Sherlock Holmes: The Spider’s Web
Who would have thought mixing a traditional Sherlock Holmes pastiche with Oscar Wilde’s characters would work so well? Philip Purser-Hallard, that’s who. I picked up Sherlock Holmes: The Spider’s Web because I’d read and enjoyed some of Purser-Hallard’s writings on Doctor Who. I was pleasantly surprised to find an authentic-feeling novel with quite the deductions. Then a body is found at the Moncrieff house during a ball, and in wanders the cast of The Importance of Being Earnest. It’s all […]
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Book Review Philosophy Found in a Continuation Novel
I’ve been reading Thrones, Dominations, by Jill Paton Walsh, although I don’t enjoy it. It’s one of those continuation novels, adding to Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey series long after her death. I love the character and the series, and I’d love to have more, but this, although based on notes Sayers left, just doesn’t have the fun of the original novels. Mostly because Lord Peter doesn’t sound like himself. (I also didn’t enjoy Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night by Sophie […]
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Murder on the Orient Express: The Graphic Novel
Murder on the Orient Express: The Graphic Novel is a faithful adaptation of the famous Agatha Christie novel, adapted and illustrated by Bob Al-Greene. With one odd exception: Hercule Poirot is completely bald, with an exaggerated mustache that continues into his sideburns. Regardless, it’s an entertaining way to re-experience the story at one’s own pace. The frequent use of full-page horizontal panels captures the claustrophobic feel of the train cars, even when they’re divided into panels to more easily guide […]
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Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia Box Set Now Available
One of the fan-favorite episodes from Sherlock Season 2, “A Scandal in Belgravia”, is now available in complete manga form. The retelling of Sherlock Holmes (as played by Benedict Cumberbatch) meeting with Irene Adler (Lara Pulver) was originally released as two comic-format miniseries. Part One was collected in late 2020, and Part Two in March 2023. Just in time for the holidays, both volumes are available in one slipcased box set. There’s no cost savings, and the “two exclusive art […]
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Find Out What I Don’t Like About Sherlock Holmes in Comics
I was honored to be asked to contribute an essay to Reading Holmes!, a book now crowdfunding. It’s about different approaches to reading about Sherlock Holmes. My essay is titled “What Makes a Good Sherlock Holmes Comic?” and starts off As the owner and operator of SherlockComics.com, my dirty little secret is that there are a significant number of comics featuring Sherlock Holmes that I don’t like. Most of them result from a conflict between what people think of when […]
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Magnetic Press Study in Scarlet On Sale This Weekend
Earlier this year, Magnetic Press released a gorgeous version of A Study in Scarlet. This novel by Arthur Conan Doyle is the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes, and this version is illustrated by Vincent Mallié. It’s a lovely magazine-sized hardcover, and it’s available in two editions: the book by itself or in a slipcase with Arsene Lupin by Maurice LeBlanc, also illustrated by Mallié. But the best news of this Thanksgiving weekend is that both editions (along with all other […]
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Thinking of You (But Not Like In a Weird Creepy Way)
Thank goodness we still get book collections of webcomics, or I’d never have stumbled across this heart-warming and reassuring collection by Beth Evans. Some might quibble with the term comics as applied to this style, but simplicity can be deceptive. In Thinking of You (But Not Like In a Weird Creepy Way), each panel is a page, and each features the most minimal lump creatures (as seen on the cover). The insight is impressive, however. A simple illustration accompanied by […]
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Sherlock & Watson Wired and Re-Wired
The “Text Me Mystery” series brings the classic characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson into the modern era by re-telling Arthur Conan Doyle’s mystery stories via text messaging. There are two books out so far, Sherlock & Watson Wired and Sherlock & Watson Re-Wired, rewritten by Ann Kimbrough. Somehow, Holmes and Watson have randomly ended up in a chat thread with four modern-day teens. The kids are bored, so in Wired, Watson begins telling them “The Adventure of […]
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