Lately, given my SherlockComics.com project, I tend to get asked “what’s a good Sherlockian comic for kids?” Since Muppet Sherlock Holmes is long out of print, this is my new first choice. Gillian Goerz’s previous book, Shirley and Jamila Save Their Summer, introduced the intrepid detective and her devoted friend and storyteller. Shirley and Jamila’s Big Fall goes further in loosely adapting an actual Sherlock Holmes story. Blackmailer Charles Augustus Milverton here becomes school bully Chuck Milton. He’s class president, […]

Trevor sleeps through biology class until spirits show him how amazing scientific discovery can be, just in time for tomorrow’s quiz. Ghosts of Science Past is a creative blend of A Christmas Carol, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, graphic biography, and true science comics. The ghost of Charles Darwin starts Trevor off on his adventure. He explains the scientific method before warning him he “will be haunted by three scientists” that will guide him to learning what he needs to […]

Kelly is a really good lawyer because she is very involved in the details. That also means she has one friend and no romantic prospects, because that’s how this kind of character works in media. When her friend encourages her to do something “rash and stupid,” she buys an abandoned storage unit, where she finds and frees Oberon, King of the Fairies. He grants her three wishes, but the specific wording determines what will happen. She’s the perfect person to […]

Gideon Gunn, the Pagan Priest is ridiculous adventure with plenty of nostalgic appeal to those who enjoy classic British comics or Hammer horror. The concept’s in the title. Created by writer Daniel Whiston and artist Andrew Richmond, Gunn fights monsters in 18th century Bath with whatever makes sense, whether holy or pagan. This single comic, “Strange Alchemy”, has three stories. Gunn fights vampires, zombies, and a Frankenstein-style animated corpse. Even though I have little exposure to 80s British comic anthologies […]

Sherlock Holmes stories are hard to write. Getting that blend of mystery, adventure, and deduction right, particularly in another period, is tricky. Even more particularly when it comes to comics, since comfortable scenes of friendly interactions between Holmes and Dr. John Watson, or incidents deducing a new client, are conversational, not visual. I suspect that’s why so many Sherlock Holmes comics, especially those set in the Victorian period, tend to be mashups. Holmes vs. Dracula, or Mr. Hyde, or Lovecraftian […]

You know what we don’t have enough stories about? Good friends. That’s why I loved Asylum, that, and the nerd culture setting. The graphic novel is written by Greg Means, illustrated by Kazimir Lee, and published by Tugboat Press. Allen and Zekia are best friends. (Before you start thinking When Harry Met Sally, it’s not like that. He’s straight and she’s gay.) She’s a nationally ranked player of Asylum, a competitive card game, and he helps with the demos on […]

Haley loves gothic romance. She only wants to read stories such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. In The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor, after she rescues a man from the river on a dark and rainy night, she finds herself in the storybook setting she’s always dreamed of. This graphic novel is written by Shaenon K. Garrity and illustrated by Christopher Baldwin. (I don’t personally care for those types of stories at all, but I could identify with Haley’s […]