(Continued from Poe 1969, Pt. 6)
MINI TERROR 132
"LA CASA DE USHER"
(IN COLOR w/ English Translation / Part 2)
Editorial Argumentos, S.A. was a publisher in Mexico, active in the 1960s to the 1980s. One of the things they specialized in was mini-comics. Much smaller than digests, these books were 2-7/8" x 4-1/2", small enough to fit in your shirt pocket!
A popular series from them was MINI TERROR, an anthology that ran from 1966-82 for at least 839 issues. As you might have guessed, among them were several POE adaptations!
First up:
"THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER"
As seen in the 1st part, writer Javier Reyna G. decided to adapt, not Poe's original 1839 story, but instead, Richard Matheson's adaptation as seen in the 1960 American Internation Pictures film directed by Roger Corman. In Matheson's adaptation, the relationships in the story were turned virtually upside-down, while the main thrust of events remained mostly the same. The un-named narrator became Philip Winthrop, and instead of being a childhood friend of Roderick Usher, who had never met Roderick's sister Madeline, he met and fell in love with Madeline while in college, and had never met her brother Roderick. The main effects of this was to introduce a love story into the proceedings, while also turning Roderick from a sad victim into a genuine villain.
Reyna took this several steps further. Although this comic takes place somewhere in England, the main characters' names were changed to reflect the book's Mexican origins, and I've decided to keep the Spanish names of Fernando Priestley, Roderico and Madelina Usher, as well as Dean the butler (who was Bristol in the film). In this version of events, Madelina returned home to be present at the funeral of her sister Edda, and we get to meet Edda's young son, Kent. Both Edda and Kent are new additions to the story here. One more major addition is that in this adaptation, the Usher mansion is actually haunted by the ghosts of those members of the family who have died in the house over the centuries, bringing a truly supernatural aspect to the proceedings that was never there in Poe's story.
ENJOY!
MINI TERROR 132
cover by ?? (Editorial Argumentos, S.A. / EDAR / Mexico / May 10, 1969)
("THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER") / Version 11
Adaptation by Javier Reyna G. / Art by JUAN REYES
Pages 36-37 / "Our story continues..."
Pages 38-39
Pages 40-41
Pages 42-43
Pages 44-45
Pages 46-47
Pages 48-49
Pages 50-51
Pages 52-53
Pages 54-55
Pages 56-57
Pages 58-59
Pages 60-61
Pages 62-63
Don't go away! Our story will continue...
Copyright (C) Editorial Argumentos, S.A.
English Translation & New Color Copyright (C) 2022 Henry R. Kujawa.
Scans of MINI TERROR #132
from Cecilio Gonzalez with special thanks!
For more:
Read about Edgar Allan Poe at The Poe Museum site.
Read about Edgar Allan Poe at the Biography 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.
See the CHRONOLOGICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!
See the ALPHABETICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!
Don't miss the 3rd PART of this... coming up next!!!
(Continued in Poe 1969, Pt. 8)
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