HILE Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell stories (beginning with The Beekeeper’s Apprentice) are practically required reading for pastiche enthusiasts, I must confess that I haven’t ready any of her other popular mystery series involving the San Francisco detective Kate Martinelli. That said, her new book, The Art of Detection, looks like it may be the perfect introduction to the series for myopic Sherlockians like myself. The Miami Herald covers her latest offering in their online article Summer reading: Kick back with a book from our list:

Mary, who signs on as Holmes’ apprentice and ends up as his wife, doesn’t make an appearance here, but her husband solves the case in an unpublished story rumored to have been the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The manuscript falls into Kate’s hands during the investigation of a memorabilia collector’s murder and leads her into the arcane, fascinating world of Sherlockians, whose contradictory hobbies include dinner parties in full Victorian costume as well as webcam broadcasts. As Kate investigates, the great detective applies his powers of deduction in the manuscript, which is contained within the novel.

Read the rest (the book is about two-thirds down the page).

Hmmm. Anybody got a link to Sherlockian webcam broadcasts…?

UR dear Mr. Holmes hasn’t fared very well in comic books over the years. True, there was a long-running syndicated comic strip in the papers, and the great detective has appeared as a “guest” in numerous comic books and graphic novels over the years, but every effort to spin Holmes into a successful series seems to have run into problems.

The mid-seventies proved a tough time for the comics industry in general. With the great high camp movement of the sixties –bolstered by the incredible success of Adam West as television’s Batman– having faded away, the major companies DC and Marvel were struggling, often relegated to running mostly cheap reprint stock, while a number of smaller companies (such as Dell and Charleston) were sinking fast. In those days before direct order and specialty comics shops –which later resuscitated the industry– the companies were trying anything and everything to stay afloat, dashing to their presses the whole gamut from superhero to romance, sci-fi to war, horror to comedy, and little seemed to catch the public’s attention. Internal struggles and low payscales within the companies worsened the outlook, as many of the greater talents took off for greener pastures and other industries.

It was about this time that DC tried to break away from its policy of pushing fifties and sixties reprints and make a few bold moves, creating short-run comics with new characters to see if any spark caught flame. Among such other legendary notables as King Arthur and Beowulf, Mr. Sherlock Holmes appeared in his very own comic for September-October 1975, a double-story issue that contained extremely abbreviated versions of “The Final Problem” and “The Empty House.” The subscription information inside that reads “published bi-monthly” indicates that this wasn’t actually meant as a one-shot, but rather a pilot issue for a series. (According to the last page, the next issue was supposed to be on sale in August.) Unfortunately, the lacklustre sales of this book meant that no more issues were published, and Holmes joined the other great worthies in the cancellation bin.

The art on the cover was an early effort by Walt Simonson, who was later to gain fame for Thor and X-Factor. The story inside was written by Dennis O’Neil, a long-time writer of Batman comics, with art by the Philippine illustrator E.R. Cruz, notable for more adult fare such as in Warren’s Eerie. A short essay by Allan Asherman entitled “The Real Sherlock Holmes” rounded out the issue. Click on the graphics above to see close-ups of the cover and part of the famous scene from The Empty House.

In retrospect, it’s not hard to see why this effort failed. The atmospheric and shadow-laden artwork, consisting mainly of hues of green and grey, would certainly fail to attract the attention of a ten-year-old browsing for a colourful Superman or Spiderman (even though Holmes does use fisticuffs a little more than we’re accustomed). The industry at the time aimed mainly for younger readers, so most teenagers generally dismissed all comic books as “kid stuff” and weren’t likely to pluck the issue off the rack. The short treatment of the stories (both of them fit into a mere 18 pages) meant that there was little room for the myriad touches that an adult mystery lover tends to savour. So who were they aiming for? It’s hard to say….

From time to time, I’ll be featuring other comic books on this site, but for those folks aspiring to collect Holmes-related fare, the Sherlock Holmes Illustrated list, although a few years out of date, is an excellent place to start.

EARCH giant Google changes its logo on a frequent basis to reflect an event of some historical importance happening on that day; a link is then provided to a page of search results, so that those of a curious nature might discover more about the topic. Owing to the company’s technological leanings, the chosen events tend to be somewhat “geeky” in nature, such as Einstein’s birthday or the flight at Kittyhawk. (I’m using the word geek here in the broadest and most favourable light — that of an intellectual with a penchant for technical knowledge.)

Today, what could be a more natural choice than the birthday of the author who created one of the ultimate geek heroes, the Master Detective?

The logo links to a page of search results for “sir arthur conan doyle’s birthday”.

A flamboyant tip o’ the deerstalker to Tony Gurney and Phil Adams for this one.

T seems that one of the most maligned Holmes films (with the exception of any picture starring Dudley Moore) is the 1975 Gene Wilder auteur comedy The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (see the IMDB entry). I’m haven’t actually seen this film for nearly twenty years (and even then, it was a chopped-apart television version), but I might soon get my chance again. Last month, it was finally re-released on DVD. R.J. Carter at the media review site The Trades has a mostly positive review:

When crucial papers are stolen from Queen Victoria’s trusted aide, the world turns to Sherlock Holmes to solve the case.

Unfortunately, he’s not available. But Sherlock delegates the case to a lesser known S. Holmes — his younger brother, Sigerson (Wilder). An inventor, a fencer, and a darned fine singer, Sigerson is nonetheless bitter about the fame heaped upon his older brother, “Sheer Luck” Holmes.

Read the rest. Holmes fans, of course, will no doubt recall the name Sigerson from a complete different context….

SAD day for some baby boomers, and perhaps even a few Holmes fans: USATODAY.com - ‘Space Cadet’ star Frankie Thomas dies.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Frankie Thomas, who became famous in the 1950s for his starring role in the TV children’s show Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, has died. He was 85. […]

Thomas quit acting when the series ended in 1955 and, over the years, worked as a television and radio writer, bridge instructor and author of mystery novels, including Sherlock Holmes and the Masquerade Murders.

Read the rest. Thanks to R.H. Riethmeier for the link.

I’m afraid I’m quite unfamiliar with Thomas’ novel Sherlock Holmes and the Masquerade Murders (from The Armchair Detective Library). Can anybody here offer any feedback on it?

HEAR this is what every fashionable Sherlockian is wearing this year.

MUST admit that I’ve never been a big fan of musicals. Indeed, the closest I got to enjoying one was Camelot, and that was only because of a long-standing interest in all matters Arthurian. However, I still tote around this soundtrack on my iPod, and have been known to spontaneously break into song and dance at the local strip mall with my rousing rendition of “The Lusty Month of May”, backed by a chorus of frolicsome maidens dancing gaily with flowers in their hair.

Hmm. Or I might have dreamt that.

Ah, my point jabs at me expectantly. I’ve lately received the original 1965 Broadway cast recording of the Sherlockian musical, Baker Street. I’ve listened to it a few times now, intent on writing some sort of short review, but it’s very difficult to appreciate the album without any sort of proper context: I have little idea of the storylines, and the songs give away very few clues as to what they might be. Or perhaps I’m just too bored to notice them. The tracks seem to alternate between syrupy love songs and uninspired group numbers with forced melodies and very few hooks to catch the infernal jukebox in my head.

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