Here's a great review of the first issue of Sherlock Holmes! Thanks to Hypergeek.
As a general rule, I tend to shy away from comic books which are either adaptations of novels, or new stories based on classic literary characters. With adaptations I tend to find that because I am so familiar with the original novel I become bored very rapidly; either that, or I become irritated that certain things were cut out, or important parts were altered to fit the comic page. When it comes to new stories based upon a classic work, it is always a risky venture. The classic version of a character is often ingrained in peoples minds very thoroughly; therefore, when you take that character and place it in alien situation, it is inevitable that you are going to upset some people. People are likely to criticize your portrayal because you have made the character do, or say, something that they think is out of character. They are also likely to criticize the fact that the dialogue is not in the same style as the original story, or any other number of perceived mistakes.
I'll admit that I am very picky when it comes to this sort of thing. I have tried several comic adaptations recently, and gave most of them up very quickly, for example, the comics based on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time books, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, and Stephen King's The Stand. I'm even more picky about new stories. I'll admit that have been enjoying the new Dark Tower stories that Marvel have been putting out, which fit in the interstices left in the mythology of King's fantasy epic, but I do have some serious problems with the drawling speech pattern used for the narrator, and some of the dialogue used is painfully bad. That being said, this is probably the best story of this type that I have read thus far.
That is, until I read the new Sherlock Holmes series from Dynamite Entertainment. The title is written by Leah Moore, and John Reppion, with artwork provided by Aaron Campbell, and with cover art by John Cassaday. The first issue of the series was released last Wednesday, 29th April 2009, with following issues to be released on a monthly basis.
The first arc of the title is an entirely new 6-part story called 'The Trial of Sherlock Holmes'. The story opens with a mysterious explosion in a warehouse in East London. On the following day, retired assistant police commissioner Samuel Henry receives a threat against his life from an unknown malefactor who lays claims to the previous night's explosion, and threatens several more bombings throughout London, at seven p.m. that evening. Fearing for his life, Sir Henry requests a meeting with Sherlock Holmes, to help discern the source of the threat. When Holmes arrives at the home of Sir Henry, he finds he building to be under heavy police protection, and inside he meets Inspector Lastrade and Detective Inspector Davis of Scotland Yard. After some discussion of the matters at hand, and talk of the impending visit of Baron Albrecht Lothair, who has expressed an interest in meeting Holmes, Sir Henry requests for Holmes to come up to his room, where he is bedridden from Consumption. Holmes goes up to see Sir Henry alone, then at the strike of 7 p.m. a gunshot is heard from the bedroom, and the police and Watson smash in the door to find Sir Henry dead, and Holmes holding a smoking gun in his hand, literally.
What an explosive way to begin the title! It is a classic locked room mystery, with the twist being that the chief suspect is the detective who is normally called upon to solve such cases. As Holmes is escorted to jail by the police, the reader is left waiting with an incredibly intense cliffhanger, the could possibly feel longer than Holmes' night in the cells! Clearly, there is far more going on here than meets the eye, and lots of hint are peppered throughout the opening chapter. What is all the hoopla about the visit of Baron Albrecht Lothair? Who bombed the warehouse? What did they have to do with Holmes being in Sir Henry's room at the exact time of the intended bombing? What do the mysterious threatening letters sent to the papers have to do with everything?
Wow! This comic has an incredibly intriguing premise, and perfect pacing. Moore & Reppion have done an absolutely amazing job on this book. It's not just the mystery that makes this one great though, as they work their real magic in the finer details. The dialogue is absolutely top-notch, and is as faithful to actual 19th Century dialog as one could possibly hope for, with faithful spellings and antiquated phrases. The characterization of Holmes and Watson feels absolutely perfect, and remain very faithful to Arthur Conan Doyle's depictions of them. You can tell that a lot of research has gone into this comic, and that has really payed of with a story that feels like it could have been written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself.
On the art front, Aaron Campbell does a wonderful job of bringing Holmes and co. to the modern comic book page. His depiction of Holmes and Watson are rather faithful to early line-art illustrations of the characters, and he gives the London streets that wonderfully foreboding atmosphere that makes you think that Spring-Heeled Jack could be lurking in the fog bank, or at the end of the next dark alley. I remember that last year John Reppion was asking people to recommend him a good artist that could do a 19th century period style. I assume this is the project that he was working on, and I would say that he found the perfect artist for the project. He should buy a pint for the person who recommended Aaron Campbell to him :)
At the start of this review I mentioned my trepidation towards adaptations of novels, and original tales involving classic characters. Moore, Reppion and Campbell might very well have changed my mind on this issue entirely. As a big Sherlock Holmes fan, I can honestly say that so far, this is looking like it might be my favourite non Conan Doyle penned Holmes story ever committed to paper!
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