Customer Reviews

Holmes

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm one of those few diehard Sherlockians who doesn't mind literary revisionism. I like the whole idea of playing around with great literary characters like Holmes and Watson, and I absolutely LOVE the things Phillip Jose Farmer did with those two over the past 30 years. But...

This graphic novel is a good idea -- what if Holmes and Watson were like Hunter S. Thompson and his Samoan attorney? -- but the execution is poor. Not only is the artwork barely passable -- which, amazingly, the author admits in his afterword -- but the story really goes nowhere. Sure, there is some irony in the tale, but that alone doesn't make this story work. And it's raunchy -- REALLY raunchy -- so watch out, you cleancut Sherlockians.

A good idea is done in by, well, mediocre art and a weak plot. Too bad.

There's really one joke going through this comic - Sherlock Holmes and Watson are simply a couple of nutcases who are too coked out of their minds to understand that they are making things much worse. At first, the information is parceled out. You see a very angry Watson and a Holmes who seems to be more confused than anything. It's only when Holmes shows up looking like an ugly drag queen and Watson buys that he's a woman that you see the craziness.

At certain points that joke is explicitly stated. At other times, it's just there - like when Watson believes Holmes in saying that he has found MOriarty when it's obvious that Holmes is just harassing some poor clerk. It's actually pretty off putting since part of the joy of Holmes books is the fact that his mind is always working and he's always a few steps ahead of everyone. If he's just nuts then it's not the same book and the thing kind of falls apart.

It's a one joke comic. It's mostly amusing.

This is the Sherlock Holmes promised that the trailers for the RDJ movie promised. Here is a rough, drug fueled, sex addicted, hyper-aware vigilante for justice that solves crimes when not experimenting with the effects on uppers, downers, chasers and all arounders. Funny, ferocious, and unlike any adaptation so far. If one dislikes nudity or harsh language, one should avoid this book.

I reviewed this work here ---> http://www.popthought.com/display_column.asp?DAID=1702

"...I suggest every fan of Sherlock Holmes to turn off their snooty outlook and allow me to offer this fun, outlandish book. HOLMES by Omaha Perez is the collection of the story begun by Perez back in 2005, and completed and offered now by Ait/Planet Lar. Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes are a new odd couple here, with Dr. Watson providing Holmes with narcotics, and the two search for the skull of Joseph Hayden. What a strange trip it becomes... I preferred Bodhisatva by Perez, mostly because it went far deeper philosophically and was so different from anything else around at the time. HOLMES is also different, but, more a wild spoof than a true addition to the mythos of Holmes and Watson. The art is good, I liked it, and the story was funny. But ultimately this seemed more an excursion of let me try this than I have an idea. I still recommend it, but be prepared to snort in disgust if you like Sherlock Holmes, and giggle in amusement if you do not..."