Post by richardvasseur on Sept 6, 2020 16:26:25 GMT
Title: Mary Shelley Presents: Tales of the Supernatural (HC)
Publisher: Kymera Press
Written by: Nancy Holder
Artist: Amelia Woo
Penciler: Chiara Di Francia
Inker: Laurie Foster
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Colorist: Sandra Molina, Dearbla Kelly
Color Separations: Alejandro Garcia
Cover by: Amelia Woo
Price: $ 24.99 US
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Website: http://www.kymerapress.com
Comments: Mary Shelley hosts a tale by Elizabeth Gaskell "The Old Nurse's Story". Furnivall Manor House, Cumberland, England is a picturesque house with a Gothic look to it. A young family is moving in with a relative there. The house does seem strange and things begin to happen.
The way the story is written makes it hard to fully understand everything that is going on.
As the story progresses you get a sense and feel that something strange is going on. Are ghosts living at this house?
The Victorian setting is lovely to see. The style of dress is beautifully presented.
There was drama here and still is. A ghost haunts this place and a curse. A sister was mistreated and now her sister lives a lonely pathetic life. In this story redemption happens. The ending is not fully clear yet enough so you do get a happy ending.
At the end the original story "The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell is reprinted. This is an excellent short ghost story.
Mary Shelley hosts another tale by Edith Nesbit "Man-size in Marble". Jack and Laura are a young married couple in love. They seek lodgings as in a place to live.
Now Jack does get Laura to write about ghost stories for a local paper.
Now as Halloween approaches you can feel the atmosphere setting in. Something evil is approaching. The story is nicely set up yet the evil here is not presented as all that evil. When the evil has its way it is a slow terror that is not all that scary or surprising.
The way the story is presented you can easily tell it is an old old ghost story. It was written in the 1800's. This was a simpler time and this story is written simple.
The art fits the time era beautifully.
The ghost of Mary Shelley makes for a wonderful narrator and having her monster that she created by her side is a nice touch.
So if you want a nice quite tale of Victorian terror your in the right place.
Mary Shelley hosts a tale by Margaret Strickland "The Case of Sir Alister Moeran". Our narrator's Mary Shelley and her monster are so wonderfully illustrated. She is a ghostly vision and him a creature of loyalty and respect.
The characters are all introduced. The main ones a woman and her finance and her ex Maurice. All of them have been traveling. As the story goes on Ethne's finance Alister starts to get an air of mystery about him. It soon becomes obvious what Sir Alister is.
The art wonderfully portrays the country side. The animals dogs and the people all look great. Alister transformed is a sight you do not want to miss.
The story goes along as expected and ends as expected no surprises at all but it is well told.
After the illustrated version of the story the original version is printed for your reading pleasure.
"Monsieur Maurice" by Amelia B. Edwards. This story is only in print so no illustrations and it does drag on. There is some mystery to the story.
These Mary Shelley Presents are a good read and they do give one a chance to read some long forgotten horror stories that you would otherwise not get.
Richard Vasseur