EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF DEATH #1/ Scripts by MARK RUSSELL & STUART MOORE/ Art by PETER SNEJBJERG & FRANK CAMMUSO/ Colors by PETER SNEJBJER & MADELINE SEELY/ Letters by ROB STEEN/ Published by AHOY COMICS

Edger Allan Poe was my favorite classic writer as a teenager, yet I somehow didn’t get around to reading Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror until it was already collected in TP format. For those who missed it, the core idea was to retell some of Poe’s greatest stories (or stories inspired by his general spooky ouvere) through the lens of drunken recollection. The new anthology series Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Death is much the same, though the focus here is on stories that involve death, in some form or fashion.

The first story, The Monster Serials: A Devil’s Advocate, sets the tone well enough. It is a historical piece involving the discovery of a vampire in a vaguely European village and his unexpected rescue at the hands of a Quaker lawyer. Given that Mark Russell is the writer, one can expect an ironic twist before the tale’s end, though I shall leave the details a secret. Suffice it to say, coupled with art by Peter Snejbjerg that evokes the spirit of Tales From The Crypt, this story makes this first issue well worth picking up.

I wish I could be as kind to Evermore. The comic is based around a fictional tale of Edgar Allan Poe’s childhood and is a dark satire of classic kids comics like Little Lulu, detailing how a young Poe found his purpose in life. Stuart Moore captures the tone of such comics well enough and Frank Cammuso’s art manages to be both cute and disturbing in equal measure, but the final result is amusing if not that memorable.

While there are many horror comics seeing publication this October, one could do far worse than to give Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Death a try. Fans of Ahoy Comics’ earlier Edgar Allan Poe collections will find this to be a worth continuation of the concept and fans of Mark Russell’s dark comedy will also want to be sure to pick this up.