An Interview With ‘Edgar Allan Poe: A Tale Of Mystery And Intervention’ Author Norm Konyu

You know Edgar Allan Poe, the storyteller, but what about Edgar Allan Poe, fan of musicals? It’s this Poe that makes an appearance in Norm Konyu‘s upcoming graphic novel Edgar Allan Poe: A Tale of Mystery and Intervention, and you can learn more about the project below:

Rachel Bellwoar: You previously created a graphic novel inspired by H.P. Lovecraft (A Call to Cthulhu). What made you choose Edgar Allan Poe as your next subject?

Norm Konyu: Poe felt like a natural progression. Lovecraft makes no secret that Poe was a big influence, despite Poe’s horror being mainly of the psychological variety as opposed to Lovecraft’s cosmic horrors. Reading Lovecraft, you sometimes get the sense that he’s not merely influenced by Poe, he’s desperately trying to write like him. In the end, they’re both hugely prolific Gothic-style horror writers!

Bellwoar: In the backmatter, you talk about discovering Poe and the Roger Corman films based on his work in grade school. Do you remember the first of his stories that made an impression on you?

Konyu: It’s hazy to recall which may have been first- it’s been a long time since I was in grade school- a very long time! But in all likelihood, it was “The Black Cat” story segment in the movie Tales of Terror, where Vincent Price stars alongside Peter Lorre. All the gothic theatrics of the Corman movies are maybe not to everyone’s taste, but to a ten-year-old boy in 1970s Canada, it was mesmerising!

Bellwoar: The scenario for this book is a conversation between Poe and a theater producer named Thomas Evans. Is Evans based on a real person, and how did you land on that character?

Konyu: Evans is a complete fabrication. From what I’ve read of Poe’s personal life, he appeared to have several close friends and supporters despite his personal problems, so I just added another one. I can’t imagine Poe was an easy person to be around, maybe even exasperating, so Evans is just a foil to that personality trait.

Bellwoar: Evans tries to advise Poe to give up some of his melancholic ways. Another executive not understanding what the public will embrace about Poe or an actual friend expressing concern for the artist behind the macabre?

Konyu: I approached Evans 100% as a concerned friend. I think it was a better emotional bond between the two men, but it still left scope for the humour of Poe’s work being adapted in song due to Evans’ role as a theatrical producer.

Bellwoar: Over the course of the book, Evans references many of Poe’s stories. What was it like trying to create singular images to represent some of those tales?

Konyu: Sometimes, it was an easy matter to choose one image to illustrate an entire story. For “Masque of the Red Death,” there was nothing in my brain but the mysterious visitor to the ball, who brings nothing but death with him, but other stories were harder to distil down to the one image. I particularly wrestled with perhaps his most famous tale, “The Telltale Heart.” How do you take a story that plays out mostly in someone’s feverish mind and make it real? I also made the conscious decision not to do any image searches to see how the stories had been illustrated by others, not wanting to absorb anybody else’s visuals and wrestled alone…

Bellwoar: When Evans arrives at the bar, he’s told it’s empty because Poe had been reciting poetry and, to be sure, the only poem of his that Evans brings up is “The Raven.” Why did you want to focus on Poe’s stories over his poetry?

Konyu: As Poe’s stories are so much more well-known compared to his poetry, it felt like that was the only route to really travel. But if you talk about Poe, you can’t leave out “The Raven,” one of the most famous poems in history, and a turning point in Poe’s own life, in terms of literary recognition, if not of financial reward.

Bellwoar: Many of Poe’s stories will be familiar to readers but some might be deeper cuts as well, like “The Gold Bug.” Are there any you’re particularly hoping fans might seek out after reading this graphic novel?

Konyu: I just hope that it makes people seek out any of his work, famous stories or little-known ones. I (being much older than I like to think I am), have been horrified by how many younger people know nothing at all of him or his stories. If I can get just one of them to read some Poe, mission accomplished!

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Norm!

Edgar Allan Poe: A Tale of Mystery and Intervention goes on sale on 6th October, from Titan Comics.