(Story by: Sylvain Cordurie)

(Art by: Laci)

 (Colors by: Axel Gonzalbo)

 (Cover by: Jean-Sebastien Rossbach)

(Published by: Dark Horse Books)

The graphic novel called ”Sherlock Holmes and the Vampires of London” is published by Dark Horse Books and boasts an interesting cast of characters like Sherlock Holmes himself, his brother Mycroft, some very fearsome vampires and yes, the Queen of England. Unfortunately Dr. Watson is not in the story (but Mycroft makes a good substitute) and there is also a vampire named Joyce Middles that resembles Irene Adler.

Irene Adler was an American opera singer from the short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle named ”A Scandal In Bohemia”. Sherlock Holmes became very fond of her in the story because she had outsmarted him in that case and was a very decent person.

The Dark Horse Books webpage gives a brief description:

http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/22-722/Sherlock-Holmes-and-the-Vampires-of-London-HC

“Sherlock Holmes died fighting Professor Moriarty in the Reichenbach Falls. At least, that’s what the press claims. However, Holmes is alive and well and taking advantage of his presumed death to travel the globe. Unfortunately, Holmes’s plans are thwarted when a plague of vampirism haunts Britain.”(Dark Horse Books commentary).

The story begins with the savage murder of a nobleman, named Lord Battenkey, and a prostitute by an unknown vampire. The vampire calls his victim by name so we can assume he knew him. Our attention is then shifted to Covington and the date is 1^st of July, 1891. Sherlock Holmes is very much alive and contemplating his situation and the events of last May with professor Moriarty up till the present. He is supposed to have died last May and so slides under the radar of everyone since everyone believes he is dead. Even Dr. Watson believes Sherlock Holmes is dead and blames himself for the tragedy.

In June Sherlock Holmes travels to Paris, France to surprise his brother Mycroft and ends up solving a string of vampire murders that have the English Crown worried. He is lured to meet the head vampire, named Selymes, by a vampire named Joyce Middles who resembles a person from Sherlock´s past named Irene Adler.  (Irene Adler is character from the short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle named “A Scandal In Bohemia”). Selymes tells Sherlock of an unknown vampire that is killing nobles. The Queen has warned Selymes to put an end to this rampage or she would kill all vampires. (This leaves unresolved questions of the relationship of the Crown to the vampire community.)

As it turns out, the vampire on a murderous rampage is named Owen Chanes and the reasons for his actions are revenge. Owen helps Sherlock destroy the other vampires and gains his trust even though he has a supernatural bloodlust. Sherlock knew Owen from the time he was a boy and understood the unfair situation he grew up in. Furthermore, Owen explains to Sherlock that he was using morphine acetate to curb his bouts of insanity. He also explained to Sherlock that all his victims were reprehensible people. No innocent people were hurt.

Firstly, the artwork of this graphic novel is just beautiful. This should be on everyone´s bookshelf if for no other reason than as a collector´s piece. The colors and artwork are just superb. The story is also very well written. Sherlock Holmes is his usual smart, problem-solving, thinking-several-steps-ahead self. He battles and outsmarts vampires and avoids being turned into a vampire himself. They really captured the spirit of Sherlock Holmes and the stories. Dr. Watson does not take part in the investigation but Mycroft is a good substitute. Not to mention the fact that they have the Queen of England in the story too. This is a clear tale of good vs. evil and even the gray area in between.

The character of Owen Chanes is someone caught in a very bad and unfair situation from a young age and struggles to change. This makes him a person worthy of respect and mercy. I really think that if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were alive today he would enjoy this story. My only criticism would have to be that at the end we get the feeling that Sherlock Holmes is headed for retirement. I was hoping for more adventures from our consulting detective.

This is a very good graphic novel that is worth reading and owning.

(Commentary by  www.ink2quill.com  )

I2Q Blogs / The Written Medium axel / cordurie / dark horse / gonzalbo / Holmes / jean-sebastien / laci / rossbach / Sherlock / sylvain / vampires /