Sherlock Holmes Adaptations

A Study in Scarlet, Sign of the Four, and The Hound of the Baskervilles adaptations by Ian Edginton, 129, 124 and 127 pages

Having read some of Doyle's work namely the odd Sherlock Holmes novella or two, I was intrigued when I saw the first three Sherlock Holmes works had been adapted into graphic novels. I must admit I have never read these first few stories by Doyle but like most classical works they were on my list.

For those that don't know any of the Sherlock Holmes stories A Study in Scarlet is about how Holmes and Watson meet and work on a case about love and revenge. The Sign of the Four involves treasure and a mysterious group known as The Four who's lives revolve around it. Finally Hound of the Baskervilles is about a mysterious hound that is terrifying the Baskerville family line.

Much like other classics I blogged about recently I though by reading these adaptations I would be able to not only cross them off my list but save some time as well. However I can somewhat proudly say that while these graphic novels were quite good and, I am sure, covered the story but they seemed somewhat lacking. Sort of like watching a movie on television with the commercials versus watching it in a theatre. It is the same movie but less so, if you know what I mean. For that reason reading these adaptations only served to convince me all the more to read the originals. But I also look forward to seeing the rest of Holmes adapted to this form.

Gods' Man; Madman's Drum; Wild Pilgrimage

Gods' Man; Madman's Drum; Wild Pilgrimage by Lynd Ward, edited by Art Spiegelman, 833 pages

I hadn’t heard of Lynd Ward’s work before reading McCloud’s Understanding Comics last month. I took printmaking classes in college, had an art history prof who specialized in German Expressionism, and am a pretty avid reader of comics - perhaps I'm giving myself too much credit, but how in the world did I go so long without hearing Lynd Ward’s name?! Baffling. The two volume Library of America reprintings of Ward’s six woodcut novels are fairly recent (2010) and I suspect (?) it was difficult to locate copies of these works prior to the reprints. His children’s book illustrations (Johnny Tremain, The Biggest Bear, etc.) are easy to find, but I was totally unaware of his adult proto-graphic-novels. I hope these reprints mark a resurgence in Ward’s popularity and renown. 

Art Spiegelman’s introduction is a wonderful addition to the works; he provides a context for Ward’s art in the history of literature, cinema, comics and visual art. Ward’s own essays at the end of the volume reflect the ethos of the era in which he worked. The paring of Spiegelman’s and Ward’s critical essays bookend the three wordless volumes nicely. In his intro, Spiegelman writes, “Wordless novels are filled with language, it just resides in the reader’s head rather than on the page.”

Gods’ Man was originally published the same week that the stock market crashed in 1929. Its plot follows a struggling artist and the consequences after he strikes a Faustian bargain with a mysterious hooded figure. Madman’s Drum follows the life of a slave trader’s son and the events that cause him to lose faith in every major cultural institution (including religion, love, family, law). Wild Pilgrimage depicts the outer and inner life of a man trapped in an industrial world and his attempts to return to nature. I found the storytelling in all three novels to be fairly heavy handed (in Gods’ Man the decadence of the roaring 20s is at one point depicted by a woman who is literally branded with a dollar sign), but the lack of subtlety did little to deter my enjoyment of Ward’s prints. I’m looking forward to reading Volume II, which contains Ward’s other three proto-graphic-novels.

The Contract With God Trilogy

A Contract With God Trilogy: A Contract With God, A Life Force, Dropsie Avenue
Will Eisner, 498 pages

    Heartwarming. There, I said it.  I found this classic graphic novel collection on Sunday right here at Central Library. I picked it up mainly because for some reason I have never managed to look at Will Eisner's work.  I assumed that the narrative would be old fashioned, dull, and that I wouldn't enjoy the quality of his illustrations- I am happy to say that I couldn't have been more wrong. 
   
    Eisner published the first book in the trilogy, A Contract With God, when he was sixty-one.  Each book in the trilogy is set on or around fictional Dropsie Avenue, in the Bronx.  Eisner weaves together the lives of all types of people who grow up and live on Dropsie Avenue, through several different periods of American history. As I devoured each book in the trilogy, I appreciated how he handled the narrative in a way that felt honest. Horrible things happen to people as well as wonderful things, people struggle with the meaning of their existence, and a neighborhood struggles to withstand the changing times. No one is safe, but life moves along.  The stories speak to us from another time, yet felt fresh and relevant.

      The illustration of each book was a real a feast for the eyes- there were some pages that I kept flipping back to just to make sure that I took the time to appreciate them.  The line work and composition is dynamic, each panel expressive.  A Contract With God was my favorite book visually, as there are full pages where image and text that are in complete harmony with one another.  So glad I picked this one up.