo AMONTILLADO adaptation!
Read the Juan J. Aguilar AMONTILLADO illustrated story!   (coming soon!)
     Read the Frank Brunner AMONTILLADO sequel!
     Read the Cirilo Munoz AMONTILLADO sequel!   (coming soon!)
Read the Maro Nava AMONTILLADO adaptation!
Read the Martin Salvador AMONTILLADO adaptation!
Read the Guido Del Carpio Rivera AMONTILLADO illustrated story!

Read the Don McGregor / Mike Golden AMONTILLADO adaptation!
Read the Arturo Cassilas AMONTILLADO adaptation!   (coming soon!)
Read the Noly Zamora AMONTILLADO adaptation!
     (Coming soon:)
Read the Pablo Marcos AMONTILLADO illustrated story!
Read the Anne Toulmin-Rothe AMONTILLADO illustrated story!

     Misc.:
Read the Rudy Palais TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Rudy Palais AMONTILLADO adaptation!

See the CHRONOLOGICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!
See the ALPHABETICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!

Gilberton's CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED are currently being reprinted--
     go to the CLASSIC COMICS STORE to BUY your own copies!!!    

Don't miss the BONUS GALLERY of ILLUSTRATIONS up next!

(Continued in Poe 1951, Pt. 7)