Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Blood #1 Brings Snark Back to Horror Anthologies

AHOY Comics, the independent, Syracuse-based publisher known for its comics stuffed with stories, poetry, prose fiction, and cartoons, is bringing back its snarkiest, booziest anthology under a new title: EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF BLOOD. The most recent season of the hilarious parody-slash-desecration of Edgar Allan Poe will also be collected as a trade paperback just in time for the spooky holiday season.

Since its first issue debuted in 2018, the SNIFTER series has artfully mangled classic literary tales and dreamed up brand new ones with its signature blend of humor and horror. The nightmare-child of Drunk History and Tales from the Crypt, this anthology-style series features a charmingly alcohol-damaged version of Poe who presides over the woeful and witty stories created by a variety of talented artists and writers. The latest installment of the SNIFTER series, now renamed EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF BLOOD, includes Paul Cornell (Doctor Who) and Russell Braun (The Boys) reimagining Poe's "Black Cat" as a dog, as well as a tale in which Mr. X creator Dean Motter settles the science vs. religion debate once and for all. The new series will feature a different cover artist each month, starting with the legendary Jill Thompson.

"Since Edgar Allan Poe is dead, we get to make any arbitrary decision we want and there's not a thing he can do about it," said AHOY editor in chief Tom Peyer. "So sometimes we just make a senseless power move out of sheer contempt for the great writer and his memory. Plus, we get to start again at #1, which should attract all of the most devoted comics collectors of 1991. Everybody wins! Except Poe."

Just prior to the new season’s publication date, the second and most recent season of the series will be available in trade paperback for the first time under the title EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF TERROR, VOLUME TWO. Featuring more of the popular “Monster Serials” by Mark Russell (SECOND COMING) and Peter Snejbjerg (The Books of Magic), wherein we discover the terrifying secret origins of certain iconic cereal monsters, as well as Dean Motter and Alex Ogle’s ultimate Poe mashup “The Tell-Tale Black Cask of Usher,” the trade paperback will also feature more than a dozen additional comics stories, a generous selection of short “Poe and the Black Cat” strips by Hunt Emerson, and horrific bonus prose stories and poetry.

The trade paperback EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF TERROR, VOLUME TWO will be available in comic stores on September 23 and bookstores on October 6, while the first installment of the series under its new name, EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF BLOOD #1, hits stores October 21.