Save the Edgar Allan Poe House!

There are few literary masters with more of an influence on comics and superheroes than Edgar Allan Poe. From his horror and thriller works which influenced many of the horror comics popular after World War II to his detective stories whose super detective Arsene Lupin influenced any number of superheroes like John Constantine, Phantom Stranger and Doctor Occult, Poe has a foothold in comic mythology and influence which is noticeable and strong. Indeed, BOOM! Studios recently published a series in which he takes up the mantle of an amateur but supremely intuitive writer.

Having said that, I received an email from Editor Pilley which indicated that the Poe House and Museum in Baltimore is in real danger of being closed as funding for this landmark had been severely cut in recent years and Baltimore officials apparently want the house to begin operating independent of public funding by the summer of 2012; a tall order in this economy. For what it is worth, the funding for the museum is modest (about $80,000.00 to $85,000.00 reportedly) and the Poe Museum has managed to continue operations relatively undisturbed due to private contributions and fundraising events connected to the Poe Bicentennial in 2009.

An online petition is making it's way around the web to save this landmark where Poe lived and wrote during his eventful time in Baltimore. Several of his more well known works were thought to have been written here including The Visionary and To Elisabeth. I know many of the Omnicomic readers are appreciators of the finer things in life and would certainly appreciate Poe's influence on comic book narrative so please consider signing the petition, circulating it and making note of it on your social media (or all of the above).

The link is http://poebicentennial.com/blog.html.

The Hidden S