Encyclopedia of Hell – "Written by and for demons, instructing them on how to destroy mankind"
Encyclopedia of Hell: An Invasion Manual for Demons Concerning the Planet Earth and the Human Race Which Infests It
by Martin Olson (author), Tony Millionaire (illustrator) and Mahendra Singh (illustrator)
Feral House
2011, 240 pages, 7 x 10 x 0.8 inches (softcover)
$14 Buy a copy on Amazon
In 1911 journalist Ambrose Bierce published a scathingly satirical book called The Devil's Dictionary, which contained truer-than-true definitions of everyday words. (Example - Bore: A person who talks when you wish him to listen.) Exactly 100 years later came Martin Olson's Encyclopaedia of Hell, "a book that was 'written by and for demons, instructing them on how to destroy mankind.'" This encyclopedia is a blisteringly subversive book filled with illustrated definitions in the vein of Ambrose Bierce. Written as if Satan himself was the author, the definitions reveal a dim view of humanity. (Justice: Superstition of humans oppressed by the billionaires who own them. Robot: From the corporate viewpoint, the ideal human being. Soldier: A target made of flesh.) The book is lushly designed by Sean Tejaratchi, publisher of the late, great Crap Hound zine.