INTERVIEW: Edgar Allan Poe, wine glass in hand, is your host for this comic series
Photo: Courtesy of AHOY Comics / Provided by Superfan Promotions with permission.
The prolific work of AHOY Comics is unparalleled in the industry. This little-company-that-could, which is little more than a year old, continues to pump out thoughtful, hilarious, provocative works that have engaged readers around the country.
One of their most talked-about comics is Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror, which is now in its “second season” of issues. If readers have fallen behind in the series, no worries — binge-reading is available. The first season of six issues has now been collected into a trade paperback collection.
The group project from AHOY features the writing talents of many people, including Mark Russell, Tom Peyer, Hunt Emerson, Rachel Pollack and Stuart Moore, among many others. The artists who have contributed to the humorous-horrific series are equally as numerous: Peter Senjbjerg, Fred Harper, Ryan Kelly, Emerson and Rick Geary, among others.
This is a team effort from the AHOY team, and the effort has paid off with several tales of terror with a drunken Poe as the Rod-Serling-esque host.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Peyer, editor-in-chief of AHOY, about the acclaimed series. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
For someone who has not picked up Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror, what can they expect?
It’s a humor/horror anthology of comics stories introduced, Crypt Keeper-style, by Poe himself. It’s like he’s hit bottom, and the only chance left for him is to appear in a lowly comic book. Most of the stories are irreverent adaptations of Poe’s own works. Snide, even. We got some [of] the finest talents in comics involved, which, if you think about it, is disappointing. Surely Mark Russell, Ann Nocenti, Peter Milligan, Stuart Moore, Rachel Pollack, Richard Case, Hunt Emerson, Russ Braun and all the rest have more constructive things to do than mock a great writer who suffered enormously and can’t fight back.
Was it difficult to get things started and write the first story in this series?
No, he’s very easy to make fun of. Poe had a strong sense of humor, but the popular attitude toward him is so reverent, so respectful, so serious, that it takes more effort not to throw snowballs at him than to throw them.
Is each issue of the series based on actual stories from the Victorian era? Or are some purely original?
The ones we’ve printed so far can fit into four categories: Victorian Poe adaptations, updated Poe adaptations, a Jules Verne adaptation that Stuart wrote because he’s contrary and original pieces. Notable in the last category is ‘The Monster Serials,’ an intermittent series by Mark Russell and artist Peter Snejbjerg that extrapolates the grisly origins of scary creatures you might know from cereal boxes.
Did you enjoy horror hosts growing up? In your mind, does Poe join the ranks of the Cryptkeeper, Zacherley and Elvira?
When I was a kid in Syracuse, New York, we had a horror host named Baron Daemon, a funny vampire. I would have taken a bullet for him. But Poe is just as good, if you can get past his drunken inability to get to the point, and the throwing up.
What do you love best about horror stories?
The ones I love the most aren’t necessarily scary, but contain some really fantastic visual element. I like monsters a lot. Cheap ones, convincing ones — they’re all good.
How is AHOY Comics doing in the comic industry? What’s the future look like for the imprint?
We’ve been in stores for just over a year, but it feels like we’ve come a long way. We just did the Baltimore Comic Con, and, for the first time, we met readers who identify as certified AHOY maniacs — people who devour absolutely everything we do. You can imagine how gratifying that is. And we made pretty big splashes in our first year with a few of our titles, including Second Coming, by Mark Russell, Richard Pace and Leonard Kirk.
That was kind of a notorious project before we acquired it, as you’d expect from a series starring Jesus Christ that a major publisher acquired and then backed out of. It’s a great book, and we were lucky to get it.
As for the future, we intend to press on with the sensibility we’ve established: funny, smart, professional-looking and broad enough for a variety of genres. And did I mention funny?
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
AHOY Comics’ Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror is now available. Season one has been compiled into a trade paperback, and issues of season two are being released each month. Click here for more information.
