Well, I like it. One of the first things I checked was the cast of characters on the first page, and was pleased to see a lean, dark and handsome Dr. Watson instead of the bumbling oaf that popular culture has so often inflicted upon us. My only quibble was that, for some reason, his first name had been changed to Henry. [Correction: Although he is listed as Dr. Henry Watson among the cast of characters, the one time during the story that his first name is used, it is John. The other listing must have been a misprint.]
I flipped through the pages mostly to look at the illustrations and was glad to see the following panels.
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Graphic Revolve)
is a new book, published 2009, (re-)written by Martin Powell and illustrated by Daniel Perez. The illustrations are dark and hauntingly fantastic. Very cool.And Holmes still smokes his pipe.
Even Sir Arthur has had troubles with Dr. Watson's first name. Although he is usually referred to as John, in one story his wife--who would surely know--calls him 'James.' Dorothy L. Sayers (who was a great fan as well as mystery writer herself) postulates that his middle initial--H.--stands for Hamish, the Scots version of James, and that his wife calls him that as a private endearment. This saves all the appearances and absolves Sir Arthur of what was surely a lapse of memory.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I am always nervous around recreations of the Sherlock Holmes. The haunting fear that they will remove the pipe from his hands to make him more "PC" is almost too much for me. I'm glad to see the illustrator maintained the touch. I'm constantly reminded of the image from "adventures" of Holmes sinking into his chair for a "three pipe problem" and comforted by the fact that I'm not the only person to ever find solace in a couple of consecutive bowls to work out life's funny conundrums. Great post. Thank you!
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