"Striking Illustration" [SOLI]

One of my friends gave me a collection of comic books they found at a used-books store: the “Cases of Sherlock Holmes” series by Dan Day. It was run by Renegade Press from 1986 til ‘88 and then by Northstar Publishing from ‘89 til 1990. I expected these to be a set of original tales featuring the Great Detective, based solely on the cover images. Open up the first issue, and the first page looks like the image seen on the right.


The illustrations were rich in detail and very evocative of a Victorian setting. Particularly pleasing is the amount of detail given to the characters - more than even the best Sidney Paget drawings could hope to give us, as we view them in reprints. The only drawback to the early issues of the Cases of Sherlock Holmes series is that the text was in ALL CAPS. No need to shout at me while I'm reading a graphic novel.

Some of you probably know about these already - for those of you who don’t, they’re worth looking for. They are, simply, the stories from the Canon put to illustration. The illustrations themselves are wonderfully detailed, and the layout is generally easy to follow. Most of the time the illustrations simply decorate the columns of text, but every now and then the reader comes across a dynamic spread -

Read more...

"Two Knight-Errants To the Rescue" [SIGN]

(NOTE: Promotional art was provided for purposes of review only, and are kindly used with permission. Special thanks to Ken Janssens and Matthew Martin for their time and insights, and to Brant Fowler at Comic Related for bringing this to our attention)

Holmes and Watson seem to be making a "comeback" of sorts in comics and graphic literature, appearing in a wide range of stories such as Victorian Undead and Sherlock Holmes: Year One. This December, Bluewater Productions will be publishing the first issue of the Sherlock Holmes: Victorian Knights four-issue miniseries, just in time for the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

Writer Ken Janssens and artist Matthew Martin were gracious enough to offer some of their insights around the upcoming series. For many Sherlockians who read this blog, this is a great opportunity to learn how writers and artists approach the canon when reinterpreting the character for a modern audience.

According to Ken Janssens, the four-issue Sherlock Holmes: Victorian Knights is actually "...two interconnected stories. The first two issues deal with the murder of a prostitute and a haunting by a black spectre. The second two issues deal with the murder of one of the suspects from the first story." As a lifelong Sherlockian who was introduced to the canon via the Brett series (and who counts The Hound of the Baskervilles as his favorite Holmes novel), Janssens saw a unique challenge in writing the characters:

Writing them together in a scene is easier than writing them alone. There is a give and take, a yin and yang, that you get to play off of that is extremely fun. They love each other like brothers, but just like vastly-different brothers, they are constantly annoyed and rag on each other.

Artist Matthew Martin, who resides in England with his wife and daughter, grew up with Holmes as part of his culture (and he, too, considers The Hound of the Baskervilles his favorite novel). For him, capturing not only the characters of Holmes and Watson - but the era in which they live - presented unique challenges:

... I used the Robert Downey Jr version of Holmes more as inspiration than the classic look, which will probably be a contentious choice for some fans....With Watson I went the opposite way, going a bit more classical with choices like the facial hair...I loved creating the buildings and setting the scenes, I always find the more challenging aspect character related in terms of being consistent and really bringing them to life.

Thankfully, both Janssens and Martin are not only fans of the character, but have some very unique tastes when it comes to adaptations of the canon. For Janssens, his personal favorite is "...the 1985 Barry Levinson-directed Young Sherlock Holmes. Not only is it a fun ride, the story and atmosphere just pulls me right in". Although Martin enjoys the Downey film, he admits, "Harking back to my youth though I still have a real soft spot for Disney’s Basil the Great Mouse detective"


It's good to know that Holmes and Watson are in good hands. Sherlock Holmes: Victorian Knights comes out in December - please visit your local comics shop to pre-order your copy.

Editor's note: Gordon regularly covers the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and the entertainment industry. You can also find him at Blog THIS, Pal! and Comic Related.

--

"Adorned With the Griffin" [SHOS]

The refrain "I hear of Sherlock everywhere" was first muttered by Sherlock Holmes's elder brother Mycroft, who possessed the deductive faculty to an even greater degree than his younger sibling.

And while it may be that we do in fact hear of Sherlock everywhere these days, thanks to a resurgence of interest in the character and with new works on television, screen and on the printed page, there are other areas we can point to as well.

In this case it would be in fan-generated art. And when you have a fan who combines two interests, the result can be fascinating, macabre or even fun. In this case, it's definitely the case of fun, as LaLunatique from DeviantArt.com has created a Family Guy version of Sherlock Holmes characters. If you're not familiar with the show, pop over to Hulu and check it out, or click on the Amazon links to purchase a copy for yourself (disclosure: I earn money when you buy through my links).

Click to enlarge

This is not the first association between "Family Guy" and Sherlock Holmes. In November 2009, Warner Bros stepped up as the main sponsor for Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, which featured the latest trailer for Sherlock Holmes.

