It seems like I have been writing a lot lately about anthology style tales. Recently, I completed a three part series on the classic Warren Publishing Anthologies of Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella Magazines. In each case, the collections of scary, suspenseful tales had a host that kept the reader moving on. Leave it to the creative folks at Ahoy Comics to tap in to that kind of mythos. And who better to be a host of the strange and macabre than the master of such prose, Edgar Allen Poe.
Anthologies the Poe Way
In Edgar Allen Poe’s Snifter of Blood, the reader is introduced to tales of murder, mayhem and madness. Just like the master storyteller would have preferred it. The first tale is an adaptation of a Poe classic tale, The Black Cat. In this case, however, the main character (in a manner of speaking) has been adapted to man’s best friend. This allows for a running dialogue from a loyal companion who refuses to believe that his master means him ill will. Regardless of the many cruelties he bestows upon him. I doubt a cat would be so forgiving. But I leave it to you, good reader to psycho analyze all involved.
The Battle for your Better Angels
The other tale has Poe discussing the constant battle that is waged between the good and evil sides of his conscious. Even when it comes to something as simple a ordering another drink. This same conflict is played out in the story entitled, Atlas Shrugged. However, it is Poe who fills the role of sympathetic ear to a man who had made a wrong choice. The results eventually will decide whether he has heaven or hell to pay.
The Extras
The final three tales are the text based offerings that Ahoy has included with all their comics. As always, they are diverse and offer up and coming authors a platform to shine. For Issue 1, there is Werewolf Hangover by Brendan Mallory, which explores the results of animal control interfering with a werewolf’s foraging. Next is Finally by Matthew Sharpe. It tells the tale of two unique people who finally meet someone worth their mettle (So to speak). The third inclusion is Deep Cover by Reed Beene, which teaches an important lesson about training someone with higher ambitions, but leaving them in middle management. Especially when all they were looking for was a “shot“ at something better.
Thoughts
For starters, you CANNOT do better than to get Jill Thompson to paint your cover. If you have seen her cover work on Ahoy’s Ash and Thorn, you know how talented she is. So that’s a big plus right from the get go.
For the main stories, we get the teams of Paul Cornell, Russ Braun, Andy Troy, and Rob Steen on The Black Dog and Dean Motter (doing triple duty as writer, artist, and letterer) and Julie Barclay for Atlas Shrugged. Each team did a great job of framing their stories. Special kudos to the Black Dog team as it always difficult to make unique adaptations of classic Poe. Well played, Ahoy…well played.
If you enjoy anthology based stories, you should most definitely check out Edgar Allen Poe’s Snifter of Blood. And don’t forget the extra stories. As always, tell us what you think, here at Geek Vibes Nation.
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Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
