For AHIS 430 class, I’ve chosen to adapt Edgar Allen Po’s “The Tell-Tale heart”. Here I’ve complied a few intial thoughts about the overall tone and direction that I want to take

The Tell-Tale heart is a classic of the gothic genre, and thus I feel lends itself to a simple black and white colour palette. That being said, black and white feels very obvious, so I could still keep the same tone but use dark, desatured tones.

As for the actual style of the writing, it very much comes across as a stream of conciouness and the narrator relays their version of events to the reader. The narration plays a huge role throughout the story, supporting the plot and tone of the story. While I don’t think a wordless adaption is impossible, I wonder if the gothic charm of the story would be lost. However, I will need to drastically shorten the script as Po can be rather long winded, and ultimately comics are a visual medium. Additionally, I want to keep the vibes of the original script as I feel that it is a huge source of charm and interest.

I’m also playing with different ideas on how to include the narration into the story. I tend not to prefer boxes with narration as they run the risk of creating a halting rythm. The story very much has a stream of conciouness feel and the only really pauses are moments of high tension such as the seconsd leading up to the old man’s murder and when the narrator is convinced they can still hear the heart beating beneath the floorboards. Additionally I think that typesetting the narration would make the story feel a little too stiff and impersonal, especially as the narrator is addressing the reader. I want the writing style to look a little frantic and fluid.

Additionally, I think this story gives a lot of oppurtunity to give the panneling unique characteristics. The panels would be an interesting avenue of relaying some of the emotions the narrator is feeling instead of soley relying on narration(especially as I’m going to have to cut down the script). One idea I’ve considered is drawing panels in where the narrator is espeically stressed with with wobbling lines. Another idea it so have use overlapping panels. I would have to use this second idea rather sparely though. While I think that the former idea communicates the idea of anxiety (and specifically how overwhelming the narrator finds it), I wonder if I’m sacrificing legiabiliy in the process. However, a chaotic page might add to the story, tonally speaking.