Edgar Allan Poe the next new TV Detective?

ABC has picked up a pilot that has Edgar Allan Poe playing detective. Now before I go any further I have to say the concept is not as far fetched as it sounds. After all Poe is recognized not only as the father of the short story but also detective fiction. C. Auguste Dupin first appeared in Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue and later appears in The Mystery of Marie Roget and the Purloined Letter. Dupin even predated Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and it has been speculated that he was inspiration for the Victorian Sleuth.

But even with that clout behind him, can television effectively depict Poe with his addiction to opium and alcohol? Will they even touch upon his marriage to his cousin Virginia Eliza Clemm? I am a huge fan of Poe's work but I will be the first to admit that Poe's life was complex and disturbed and is hardly prime time fare. Yet even with my doubts I will tune in. Perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised.

Witch Hunters, Robert E. Howard and a bit of self promotion

I have recently finished digitally coloring the piece below. It is another Warhammer inspired piece of the Witch Hunter. An interesting note is that the Witch Hunter was actually based on Robert E. Howard's character Solomon Kane, a Puritan demon slayer. Howard is also known for his more famous creation, Conan.

Howard lived a very robust but in the end tragic life than ceased with his suicide. Athletic and much like his characters, Howard was a self made man that made a meager living writing pulps in the '30's as did his close correspondent friend, H.P. Lovecraft. Both writers created a mythology all their own and Howard's world that Conan dwelt is almost as expansive as Tolkien's. Sadly though most of Howard's vision of Conan in the public eye is that of Arnold wielding a sword against a giant rubber snake. In truth, Howard's world was much more elaborate with wizards, mystics, dreaming gods and forgotten races.

The Conan legacy was rescued from obscurity by Lancer Books in the '60's with primal covers by Frank Frazetta, the master of fantasy. Soon after Marvel would bring Conan to more attention with stories by Roy Thomas and artwork by Barry Windsor-Smith who grew with each story changing mere comic layout to masterful graphic story telling. In fact it was Barry Windsor-Smith's art that inspired much of my style, he, like Frazetta, were my childhood idols.





Witch Hunter Portrait Color by *PoeticCrow on deviantART

I went for an old world theme inspired by one of my other idols, Durer. I hope you enjoy.

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On another note and perhaps a tad self promotion...

I have opened a zazzle account to promote a line of greeting cards and postcards with my artwork. I will expand this line soon with more art, mostly black and white Gothic themed art.


make custom gifts at Zazzle