OUR 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.

DC Sherlock Holmes #1, Cover DC Sherlock Holmes #1, page 16

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.


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