SHERLOCK MAGAZINE
Issue 49, 2002
Reviewed by David Stuart Davies

This is an interesting idea: comic strip versions of a variety of Conan Doyle texts created by different artists. Within the covers of this attractive book we have the familiar Holmes tales of The Hound (presented at a thrilling pace in 25 pages), The Speckled Band and The Copper Beeches along with a complete and very entertaining version of The Lost World. To supplement these stories there are also two of Doyle’s gruesome tales, The Los Amigos Fiasco and How It Happened, along with an illustrated excerpt from The Coming of the Fairies.

This volume is the second in a series featuring the work of popular writers — the first presented the works of Edgar Allan Poe. In this instance it can serve as an enjoyable introduction to the world of ACD or a vivid reminder of it. The divergence of visual styles of the drawings — each piece is illustrated by a different artist — helps to maintain the freshness of the project. I particularly liked Donald Marquez’s The Lost World and Nestor Redondo’s Speckled Band. Good fun and good value.

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SPERMACETTI PRESS
Review by Peter E. Blau

"Graphic Classics" is an attractive series of single-author anthologies edited and published by Tom Pomplun, and the second issue is devoted to Arthur Conan Doyle (Mount Horeb: Eureka Productions, 2002; 144 pp., $9.95); the contents include "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" (illustrated by Nes-tor Redondo and adapted from the version that Pendulum Press published in 1974); "The Lost World" (illustrated by Don Marquez and reprinted from the version he published in 1994); and many new stories (including "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" illustrated by Rick Geary, "The Los Amigos Fiasco", "How It Happened", and "The Hound of the Baskervilles").

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THE TOMB OF DARK DELIGHTS
www.countgore.com/tomb.htm
4/5/03
Review by J.L. Comeau

The TombKeeper will admit that as a very young Tombette, her sister's and her favorite game was playing "Sherlock Holmes and Watson". After the fighting about who was going to be Sherlock was settled, we would go in search of clues that would lead us into mysteries and their solutions. Graphic Classics brings back the joy of discovery in this collection of Holmes stories, as well as an excerpt from Doyle's lesser known book, The Coming of the Fairies, which he wrote from the viewpoint of his belief and interest in spiritualism, specifically his belief in the existence of fairies. Lavishly and lovingly illustrated by the best in the business, and diabolically good reading. The game is afoot, TombRats! TombKeeper's highest recommendation.

Creature Feature ©D. Dyszel 2003

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DIAMOND BOOKSHELF
October 2002

Rosebud is a literary magazine, around since 1993, which publishes stories in the comic book format. In 2002 the magazine began a publishing program called Graphic Classics, which collects several stories and poems by classic authors. The first volume featured works by Edgar Allan Poe; this second volume features stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The most famous character Doyle created is, of course, the Great Detective himself, Sherlock Holmes, and the book features several Holmes mysteries: "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches," adapted and illustrated by Rick Geary, "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," edited from Doyle's story by Tom Pomplun and illustrated by Nestor Redondo, and "The Hound of the Baskervilles," adapted by Tim Quinn and illustrated by George Sears. The book also includes "The Lost World," adapted and illustrated by Donald Marquez; this story, featuring the irascible Professor Challenger, was the basis for several movies with the same title, about finding dinosaurs and a primitive people coexisting on an isolated plateau in South America. Doyle wrote many stories and novels in addition to the Sherlock Holmes stories, and two short stories are included here. "The Los Amigos Fiasco," adapted and illustrated by J. B. Bonivert, recounts the tale of an early experimental electric chair which spectacularly fails to execute a criminal; "How It Happened," adapted and illustrated by Matt Howarth tells the tale, channeled by a medium, of Sir Brock and his disastrous first drive in his new thirty-horsepower Autocar. Doyle's Preface to "The Coming of the Fairies" is included because he was a staunch advocate of spiritualism, and lastly there's a poem, "Master," illustrated by Roger Langridge.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" and "The Lost World" are both merely summaries of the novels from which they were abridged; the other stories feel more complete. The art is very straightforward in presentation, clear and easy to follow (good for those not used to reading comic books), very reminiscent of the old Classics Illustrated comics. Redondo's art, in particular, has that old-fashioned, classic look I remember from the old comics my brother used to pick up at garage sales when we were kids. And, like Classics Illustrated, this volume serves as a great introduction to Doyle's writing. This is suitable for middle school libraries as well as public libraries, and could be a useful purchase for those librarians who need to include some "literary" works in their graphic novel collections. It's also fun to read.

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