Written by Joel Meadows
Art by Andy Bennett
Published by Mad Cave Comics
There certainly are a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories out there in the medium. Just the other night I was watching the new Guy Ritchie television series that is now streaming, and there are countless stories about the character.
What makes Sherlock so compelling and enduring?
Well, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has created a character that was great in the original books but has transcended to different mediums. He’s been in movies, television, and is now in comic books courtesy of our old friends over at Mad Cave Comics (who have been killing it with other books with older properties such as Flash Gordon, the Phantom and even Dick Tracy). I am happy to say that they have done a stellar job on this property as well.
This time around, the creative team have taken Sherlock to a setting that we really haven’t seen him in before. Sherlock has been sent off to a futuristic science fiction type of world. It puts the World’s Greatest Detective into unfamiliar settings and the results are really quite impressive. A lot of times these creative mashups don’t really work but thanks to some strong choices and inventive execution, this series excels in making a strong case for itself.
The character of Crick gets the whole thing running right from the get go. He asks Watson, Sherlock’s intrepid sidekick, to help him out a little. Basically, he is asking Watson to help him unravel the DNA helix he has come across. This basically gets Crick and Watson into a little bit of trouble and it isn’t too long until Sherlock has to look into the case and get himself involved. And boy, does he ever get involved!
What I immediately enjoyed in this book is that this is a Sherlock Holmes in his later years.
He’s still as smart as the character always has been but he is just a little bit behind in things. I loved that because somehow, it makes the character a lot more relatable to me. He has a lot more character and personality than he usually does and a lot of his setbacks are endearing. I love the way his character is handled here.
Watson, in the meantime, ends up working for the worst person that you can imagine.
A lot of the book is showing exactly how Watson has to get out of the circumstances that he is in. But the story, as it goes on, shows that both he and Sherlock might be overwhelmed by the people in charge. The creative team makes it relevant to the modern world, even in this science fiction setting. There are a lot of themes that we are currently facing in the world that these characters are facing in theirs. The correlation is very strong and really well done.
There is also a vast wealth of well developed supporting characters here, most of which are new to this universe. We meet Franklin Miller of the Mohocks (most likely named after Sin City’s Frank Miller) who are a motorcycle gang who play a big part in the story. He is my favorite character here, Ashe is gruff and pretty no nonsense when it comes to things, which leads to some truly entertaining moments.
Things also heat up a bit when a member of royalty is kidnapped, and then imprisoned. There are a few dangling plot points and events and characters they criss cross each other as the book goes on. But nothing is superfluous.
Things generally happen for a reason here and all of the various plot points work together to form an overarching story which is pretty masterful. It also leaves this world open for more expansive stories in this universe, which would be completely welcome.
I really love it when comic book creators take big swings and the companies that they are working for support that. That is exactly what is happening over at Mad Cave right now. They are doing a hell of a job producing some excellent, and exciting books. I hope they continue to do this for many years to come. The characters they are putting forth still have a lot of life to them, and this book here illustrates that point even further.
RATING: A-
