Poe 1947, Pt. 6

(Continued from Poe 1947, Pt. 5)

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED  40
Mysteries by Edgar Allan Poe  /  "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER"
     (Conclusion)

Gilberton's 4th stab at Poe, in CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #40, was the 1st all-Poe comic, containing 3 of his stories in a single issue.

Third and final:

"THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER".

     This was the 2nd comics version of this story, following...
Charlton's YELLOWJACKET COMICS #4 (Dec'44)
     ...some 3 years earlier.

This version would be more than twice as long as the previous one'

While the other 2 stories each had 1 page CUT from it in the reprints, this one had 2 pages cut!  What they did in this case was combine 2 pages into 1, and just remove another page entirely.

Well, friend and fellow fan Don Bearden-- whose specialty is "Classics" comics-- sent me scans of the 2 of the missing pages.  This in turn inspired me to do additional clean-ups to the images, some 14 months after I had initially put them up.  Don accidentally sent me a page I already had, and once I realized this (while doing the 2nd run at cleaning it up), I got in touch with Tom Kinter, whose site, "Tom's Place", was at one time the ONLY one of 5 that had the story UNCUT.  He was also, unfortunately, the only one hit with a "cease and desist" order from the current Gilberton license holder.  But he did have the 1 page I still needed, in order to supply the 2 final missing panels!  My hats off to both guys!  I couldn't have done this without them.

So now, the story is INTACT again, as well as MASSIVELY cleaned up!

(This page was originally set up on Friday, October 24, 2014.  I'm moving it to a new page so it will be easier to make changes in the future.)

Enjoy! 

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED  40
cover by HENRY C. KIEFER   (Gilberton  /  August 1947)

"THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER"  /  Version 2
Adaptation by Samuel Willinsky  /  Art by HARLEY M. GRIFFITHS
And now-- the EPIC conclusion!!

Page 45   (this and Page 46 were combined into a single page in reprints)

Page 46   (this and Page 45 were combined into a single page in reprints)

Page 47   (This page was completely missing in reprints)

Page 48

Page 49

Page 50

I'm really struck, reading this version of the story, how artist Harley M. Griffith's depiction of Roderick Usher so closely resembles Vincent Price's character, not in the Roger Corman film "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER", but in its unrelated "sequel", "PIT AND THE PENDULUM".  This is both in his physical appearance, and in his nervous fear and terror over the idea that he may have inadvertently buried someone alive.  (In the Corman film, according to Richard Matheson's screenplay, Usher was the villain of the piece, his actions deliberate; in the original Poe story, Roderick is a sad victim as much as his sister.)

In addition, on the next-to-last page, the large hall, one of the staircases, and the wrought-iron gate, are all almost exactly the same as in Corman's "PIT AND THE PENDULUM", which would almost suggest that Corman (or his art director, Daniel Haller) may have looked at this comic for visual reference and inspiration!

All 3 stories in this issue were reprinted in the "Illustrated Library Of EXCITING MYSTERY STORIES" which contains the contents of CLASSIC COMICS #13 (Aug'43), #21 (Jul'44), #30 (Sep'46), and CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #40 (Aug'47), including all 4 Poe stories featured to date.

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED GIANTS  2
cover by ??   (Gilberton  /  October 1949)

EDICAO MARAVILHOSA  27
cover by HENRY C. KIEFER
     (Editora Brasil-America Limitdad  [EBAL]  /  Brazil  /  September 1950)

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED  40
cover by HENRY C. KIEFER   (Thorpe & Porter  /  England  /  1952)

CLASICOS ILUSTRADOS  105
cover by ??   
     (Editora De Periódicos La Prensa S.C.L.  /  Mexico  /  February 28, 1961)

Acclaim reprinted many of Gilberton's stories in digest-size in 1997,
with scholarly essays added.  The 2nd Poe volume included this story...
as seen on the cover!

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED STUDY GUIDES  29
cover by JEN MARRUS   (Acclaim  /  August 1997)

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

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

Copyright (C) Gilberton  &  the various publishers.

Scan of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #40 cover from the Heritage Auctions site.
Scans of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #40 interiors from the XXXXXX site.
Scans of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #40 pages 45 & 47
     supplied by Don Bearden with special thanks!
Scan of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #40 page 46
     supplied by Tom Kinter with special thanks!

Scan of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED GIANT #2 from the Heritage Auctions site.
Scan of EDICAO MARAVILHOSA #27 from the Mercado Livre site.
Scan of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #40 (Thorpe & Porter) from the GCD site.
Scan of CLASICO ILUSTRADOS #105 (1961)
     supplied by Cecilio A. Jacobo Glez with special thanks!
 Scan of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED STUDY GUIDES #29
     from the My Comics Shop site.
Scan of EL ESCARABAJO DE ORO (2012) from the Ediciones Obelisco site.
Scan of ILLUSTRERTE KLASSIKERE #53 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 Harley M. Griffiths at the Lambiek site
See more Harley M. Griffiths art at the Comic Art Fans site.

Read about THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER at Spark Notes.
Read the complete story at the Poe Stories site.
See the HOUSE OF USHER Gallery of Illustrations.

     Audio:
Hear the Basil Rathbone HOUSE OF USHER recording!
Hear the Gladys Thornton WEIRD CIRCLE episode!
Hear the Paul Frees ESCAPE episode!
Hear the Kevin McCarthy CBS RADIO MYSTERY THEATER episode!

     Comics:
Read the Gus Schrotter HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Harley M. Griffiths HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Jerry Grandenetti HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Harry Harrison HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Steve Ditko HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!

Read the George Evans HOUSE OF USHER illustrated story!
Read the Osvaldo Talo HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Alexis-Thomas Hinsberger METZENGERSTEIN adaptation!
Read the Tom Sutton HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Dino Battaglia HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!

Read the Juan Reyes HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Gino Dauro HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Miguel Gomez Esteban HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Carlos Moro HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Maro Navo HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!

Read the Cirilo Munoz HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Martin Salvador HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Guido Del Carpio Rivera HOUSE OF USHER illustrated story!
Read the Nestor Redondo HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
     (Comics soon:)
Read the Pablo Marcos HOUSE OF USHER illustrated story!

Read the Luis Romero B. HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Arturo Arnau HOUSE OF USHER illustrated story!
Read the E.C. Nickel HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the Richard Corben HOUSE OF USHER adaptation!
Read the P.Craig Russell / Jay Geldof HOUSE OF USHER 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!!!    

(Continued in Poe 1947, Pt.7)