SOURCE: A Study in Scarlet: a Sherlock Holmes graphic novel
Dr. John Watson is a veteran, newly returned home to Britain from the
war in Afghanistan. Watson is a good man, though far too free in
spending his money and living well – a fault that leaves him in need of a
roommate when he can no longer afford to live alone. A chance encounter
with an old classmate leads Watson to a man – a scientist of sorts –
who had been lamenting his own empty purse and need of a roommate to
split the cost on a set of rooms he wished to move into. Watson agrees
to meet the scientist – one Sherlock Holmes – and see if they might be
compatible as flatmates.
At first Watson sees little of his new roommate, who keeps odd hours
and odder company. Eventually Holmes reveals to Watson the source of his
income and his position as the world’s only consulting detective. As
two of Scotland Yard’s finest come to their doorstep to bring Holmes in
to investigate a mysterious murder, Watson finds himself being drawn
into Holmes’ work as both a medical expert and a chronicler. And so
begins what will become one of literature’s greatest partnerships.
Writer
Ian Edginton and illustrator
I.N.J. Culbard
are not new to adapting classic literature into graphic novels or even
to adapting Sherlock Holmes. The two have worked together on previous
Illustrated Classics adaptations such as
The Picture of Dorian Gray and
The Hound of The Baskervilles.
When reading this book, one can sense that partnership as the text and
illustrations are – like Holmes and Watson – well suited toward one
another.
Culbard’s art-style is cartoonish but not overly so. Like the majority of
manga
artists, Culbard exaggerates the physical features of his characters to
make it easier to display their emotions. This enlargement of facial
features such as noses, eyes and chins also serves to make each
character more distinctive. The characters’ appearances remain
consistent throughout, though with his jutting-chin there are some
panels where Holmes looks not unlike Bruce Campbell of
Army of Darkness fame.
Judging Edginton’s adaptive writing is a trickier task. I am not unfamiliar with the original stories by
Arthur Conan Doyle but I had never read the original text of
A Study in Scarlet.
As near as I can tell, Edginton has changed very little of the dialogue
– a touch which I’m sure will please Holmes purists but one which also
makes a good deal of this volume a difficult read for the teenage
audience it is supposedly aimed at.
I suppose I must also acknowledge the elephant in the corner – yes,
this is the infamous Sherlock Holmes story that says a lot of factually
inaccurate things about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
To say more would give away the mystery of the book. Suffice it to say
Arthur Conan Doyle
freely admitted to basing the information in this story off a newspaper
story that later proved false and his portrayals of the Mormon faith in
later works was far more respectful. I just find it curious that
Edginton would leave this text intact, including a reference to Brigham
Young himself, yet saw fit to exclude some equally offensive remarks
regarding Native Americans that were in the original text.
Ultimately the greatest problem this volume has – though this fault lies not with the adaptors – is that
A Study In Scarlet has little to recommend it for adaptation into a
graphic novel
format in the first place. Apart from the fact that it is the very
first Sherlock Holmes story, there’s little of interest here. There’s no
mystery that the reader can solve along with the detective, as Holmes
withholds all his evidence until he is explaining how he solved the
crime. A full third of the book is devoted toward the killer explaining
why he did what he did after the fact. And there’s not much in the way
of action, with the better portion of the story consisting of men
standing around the parlor having conversations.
A Study in Scarlet: a Sherlock Holmes graphic novel
by
Arthur Conan Doyle,
Ian Edginton (Adaptor)
Art by
I.N.J. Culbard
ISBN: 9781402770821
Sterling Publishing, 2010
Publisher Age Rating: (13 )
