Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have been repeated, revived, and reimagined countless times in literature, in addition to TV and movies. Whatever dreams Arthur Conan Doyle had for his creation, I doubt he could have foreseen the wild success and immortality his work has achieved. As a mystery lover and a graphic novel lover, I was intrigued by the combination of my two favorite genres, and I love a good twist on a classic.
In this iteration, writer Karl Bollers conceives both characters as modern African Americans living in New York’s Harlem district. Watson, not yet a doctor, is an Afghanistan war vet working in a clinic. Sherlock is a dreadlocked, fedora wearing PI who steps easily into the storied role from the first “Elementary…” that passes his lips. The game is indeed afoot.
A seemingly unconnected string of murders and kidnappings brings the two together. The duo dash through the streets of New York, chasing clues and hoping to stay one step ahead of their increasingly desperate quarry. The Baker Street Irregulars make an appearance, as well as Sherlock’s brother Mycroft, although he quite understandable prefers the nickname “Mike.”
Why does Watson join Holmes in his quest? I think this is the crux of any successful remake of Sherlock: tying the two characters together not only in their interactions with each other, but making their collective motivations realistic and sympathetic to the reader. As this volume only covers the first arc of the series, much of the interaction between the two characters is a slow buildup of that relationship, and the acknowledgement that sometimes what drives you can’t be easily explained, even to yourself.
My only issue with this title is that the author did such a fantastic job of echoing Sherlock’s unique way of speaking, that I couldn’t help but hear his voice in my head with an English accent, which jarred against the setting. However, since this is such an intrinsic part of the character, I can’t really knock the authors for being too successful.
The art in this series has a rough quality, with some lines still maintaining the attributes of a sketchbook rendering. At times the faces of characters are executed in detail, at others they are kept fuzzy as the viewer’s eye is pulled back to take in more of the scene. The coloring is downright phenomenal, with scenes moving fluidly from night to day or outside to computer-screen lit inside. I eagerly look forward to a second volume.
Recommended for readers of mysteries, graphic novels, and crime fiction.
Check the WRL catalog for Watson and Holmes: A Study in Black.
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I have to admit that this book didn’t do it for me, though it’s interesting to see a different viewpoint on it. Like you, I also got the impression from the text that Holmes was speaking with a British accent, but I regarded this as a bad thing—after all, I didn’t pick up this book because I wanted to see Sherlock Holmes picked up from Victorian London and dropped unaltered into the ghetto; I picked it up because I was curious to see how the author would explore the idea of Sherlock Holmes as a modern African-American man. Would he be able to command the same respect from the public and the police, for instance? The story doesn’t really explore problems like this. I don’t think that’s inherently a bad thing since it can be nice to have heroes who don’t need to justify themselves, but since this lack of character depth was combined with an unexceptional plot, it made for dull reading.
All in all, this definitely wasn’t an awful read for me (probably a 2.5 out of 5), but I don’t think it really added anything to the already bloated Holmes’ family table.
Cool book..I will plan to read this