We're delighted to see the inspired casting for the Griffin family. We'd be even more thrilled to see it brought to the small screen, as the Simpsons did in the Treehouse of Horror XV episode "Four Beheadings and a Funeral," featuring Lisa as Eliza Simpson and Bart as Dr. Bartley. The plot concerned the Mutton-Chop Murderer, who was killing prostitutes; it also included such gems as eel pie, steampunk and an opium den. Not yet available for purchase on DVD, it was part of Season 16.

You can see the original Family Guy artwork over at Deviant Art.


Please consider visiting our sponsors (in the right column and footer of the site) from time to time. It helps defray the costs associated with running this site.
--

    

"He Concealed His Own Formidable Identity" [BLAC]

Every once in a while, there comes along an image that needs no commentary. In this case, we'll step aside and let you admire the work of 9GAG.

Why Batman hates Sherlock Holmes.

Please consider visiting our sponsors (in the right column and footer of the site) from time to time. It helps defray the costs associated with running this site.
--

"The Younger Brother of...Walter" [BRUC]

Last year, we celebrated a landmark event: the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Now in 2010, we have another sesquicentennial to highlight: the 150th anniversary of the birth of famed illustrator Sidney Paget.

Paget's influence cannot be underestimated, as he gave Sherlock Holmes life through the visual medium. His illustrations were the first - and likely the most impressionable - images of Holmes that many readers saw, as they helped to visually tell the stories in the Strand Magazine. To many, just as Basil Rathbone is held in the mind as the definitive Holmes of film, Paget's Holmes is the definitive Holmes of illustrations.

And now to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of this influential artist, the Toronto Public Library is holding a virtual exhibit titled Sidney Paget: Iconic Illustrator of Sherlock Holmes. The online exhibit is truly well done, as it takes the visitor through various displays and highlights Paget's career and non-Sherlockian work - work that inspired Conan Doyle to collaborate with Paget on other projects such as The Tragedy of the Korasko and Rodney Stone (both seen below).

  

In addition to his non-Sherlockian work, there is also non-Doylean work that the TPL calls out, such as other detective stories and current events in illustrated newspapers. But the images that struck us as the most interesting are those that show Paget's work on Sherlock Holmes spilling over into other illustrations. Here are two that could simply be Sherlock Holmes wearing a bad toupee:

  

We highly recommend checking out the full exhibit. And if that captures your interest, the Toronto Public Library has a full listing of all of their virtual exhibits to date. Included therein are two that you might be particularly interested in:

• A Case of Considerable Interest: An exhibition celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection of the Toronto Public Library
• Footprints of the Hound: Celebrating the centenary of return of Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles and the 30th anniversary of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection.

Related items:

    

"From Amid the Mad Elements" [FIVE]

While we may hear of Sherlock everywhere, it's equally as encouraging to hear of Sherlockians everywhere. Ever since the first time I attended a Sherlockian event (a Men on the Tor dinner in October, 1985 at Gillette Castle, if you must know), I've been astounded at the variety of individuals I've met who share this hobby.

The cast of characters is as robust and diverse as those we find in the Canon itself: doctors, lawyers, engineers, tradesmen, housewives, politicians, businesspeople, performers - the list goes on and on. Just last Thursday, I had occasion to be New York City for business and I had an impromptu dinner with some of my favorite fellow Sherlockians. The list included a copywriter, a toxicologist, a lawyer and an accountant.

So imagine my elation (note I didn't say "surprise") when I came across a blog written by Tom Richmond, an artist for MAD, Magazine. Tom is a self-professed "humorous illustrator" and he follows in the footsteps, figuratively and stylistically, of some great MAD artists.

In addition to his artistic abilities, Tom has a turn for Sherlock Holmes. He had written previously about listening to some audio recordings by David Ian Davies while he worked in the studio. Evidently, Tom was a bit frustrated that, because of the way Davies' various recordings were published, there wasn't a comprehensive, organized Canon even though Davies recorded every story.

So like any dedicated and enterprising Sherlockian, he took up his pen and wrote to the narrator himself, registering his concern. He requested a collection that would take the listener from start to finish, encompassing all 56 short stories and four novels. Davies responded in kind and as a result, Tom was commissioned to do the cover art for the collection. Talk about an homage!

Audible.com now features this set under the title One Voice Chronological: The Consummate Holmes Collections. While I haven't listened to any of Davies' work, it is well-known and well-regarded in Sherlockian circles. David's site contains high praise from the likes of Charles Prepolec of bakerstreetdozen.com and Roger Johnson of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London.

One final note: it's nice to see that Tom is keeping up with the MAD tradition of honoring Holmes. Don Martin, "MAD's Maddest Artist," produced this memorable piece: