LES AVENTURES DE GORDON PYM
(IN COLOR w/ English Translation / Part 6)
Collection LeRuban Rouge is an imprint of Librairie Arthème Fayard in France.
In 1948, apparently, they published the very first heavily-illustrated story book version of Edgar Allan Poe's only novel...
"THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM OF NANTUCKET"
When I first read this story, I was shocked by what happened at this point. Despite all the violence and horror that had preceded it, this sudden and seemingly-inexplicable turn of events made no apparent sense, expecially coming after nearly an entire month of the explorers having seemingly made friends with the natives.
As I worked on the translation for this particular version, I noted a seemingly key passage was glaringly absent from what the French adapter had included:
"The fate of our poor companions was no longer a matter of uncertainty. We alone had escaped from the tempest of that overwhelming destruction. We were the only living white men upon the island."
What follows is positively mind-boggling...
ENJOY... if you can!
LES AVENTURES DE GORDON PYM
cover by BERNARD LAMOTTE
(Collection LeRuban Rouge / Librairie Arthème Fayard /
France / 1948)
("THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM OF NANTUCKET") /
Version 1
Adaptation by Jean Wall / Art by BERNARD LAMOTTE
Page 101 / "And now... the EPIC conclusion!"
One thing is certain. This story-- unfinished as it was-- perhaps because it was unfinished-- inspired numerous later writers with their own stories of Antarctic exploration. In fact, no less than 3 of them wrote actual if unofficial (and unrelated) sequels!
"THE SPHINX OF THE ICE FIELDS" (Jules Verne / 1897),
"A STRANGE DISCOVERY" (Charles Romyn Dake / 1898), and
"AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS" (H.P. Lovecraft / 1936).
At least 2 of these have been adapted as comics. As I type this (7-31-2020), I'm considering including them at some point as part of this project.
In addition, at least 2 Edgar Rice Burroughs stories may also have been inspired by Poe's story: "AT THE EARTH'S CORE" (1914) and "THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT" (1924).
In turn, the Lovecraft story, it has been strongly suggested, was one of the inspirations for the movie "ALIEN" (1979), and even moreso, "ALIENS VS. PREDATORS" (2004). By extension, this means that "AGP" may well well have led to "AVP".
Finally, regarding Bernard Lamotte (1903-1983), here's a painting of his I found online, which made me believe this could be the same artist...
"Rue Sous la Pluie a Paris" (Restaurant Au Bon Coin) / (1950)
English translation & new color Copyright (C) 2020 Henry R. Kujawa.
Scans of LES AVENTURES DE GORDON PYM
from MY collection!
with special thanks to La Bergerie store in Switzerland,
to Richard Gagnon for pointing me at a MUCH-cheaper copy,
and to "Yves 66" on Amazon France
without whom I might never have acquired this book!
Scan of "Rue Sous La Pluie a Paris" from the Terenchin.com 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.
See more Bernard Lamotte art at the Vose Galleries site
with special thanks to "Paw Broon" for the link.
Read about THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM OF NANTUCKET
at the Grade Saver site.
Read the complete novel at the at the Lit 2 Go site.
See the ARTHUR GORDON PYM Gallery of Illustrations.
Audio:
Hear the LIT 2 GO audio book!
Hear THE WEIRD CIRCLE episode!
Comics:
Read the Bernard Lamotte ARTHUR GORDON PYM adaptation!
Read the Yves & Willy Groux ARTHUR GORDON PYM adaptation!
Read the Franc Fuentes Man ARTHUR GORDON PYM adaptation!
(coming soon)
Read the Editorial Sea / Navaro ARTHUR GORDON PYM adaptation!
(Coming soon:)
Read the Cesar Lopez Vera ARTHUR GORDON PYM adaptation!
Read the Jorge Bernuy S. ARTHUR GORDON PYM adaptation!
Read the Enrique Alcatena ARTHUR GORDON PYM adaptation!
See the CHRONOLOGICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!
See the ALPHABETICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!
Don't miss the BONUS GALLERY of ILLUSTRATIONS up next!
(Continued in Poe 1948, Pt. 8)
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