Comic review: Poe #1(BOOM! Studios) by John H

When Haunted by the past…

To see death, and those that reside on the other side, could be considered a dream to some and a nightmare for others. What if you can’t control the visions? If the dead come to talk and ask for favors, or ask for revenge? And amidst all this, what if you were haunted by the vision of your passing wife, the love of your life, called on by the Grim Reaper? Would you stay sane? Could you? Would you even want to?




In Poe #1, this series of unfathomable circumstances occurs to one of America’s most beloved authors, Edgar Allen Poe. In the first issue, we are set upon the path of a young man who has just lost his wife, and he cannot rest for fear I believe of missing her soul. Locked in an insane asylum, he is constantly haunted by the figure of a small girl, who took her life several years before his own internment.

Having grown tired of Edgar Allen Poe’s bothersome attitude, the nuns request Edgar’s younger brother to please take their patient away. This is where we are treated to Edgar savvy and intellect, for you see Edgar’s brother is a constable for the city of Baltimore and the police have discovered a slew of new murders. Having written a few books on a certain detective, Edgar is surprised to notice things he constables seem to take for granted.

After demonstrating to the assembled police corps several piece of evidence they had not taken into account, Edgar asks his brother if he may help him on the case. Eventually his brother acquiesces, and the two are off quickly following the path of clues Mr. Poe had assembled at the murder scene. However, very soon they realize this case is much more than it seems, when supernatural elements seem to pop up more and more frequently. The murders it seems are centered on five roman coins of the Augustus Denarus denomination, and all but one of the owners is dead.

It's always nice to be surprised by a book, and this one with its Sherlock Holmes overtones is my new favorite of the moment. This is an awesome story that kept me turning the pages till the very end. The artist uses his colors to full gloriously lugubrious effect. A must have for murder and mystery enthusiasts!

9/10

Goes On sale July 15th

John H.