A Smattering of Poe Fan Art

I am not an Edgar Allan Poe scholar. So, rather than write a lengthy memorium or attempt an article about a weird writer I love to read, but do not have a stellar understanding of, I thought a sampling of Poe depictions would be more appropriate. In the two hundred years since his birth today, Mr. Poe has enjoyed a fanatically loyal following from those who read and appreciate him. Not unlike H.P. Lovecraft today, Poe has been the subject of both serious study and lighthearted adulation. Though not quite as explosive and ubiquitous as HPL and his creations online, Poe has sparked considerable memes and fan art as well. The images here are just a few that I think express a celebratory and joyous mood to honor the birth of a dark, strange writer.


It appears Poe's hero like status in literature has translated to other areas of pop culture. Plastic idols are no longer the venue of great soldiers, actors, and comic book heroes. You can get your own elegant Poe figurine--complete with black cat--from Amazon here. A little cognac for fuel and he's good to go.


This amateur work suggests that Poe is not dead, but dreaming. It famously combines the writer's morbid look on life and subject matter with cozier themes. It's especially interesting in light of Poe's great fear--expressed in several of his works--that he might end up prematurely interned in the rare, but awful fashion of the nineteenth century. At least an uncovered grave here yields no chance of the smothering doom that formed an "inconvenient truth" enshadowing the minds of many men and women in the author's era.


Talk about a dynamic duo! This stylish depiction of Poe walking with Lovecraft amid the backdrop of some of their most famous literary creations rings of the heroic. In fact, I believe it was originally a promo image for a webcomic featuring both weird writers as investigators. Anyone with some knowledge of Lovecraft's life knows the force Poe's legacy exerted. Some claim, not unreasonably, that Poe was placed on a pedestal by Lovecraft as the the shining example of what a weird writer could achieve--and what HPL himself hoped to. Today, it's nearly fair to say that the two stand equal, if not yet in scholarly attention, than at least in readership.


"Two-Fisted Poe" reinforces the jocular hero theme in some of the pictures above. Actually, Poe's notoriously decadent lifestyle leaves a nice way to envision him as a pulp vigilante. Unlike the shy and gentlemanly H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe experienced his fair share of drinking and adventures in the slums of cities like Baltimore and Richmond. His unusual death--seemingly the product of a rugged life in which refined literature was the main bright spot--still commands great mystery and occasional investigation. Poe would have truly had the hardened state of mind to thrive as a warrior or "dark hero" enjoyed in many popular books and television shows today.


Given the popularity of both cat memes online and Poe's story "The Black Cat," posting this image is only natural. This tale is back in the spotlight more than other Poe stories, thanks in part to a cinematic adaptation of The Black Cat from the Masters of Horror series. There's something curious about the high proportion of weird writers who have ruminated on the glories and horrors of felines in their work. Then again, there are few other animals with such an ancient history of wonder and strangeness in human culture. Perhaps the modern cat, as a smaller representative of its powerful and deadly cousins, is a little horror. A tame horror. Poe himself concentrated in a black cat is both charming and terrifying.

-Grim Blogger