We’re back with another edition of Edgar Allen Poe’s Snifter of Terror! Season 2, issue 5 brings us two more semisatirical Poe adaptations and all the bonus features we’ve come to expect from the series. This time around the big draws are The Man Who Was Used Up and Berenice, both of which are entertaining retellings but which stick out as ever so slightly different from the previous issues in tone. Where before nearly every story in the Snifter has been very tongue in cheek, both of these felt just a tad bit more serious than usual, in both cases thanks largely to their illustrations.

Issue 5 kicks off with The Man Who Was Used Up, a tale in which our narrator obsesses over a general who isn’t what he appears to be. The homoeroticism of the narrator’s obsession with the general is much more apparent in this adaptation, and there’s some humor in the narrator being Poe himself. There’s also something a bit off-putting about all the faces in this short– whether intentional or not, most of the characters have incredibly vacant eyes and a strange combination of high cheekbones and pronounced overbites. Everyone looks just a little bit unsettling, but that does add to the atmosphere of the story, which is still fun and has a genuinely odd payoff for those unfamiliar with the source material.

The second short, Berenice, begins with an E.C. Comics style introduction from Poe which reminds the reader of his incestual and pedophilic marriage (which is itself probably scarier than anything Poe wrote, if we’re being honest). This one feels like it came straight out of an issue of Tales From The Crypt, and it’s nice to see something moderately more menacing than we would usually find in Edgar Allen Poe’s Snifter of Terror. There’s a tooth removal scene that will make anyone with a dental phobia squirm and the ending will be familiar to those who have seen the movie Teeth.  There’s also something satisfying about the main character getting his comeuppance, as he’s an absolute goblin for ninety-five percent of the story and his fate is well deserved.

Finally, I’d be remiss not to mention the short fiction pieces in the Snifter, as they’re probably the best they’ve ever been in issue 5. Keep Fit. Escape Hell. reads perfectly like a motivational poster from the underworld,  and Oscar Maltby managed to fit far more imagery than you’d think possible on a single page. It’s one of the most optimistic depictions of hell I’ve read, which really goes to show that it’s all a matter of perspective. The second flash fiction piece, Graven, is an impressively unnerving concept that’s made a bit lighter simply by how outlandish it is and how high the stakes are raised in a few hundred words. Season 2, Issue 5 of Edgar Allen Poe’s Snifter of Terror is just enough of a departure from the series’ norms to keep the formula fresh and prove that there’s still a lot to explore in the world of Poe.

9 out of 10 ruined bicycle seats