You had us all at “E-Bongs”
Masque of the Red Death is one of the most amazing works written by Poe. I don’t think it needs sci-fi, “e-bongs” or bug shaking. especially in a world where a version of the “red death” is actually rampaging.
Unlike the world in which Poe himself lived, that bucolic world in which both plague and decadent wealth were largely unknown? Seriously, why on earth would the existence of a real plague invalidate the artistic value of a story about an imaginary plague? For that matter, “e-bongs” is obviously Rob’s own good-naturedly snarky assessment of something that’s probably presented with a great deal more context and taste in the actual story, so I don’t think it’s a fair thing to hold up as a negative example.
Dismissing something you haven’t actually SEEN can’t, by definition, be real criticism since you have no possible way of basing it on the work’s actual merits. I’m not sure how much faith you can really put in your opinion without seeing the finished result – as if a glib <50-word summary of the concept was going to predict the whole execution before the damn thing even gets staged. On the other hand, the graphic novel is already out there, so if you’re so sure this is a totally superfluous and useless version compared to the one written for Victorians before radio was even invented, there’s an easy way to get an informed opinion…
Rob in a nutshell right there, long may he wave! 
My comment may have sounded more dismissive than it should have. I haven’t seen this adaptation so maybe in its own way it is a great sci-fi/horror story, but it is not Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death”. The story moves so far away from the essence of the original story that it’s misleading to sell this as “Poe’s Masque of the Red Death” or even “Based on Poe’s’Masque of the Red Death”.
Also, while Poe’s original story was “written for Victorians before radio was even invented” it is an amazing piece of literature that in a single scene manages to say more about mortality and the inevitable than many modern stories can. Don’t write off stories because of their age.
Grace and Tony did a Red Death number at their Arden show. (They also do a Burke and Hare piece).
Wendy Pini is an amazingly talented artist.I wish her great success with this project.
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