This Saturday May 2 I'll be at Astro Zombies in Albuquerque, NM doing a book signing for the release of Sherlock Holmes #1 Come get a signed copy of the great detective's best ever comic incarnation. It's also Free Comic Book Day which means, that's right, free comics! Sorry Sherlock is not free.
I'll be signing from 12 - 3 pm
Astro Zombie is located smack on the corner of Central Ave. and Richmond Dr.
 | Dynamite must want to you to read 'Sherlock Holmes #1', because they're shipping it a week early, so it will be in stores next week. Here's a preview... SHERLOCK HOLMES #1 Writers: Leah Moore & John Reppion Penciller/Inker: Aaron Campbell Cover: John Cassaday Colors: Tony Aviña Genre: Mystery Rating: Teen + Continuing their new exploration of literary icons, Dynamite Entertainment presents the ultimate mystery as they unveil Sherlock Holmes! Written by Leah Moore and John Reppion with reverence and a modern edge, artist Aaron Douglas completes the Victorian mood under the striking and iconic John Cassaday covers. Issue #1 begins the “Trial of Sherlock Holmes” which presents the great detective with an all-too personal quandary and explores the nature of the man and his world with a mix of refined ambiance, carefully crafted mystery and chilling suspense! 32 pages  |
Exclusive Dynamite Preview - 'Sherlock Holmes #1' (24 April 2009 12:00 am ET)
Dynamite must want to you to read 'Sherlock Holmes #1', because they're shipping it a week early, so it will be in stores next week. Here's a preview... SHERLOCK HOLMES #1 Writers: Leah Moore & John Reppion Penciller/Inker: Aaron Campbell Cover: John Cassaday Colors: Tony Aviña Genre: Mystery Rating: Teen + Continuing their new exploration of literary icons, Dynamite Entertainment presents the ultimate mystery as they unveil Sherlock Holmes! Written by Leah Moore and John Reppion with reverence and a modern edge, artist Aaron Campbell completes the Victorian mood under the striking and iconic John Cassaday covers. Issue #1 begins the “Trial of Sherlock Holmes” which presents the great detective with an all-too personal quandary and explores the nature of the man and his world with a mix of refined ambiance, carefully crafted mystery and chilling suspense! 32 pages
Sherlock Holmes #1
Sherlock Holmes #1
Written by Leah Moore and John Reppion; Illustrated by Aaron Campbell
Dynamite; $3.50
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been really curious to see what Dynamite does with a Sherlock
When Dynamite offered to send me a PDF of the first issue, I couldn’t resist taking a peek. It’s not the format I’d prefer to read the story in (especially since the PDF was uncolored and I imagine that Campbell’s art will look fantastic in color), but curiosity beat the crap out of delayed gratification and so now I’ve read it.
"Forgot me bleedin hat"
I should’ve said that coloring will make Campbell’s art even more fantastic. His realistic, detailed linework reminds me of Butch Guice’s stuff on Ruse, which is wonderful to see and about the best you can hope for. He grounds Victorian England in the same way that Steve Epting grounds Captain America. This feels like a real place with real people doing real things. Campbell doesn’t draw every brick and every cobblestone or every line on an old man’s wrinkled face, but he gives the impression that he does.
He draws a great Holmes and Watson too. Holmes is equal parts dashing and arrogant; Watson is simultaneously good-natured and competent. These aren’t caricatures, they’re the characters as I imagine them when I read Doyle.
And - for the most part - the writing lives up to the art. Because some of the story is told in the form of letters and papers that were left blank on my PDF I had a hard time following everything, but I think I’ve got the gist of it. The story’s about a terrorist who’s blowing up buildings in London. Lots of political groups are claiming responsibility for the explosions, but when a former government official is threatened, Holmes is called in to help protect him and discover the bomber’s identity. This is all good and the exposition is made entertaining due to Moore and Reppion’s getting all the voices right for Holmes, Watson, and Inspector Lestrade. Again, this sounds like a Doyle story. So far…
I’ve got to put a spoiler warning up at the end of the paragraph, because I’m going to hint at what happens at the end of the issue. Though, the title of the story - “The Trial of Sherlock Holmes” - gives you a much bigger clue to what happens than I will. Still…
Minor Spoilers Below
My only concern about the issue is that Holmes ends it acting in a way that I can’t ever imagine Holmes acting. In fact, the only possible explanation is that he’s up to something and is behaving out-of-character on purpose in some attempt to flush out the villain. But even then I’m having a hard time convincing myself that Holmes would take this approach.
On the other hand, Moore and Reppion get the first nineteen pages so right that I have to believe they know what they’re doing. I don’t know their work from anything outside of this, but I want to trust them. So I’ve finished the issue the way I went into it: with skeptical curiosity. Now I’m going to have to read more of the story and cross my fingers that my trust’s not misplaced. Well played, Dynamite.
Three out of five scattered “clues” that may or may not have anything to do with solving the mystery. I love that stuff.
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| "Sherlock Holmes" #1 on sale in May |
Gathering the story of how artist Aaron Campbell came to draw Dynamite's May-launching "Sherlock Holmes" series presents almost as many small clue-rific details as one of the legendary detective's cases. Luckily, Campbell spilled the beans on his back story for CBR News, so we didn't have to sleuth up all the info ourselves.
"I knew at the age of seven that I wanted to be an artist, and as a kid all I cared about was drawing comics," explained Campbell, whose way to comic books took a slightly byzantine path in the long run, one worth following to: After shifting focus from comics to illustration at the Maryland Institute, College of Art and then at New York's School of Visual Arts, Campbell worked as a cover artist and illustrator for publications like "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction," various role playing game companies, and Eos Books. But when he got back around to his first love, the gig came at the hands of some of his earliest comic book cronies.
