Picturing Poe: Contemporary Cultural Implications of Nevermore

Abstract

Nestled in the final pages of Nevermore: A Graphic Adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s Short Stories (2008) is a brief comic-formatted biography entitled “The Facts of the Case of Edgar Allan Poe.” It begins with a question engaging the reader: “Think you know Poe?” This is followed by the images of three young people—most likely in their early teens— who provide various answers to this initial query. First, a boy responds, “Heehh … That Simpson’s episode where Bart was a raven!” Next, a dark-haired girl dressed in typical “Goth” attire replies, “A master of the macabre, second only to Tim Burton.” Finally, a bespectacled boy retorts, “Horror writer … Big forehead … you mean him?” More than just a playful comment on the stereotypes prevalent among Poe’s readership (or in some cases, lack of readership), this single panel shows how easily Poe has been accepted into the world of popular adaptation. The Simpsons’ first-ever “Treehouse of Horror” episode, which aired in 1990 (and was reportedly inspired by horror comics), included “that episode where Bart was a raven” and was a success for viewers and critics alike. It inaugurated an annual, eagerly anticipated Simpsons Halloween series and once again proved the easy acceptance of Poe adaptations into popular culture. There has hardly been an American author more adapted through various genres of multimedia than Edgar Allan Poe, and the comic or graphic novel format is one of the most enduring genres of adaptation.