Watson and Holmes Returns With New Story

FairSquare Comics completes its reprinting of Watson and Holmes with the second volume.

Watson and Holmes: A Scandal In Harlem reprints the previous second collection of stories with a new, short (seven pages) chapter added.

The stories included are:

• A death in a case that involves a councilman running for re-election, with an unexpected involvement in sex trafficking, written by Brandon Easton, art by N. Steven Harris
• An investigation what appears to be suicides of veterans, manipulated by a mad scientist type, written by Steven Grant and Hannibal Tabu, art by Dennis Calero
• A retelling of “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist”, only Violetta is a pedi-cab biker with a suspicious fare, written by Lyndsay Faye and Brandon Easton, art by Eli Powell
• The story that gives the book its title, retelling “A Scandal in Bohemia”, introducing Irene Adlero as a singer releasing a new single, Moriarty as a super-corporate brand, and King as the one trying to control the song’s rights, written by Lyndsay Faye and Karl Bollers, art by N. Steven Harris
• It’s five years later, and Watson needs Holmes’ help when one of his son’s friends is killed for his fancy sneakers, written by Greg Anderson Elysée, art by N. Steven Harris

You may know the name Lyndsay Faye as the author of several well-regarded Sherlockian pastiches, including Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson, The Whole Art of Detection, and Observations by Gaslight. Thus, it’s no surprise that her stories are the standouts, with clever, modernized twists on classic, well-loved Holmes tales (and with well-done female characters making their own ways in the world).

The second story I thought could have used more space. It requires knowledge of the characters to understand all that’s going on in the dialogue, and a lot happens quickly. That makes for a feeling of excitement, though.

All of these stories emphasize how much Watson has to add to the partnership, though, with both Holmes and Watson contributing to the investigations and Watson’s knowledge often relied upon.

There’s a lot alluded to but not explained in the final story, which leaves lots of room for future stories or fan speculation on what each has been up to in the missing time. The book also includes the penciled pages for half of that last tale as a bonus. I hope this does very well and we get more new stories with this version of the characters.