A friend of mine gave me a copy of The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, and I absolutely devoured it.I had seen the character in some movies, but finally reading the original tales made me a life long fan. I've made a point to pass on the collection to others. The stories are all great, but my favorites include the first one, A Study in Scarlet, which introduces Holmes, Watson, LeStrade and the whole setting. Other standouts include The Solitary Cyclist, The Greek Interpreter and The Red-Headed League. My Favorite has to be The Musgrave Ritual, there are some really great twists and turns in that one.
Congrats to a new Sherlock fanatic, we are a League, if not Legion..... i have been a fan since i was a mere twelvish, so for some forty-three years.... Welcome....
ReplyDeletetoday's cover is a study in green and browns and a new favorite.... you've done it again, Ross.... you've created another masterpiece...
Bravo....
Bravo....
New? I've been a fan for decades!
ReplyDeleteI met my wife thanks to Sherlock Holmes, so count me as a fan :)
ReplyDelete(I mean I was a fan before, but ... )
In school, I read one story on Holmes. Later, I got all the major stories and was thrilled by how they were written. In the 60s I saw the movies of Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone. I've also saw the tv show from England from the late 1950s and a whole lot of movies done by different actors since then. All of those seemed a bit off in a variety of ways. The Sherlock series has been a fun ride I didn't expect.
ReplyDeleteI heard Basil was a relation to the model who posed for some of the drawings used in the early 1900s stories. And eBay showed that the Strand magazine from that time with Holmes is sought after just as much as Amazing Fantasy # 15 is now.
Ironic that Conan Doyle didn't want Sherlock to be what he would be most remembered for...hence the Falls story. Fortunately, things worked out a bit differently.
At least Ross doesn't even need to think about taking his final bow for quite some time. Well done.
My wife was a big Holmes fan; somewhere in storage is a volume of The Complete Sherlock Holmes that originally belonged to her, and of course she devoured the BBC series with Jeremy Brett. I don't recall if she had a favorite tale, but I certainly do: The Yellow Face, one of the few stories (perhaps even the only one) that's never been put to video.
ReplyDeleteAs for today's cover, I think it's fantastic. There's a subtle, perhaps unintentional detail that others may have missed: Swampy looks like he's tapping Holmes' shoulder, which makes the expression on the latter's face quite priceless.
My first anthology was a paperback edition of THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, featuring my favorite short story "Adventure of the Speckled Band." Of course, by the time I was a high school freshman, I had learned that snakes cannot be whistle-trained like a dog! But, that doesn't diminish my enjoyment at the spell-binding way Sir Arthur could tell a story. Plus, the literary version of Dr. Watson always came off sounding a lot less "comically" bumbling than he was so unfortunately stereotyped on film by Nigel Bruce.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I wonder if Holmes came to Louisiana as a result of following that trail of clues uncovered in STF #2933?
hello again, Ross...
ReplyDeletethis excellent cover and the comments got me athinking as they often do, and i have another proposed grouping of heroes to suggest....
an all British league of English icons....
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
Bond, James Bond aka Agent 007
The Doctor (Who)
Robin Hood
Harry Potter
Merlin the magician
and a favorite of mine, the Rev. Christopher Syn aka the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh....
(i love the Disney movie and all the books by Russell Thorndyke)
well, Ross, what do you think of this idea????
Only two days away ...!
ReplyDeleteWith Aunt Jemima being retired, maybe a tv show or cartoon could be made staring Aunt Jemima herself, following the footsteps of the plethora of toy-based cartoons, etc. that began in the 1980s, with profits going to black causes; references to marketed products were popular, esp. in the likes of "Family Guy".
ReplyDeleteAs another lifelong fan of both Holmes and incredible crossovers, I highly recommend Shadows Over Baker Street. It's a collection of short stories pitting Doyle's characters against the cosmic horrors of H. P. Lovecraft.
ReplyDeleteThe standout is almost certainly Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald" though that's better read on his own page where he got to use two column magazine format and the faux vintage ads really get to shine!
https://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf
as Sir Kero mentions above the Neil Gaiman's pastiche A Study in Emerald is a great parody which had a nice hardcover graphic novel version come out within the last few years....
ReplyDeletei apologize, Ross, it sounded in your intro that you were new to Holmes....
do you know that you have never used either Merlin or Robin Hood on the blog before????
i was surprised....
i am currently reading a Holmes pastiche by Sam Siciliano titled The Venerable Tiger....
so far very enjoyable.....
Maybe, someday, a duel among these gentlemen: Sherlock Holmes vs. Hercule Poirot...
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the Question (here I suggest Renee Montoya) and Jessica Jones might have to solve some mystery together...
1 left to 3,000 covers!
If Jessica Jones were to team up with the Question, then Renee Montoya would be the one to use. However, I think it might be more effective to team her with an actual PI; in that case, I'd recommend Jonni Thunder.
ReplyDeleteYES!!!! What a classic! A cover showing a better Holmes and Garden. (sorry Swampy)
ReplyDelete@ Bob G, since Mr Holland is thanking Holmes for taking his case, kindof doubtful that Sherl is surprised About that.
Everyone's got so much history with the man in the deerstalker. Wonder how well known he is in non English speaking countries.
and Ross, you got the Big Leagues. How about the little league counterparts: Ant-Man, Atom, Wasp, Bumblebee & Shrinking Violet.
That would be MicroForce, an existing STF team...
ReplyDeletethanks for the directions. just miss Ant-Man, Bumblebee and Inch High Private Eye.
ReplyDeleteI didn't want you to think little of me.
@Horsefeathers: "Better Holmes and Garden"! What a great title! Maybe Ross can find a way to use it in the future. (With Poison Ivy, perhaps?)
ReplyDeleteOh, and Sherlock may not have seen Dr. Holland in person before this moment... and somehow I don't think he's about to say, "I thought you'd be taller."
Also, talk of teams and the mention of Bumblebee made me think of the Transformer by that name; I just saw his eponymous movie during this past week, and think he might make an interesting "guest star" with the Silent Partners some time.
Just so all you know....Ross has outsourced to try to keep people working. Frick and Frack of the HR department are now working. Frick is in charge of making teams and Frack is in charge of naming them. It's not exactly by committee so it won't be as bad as you're expecting. A sample is their work is calling this character 'Sheer look Homes of the Future'. Note - They will be paid in cookies.
ReplyDelete@Horsefeathers & Bob: this might also have been called "The Secret of Ngaio Marsh."
ReplyDelete@Anon@4:02: That would call for a different detective. However, if Ross were to come to include My Hero Academia in the possibilities here, he could bring team up Swamp Thing with Best Jeanist for "The Mystery of Jean Marsh!"
ReplyDeleteOr Swamp Thing meets the Brady Bunch in "Marsha-Marsha-Marsha-Marsh!"
ReplyDelete@Anon1100: LOL!
ReplyDeleteMister Holmes I'd advise you not to masticate nor consume the yams, this is imperative.
ReplyDelete