As always, AHOY are packing way more variety into their offerings than just about any other comic publisher today. This month sees Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror filled to the brim with great content for readers to enjoy, including: Ligeia by Rachel Pollack and Rick Geary, From Earth to the Moon by Stuart Moore and Ryan Kelly, another Black Cat cartoon by Hunt Emerson, poem The Putin by Hart Seely with an illustration by Dan Schoeneck, and finally the short prose piece The Bad One by Laura Gjovaag, featuring the illustrations of David Hicock. So many issues into AHOY and it’s still mind blowing to be seeing so much diversity in the content they are producing.
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The Good
Where to begin? Methodically dismantling the reputation of one of America’s greatest writers has never been so satisfying. Rachel Pollack’s take on Poe’s Ligeia manages to be incredibly original while playing close to the original story. Keeping the tone of the previous issue, it is fairly funny. Lovers of Poe’s work are sure to get a kick out of this book, but it’s also likely that those unacquainted with his writing will enjoy these stories too.
Stuart Moore and Ryan Kelly’s contribution stands out as a comment on modern day and due to this, is incredibly fun to read. It is with stories like these that the potential of this series stands out. Using Poe both as a character and as a writer gives opportunity to critique aspects of contemporary society from an angle previously unseen. It must be said that this story goes well with Hart Seely’s phenomenal poem The Putin. The less said about the poem the better as it works best when readers go into it blind. But it is the best aspect of the entire comic this month. It sounds silly to say that the best part of a comic book is its accompanying poem, but it is just that good.
Hunt Emerson’s cartoon is as entertaining as it was last month and the short story from Laura Gjovaag is great, albeit unfortunately a little overshadowed by The Putin.
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The Bad
As is proving to be the case with AHOY, critiques are hard to find. With such an interesting premise it was difficult to pinpoint exactly what the tone of the book would be but with this issue it is easy to surmise. While many will enjoy it, it must be said that such a literary sense of humor likely won’t be every comic readers’ cup of tea.
Beyond that, there really isn’t much to complain about here.
The Verdict
Forcing Edgar Allan Poe’s tongue into his cheek with all the humor and irreverence readers should expect following from last month, issue two of Poe’s Snifter of Terror proves that this is the comic for literature fans/ students/lovers of Poe. It’s a smart book that isn’t shy about making some statements and it honestly cannot be recommended enough.
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