Most of the stories had waaay too much tell rather than show. At the Gate was probably the best of all the stories. ( )

I snatched this one up at Half Price Books because the last story was illustrated by the great Shary Flenniken, creator of National Lampoon's "Trots and Bonnie." The story did not disappoint me. I read "Carmilla", and the others.... not yet.

"At the Gate" is a gorgeously sentimental Victorian-era story about dogs awaiting their people at the gates of heaven. It was just the sort of thing I needed to read when my old cat Squeaky left this world on the morning of the summer solstice, which was probably his 18th birthday. I cried happy tears and was comforted in my grief. I hope the Rainbow Bridge is kind to him.

I am one of the kids whose parents always said NO to a dog... and now I am assured that I have only to wait for the great hereafter, and I'll be matched up with the dog who has always needed me. Balm to my soul.

This whole series of illustrated classics: my cuppa tea. Better than Cliff's Notes, and better than wading through the grandiose multipage verbiosity of the original books.

This volume contains illustrated adaptations of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Oval Portrait, Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, and Myla Jo Closser’s At the Gate. The odd one out here is At the Gate, which while technically being about ghosts (dog ghosts, that is), is not a tale of terror. Neither is Austen’s Northanger Abbey technically but since it parodies the popular Gothic stories of the time, I think it is fitting in this compilation. In fact, Northanger Abbey and Carmilla were my favorites out of this volume in terms of storyline, adaptation, and illustrations. I felt like I was missing something with The Mysteries of Udolpho, so perhaps this particular adaptation was not the greatest. However, I was glad to see it included as it influenced many other works, including The Oval Portrait and Northanger Abbey. Overall, this is an interesting introduction to some classic Gothic stories and might even spark interest in reading the originals. ( )

This volume adapts five different stories: Le Fanu's "Carmilla," Radcliffe's "The Mysteries of Udolpho," Poe's "The Oval Portrait," Austen's "Northanger Abbey," and "At the Gate" by Myla Jo Closer. Of those five, I was already familiar with the first four original works.

Though "Carmilla" is a relatively short work, it's been whittled down a bit in its adapted form. Sadly, the story never gets to build up quite the degree of atmosphere of the original. What remains still makes for an enjoyable yarn of vampirism, and I liked the way the art matched the sensuality of the story.

"Udolpho" has been pared down quite a bit, which is to be expected since the original is incredibly long. I actually didn't think it suffered that much, though I did find that the abridgement makes clear just how superfluous much of the action that takes place at Castle Udolpho is. The art is more realistic, with a nice use of shadows, and it manages to be a good match for the inherently melodramatic nature of Udolpho.

"The Oval Portrait" is relatively short to begin with, so it's preserved relatively whole, with the framing story still in place. The art renders the characters as somewhat doll-like, which adds to the underlying creepiness of the story.

"Northanger" is somewhat abridged, though I felt it did a good job of capturing the essence of the original. It makes a nice companion piece to "Udolpho" but it didn't strike me as one of Jane Austen's strongest works. The art is, like that of Udolpho, relative realistic, though brighter and cuter.

"At the Gate" had me scratching my head a bit, since it seemed like the odd man out. It's a cute and sweet story about doggie heaven, and though there's the obvious connection with death, it didn't strike me as particularly gothic. The art has a certain old-time Sunday morning comic strip innocence to it.

Overall, I found it an enjoyable collection, though I think it may have suffered from a certain lack of focus, as noted in my confusion at the inclusion of "At the Gate." (Even "Northanger Abbey" is at best tangentially gothic.) I didn't really enjoy this book as I much as the volume on Lovecraft (vol 4 of the same series) which, whatever its flaws, exhibited a greater sense of inventiveness in its use of story and art. ( )

Very mixed bag; most of these adaptations do not successfully manage to adapt their originals. Northanger Abbey is a particularly tedious sequence of illustrated text rather than a graphic novel. Udolpho is so/so. Oval Portrait and The Gate are a cut above average. ( )