"Do you remember that show that used to be on Discovery called 'Connections' where this old British man would come on and tell you why peanut butter is somehow the reason we have space flight or something crazy like that? Well my story is a bit like that except in my case it was Dungeons and Dragons that lead to my working for Dynamite," Cambell said. "Back in college I overheard a couple people that I was socially acquainted with talking about a D&D campaign they were involved in. I grew up playing and was eager to get back into it, so I asked them if there was room for one more. They directed me to Fil, who I knew from the illustration department, he directed to the DM, his roommate Rob. I asked if he had room for one more, he said sure, I rolled up a character, and Rob and Fil and I have been good friends ever since.
“Well, Rob and Fil have both gone on to have successful careers in comics. Rob is Robert Randle, brand manager at Diamond Comics and Fil is Filip Sablik, publisher at Top Cow. Rob and I, a few years back, started working on a creator-owned project for Archaia, and last summer at San Diego I showed the work to Fil, who introduced me to Nick [Barrucci] at Dynamite. So there you have it. And they say D&D leads to no good!"
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| In-progress pages from "Sherlock Holmes" #1 | |
Where "Sherlock Holmes" leads, as written by the duo of Leah Moore and John Reppion, is into an all-new adventure titled "The Trial of Sherlock Holmes," which Aaron Campbell prepared for by revising the look of the classic detective. "First of all, I wanted to start from scratch, get rid of all the clichés and go back to the source," he said. "The Holmes we all think of today actually took a long time to evolve. If you look at the original illustrations of Sherlock by Sidney Paget that appeared in 'The Strand Magazine' when Doyle was writing the stories, he looked like any other Victorian gentleman. So I started from there.
“I see Holmes as the type of man that is fastidious in his appearance yet doesn’t want to draw attention to himself through ostentation, so I’m keeping his dress modest. There will be no deerstalkers or Inverness overcoats and magnifying glasses. I didn’t want to completely defy tradition though. I try to stay true to the basic look of Sherlock, the thin build, widow’s peak, long face, and piercing eyes. And if you really know your stuff you should be able to pick up on little references I make to mementos from the stories."
Campbell won't be comparing and contrasting his take on Holmes to that of cover artist John Cassaday. "It’s a great honor for me to be working with such a revered artist on my very first published book,” Campbell said. “I can’t imagine anyone more appropriate to be drawing the covers. I haven’t had a chance to talk with John about the project or characters but I think it’s important that the Sherlock he draws remains his own. We’re different artists with different approaches and fans are going to want to see Cassaday’s Holmes on those covers. It just adds another level of diversity to the book. "
When it comes to the story content itself, Campbell lighted upon his writers' take on the material immediately. "After reading the script for issue #1, I couldn’t wait for #2. I think that those looking for a faithful interpretation will find all the hallmarks that make the original tales so intriguing and yet they bring a distinct voice to the story that gives it modern relevance and adds depth to all the characters."
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| In-progress pages from "Sherlock Holmes" #1 | |
Campbell noted that for the finished artwork, the devil is in the details -- as with all mystery thrillers, which fit his style to a T. ”My work has always been about the details, the little nuances that give a sense of life and history to the characters. In a story like this it is especially important because it is very much character driven and characters are more than just the sum of their physical appearances. Holmes wouldn’t be Holmes unless he lived in a cramped little Victorian apartment packed with all manner of mementos, brick-a-brack, and haberdash. These peculiar notions like his chemistry station, the violin he uses to clear his mind, and the sideboard where he keeps his whiskey and cocaine all lend depth and clarity to the character. I also really enjoy a good visual puzzle and in keeping with that classic use of foreshadowing I try to put things in the background here and there that give an indication of what is to come."
Readers can peak at Campbell's interpretation now before "Sherlock Holmes" debuts in May, from the man himself to the locations that will shape his world, including the artist's hands-down favorite New Scotland Yard. "We spend a bit of time there, as would be expected, and John and Leah are very concerned with maintaining a certain level of historical accuracy,” Campbell explained. “In the history of Scotland Yard, there have been three of them. In this story, we visit the second of these incarnations, a red and white candy-cane striped edifice that is now, in the present day, known as the Norman Shaw Building, after it’s original architect. I was able to find some good references of the building from a distance but not much in the way of close street level stuff. In addition, there are two buildings separated by a narrow street with arches running across that make up the whole complex. Well, in 1895, the smaller of these two buildings did not exist. So I get to add the fun task of editing that building out. In general, though, that’s the biggest challenge on this book. It takes place in a very specific place and time and it’s up to me to stay true to that."
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| In-progress page from "Sherlock Holmes" #1 |
Unlike his collaborators Moore & Reppion, Aaron Campbell didn't come to the series with a background in Holmes. "I’ve gotta come clean on this one. Before taking on this project, I had never actually read any of the Sherlock stories. I admit, it’s pretty sad, especially since I’m a big fan of Victorian literature," Campbell confessed. "I had a couple months, though, to get schooled before starting the drawing and began consuming everything I could about the great detective.
“Having said that, there’s not really one source I’ve found that sums up Sherlock for me. There is the character that Doyle created but he was kept at a bit of a distance from the audience through the voice of Watson who, in the opinion of Holmes, always dumbed down his investigations. What really started to give me a better sense of the character were the old radio broadcasts with Basil Rathbone. My connection to Sherlock became even stronger when I discovered the illustrations of Robert Fawcett in 'Harper’s Weekly' from the '50s. With Rathbone I could feel the motivations of the character and with the Fawcett illustrations I could see the world he exists in. From this I started to shape my own interpretation."
“Sherlock Holmes” #1 debuts in May from Dynamite Entertainment.
