It’s that time of the month to have a little bit more fun at the expense of one of America’s great writers. As always there’s plenty on display here from numerous AHOY creators. Standout story ‘Some Words With a Mummy’ by Bryce Ingman and Greg Scott shines. ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ by Mark Rahner and Alan Robinson elicits a good number of giggles. The opening chapter to ‘Le Doc De L’Omellette’ mesmerises with beautiful art by Lee Carter and a script by Kek-W. The same writer also offers up the painfully relatable ‘Just the Facts’ prose piece that feels like a scathing reminder of politics as we enter 2019. Another ‘Black Cat’ cartoon by Hunt Emerson and the short story ‘Smile’ by Carol Lay round out the issue’s offerings. This could be the strongest issue of Allen Poe’s Snifter of Terror yet.
The Good
It would be a cop out to say ‘all of it’ but genuinely, this issue is fantastic. The opening story, ‘Some Words With a Mummy’ is one of the funniest comic stories published in recent years. Everything from the script just feels so naturally funny, which is spectacular given the topic. The story sees a mummy being revived by some yuppies, who then take him on a tour of America to show him the way of life in 2019. Naturally the mummy is disgusted by almost everything he sees until a painfully realistic ending that leaves readers giggling as much as it does crying. As with most AHOY books, the issue is worth it for the opening story alone.
For those looking for some good Edgar Allen Poe mockery then the second story has you covered. While it’s hard to follow the opener, Mark Rahner and Alan Robinson do a good job of keeping the laughs alive as they push the reader on through the book.
Kek-W is something of an enigma and his two contributions this month couldn’t be more different. On one hand the opening chapter to ‘Le Duc De L’Omellette’ makes almost no sense at this early stage but the artwork by Lee Carter is some of the most stylistic and beautiful artwork any AHOY book has seen yet. This is a series to watch. On the other hand ‘Just the Facts’ is a prose piece with such biting wit that it almost depresses. It’s great to see stories like this one that have their finger so squarely on the pulse of modern politics, or contemporary meme culture so to speak.
Anything by Hunt Emerson is welcome and as always this month’s contribution is a great addition to the book. Carol Lay’s ‘Smile’ truly unsettles readers after an otherwise fairly comedic issue. From start to finish there’s a shift from laughs to apprehension and Lay adds a strong full stop to this anxiety inducing ending.
The Bad
It was to be expected following such a gushing positive section, but there’s nothing to criticise here. If anything Lee Carter’s artwork is great but there needs to be more pages of Kek-W’s ‘Le Duc De L’Omellette’ before readers can really have any idea what is going on. Otherwise this is a near perfect issue.
The Verdict
It shouldn’t even matter if you know who Edgar Allen Poe is at this stage, just read this book because there’s nothing like it on shelves today. If you want to be unsettled or uplifted here’s the book for you.
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