The Holmes Affair. Graham Moore. Century (2011)

Clever and gripping, with a very smart narrative structure and strong central idea this is an unusual and very engaging story.  Harold White is an obsessive Sherlock Holmes fan who at the moment of his greatest triumph finds himself thrust into a murder mystery that has distinctly Sherlock Holmes connections. In the second narrative Arthur Conan Doyle, having killed off his troublesome character finds himself, very unwillingly, drawn into a real murder case. The twists and turns of each case are cleverly set up and the connections between them emerge carefully and lead to a wonderfully satisfying conclusion.
Rather that actually featuring Sherlock Holmes himself, Gordon Moore uses his very long shadow to drive his cast to ask "What would Sherlock Holmes do now?" to great effect. In both cases Sherlock Holmes is both an inspiration and a taunting presence to both Harold and Conan Doyle, a fictional character that appears to have a greater reality than either his creator or his fan. One of the strengths of the story is that Gordon Moore does not use this as a chance to undermine the cast, rather it is the way that they struggle with it that gives them depth and force.
Thankfully Gordon Moore never forgets the importance of a good plot and the mechanics of the story are very well played out, the murders that Conan Doyle is investigating are laced with enough political and personal complications to present a genuine conflict for Conan Doyle. In a typically smart move, Conan Doyle's colleague in the investigation is Bram Stoker, another writer frequently lost in the enormous shadow of his most famous creation. The interplay between them captures the differences and the similarities as men and writers which add a nice dimension to the story.
Harold moves from being a near cliche of the obsessive fan, unable to manage the burden of other people and retreating into a safer domain to finding a way to actually apply his knowledge and make rather than avoid decisions. The this is a development not a transformation greatly helps, Gordon Moore moves his cast carefully within the bounds of credibility and the intense pressure they come under make them more of themselves rather than someone else.
Creators and fans can have very strong and contradictory relationships with the characters that they are involved with, both have a stake in the character and it is a situation that seems tailor made of sharp edged mockery. Gordon Moore has a keen sympathy for both, no creator wants to be enslaved by a character they have created, fans can want to bury the creator to give more light to the character. Gordon Moore uses a fan's sensibility to create the climax of the book and as a fan I was shot to the heart by it. A treat to read and relish.

The Skull of Set. Doug Moench(Writer),Paul Gulacy(Penciler),Gary Martin(Inker),David Jackson(Letterer),Steve Mattsson(Colours). Marvel Comics(1989)

A very entertaining and hugely enjoyable Conan story that mixes up the usual ingredients with flair and imagination. After a fight in a tavern Conan takes the job of leading the escort for a wagon of weapons heading for a strategic location in the war between Koth and Argos. Attacked by bandits Conan finds that the wagon has much more than weapons on board. Following an encounter with another group fleeing the city, the entire group lands among the ruins of a small city and under siege from both bandits and Argossean soldiers pursuing a traitor. At this point the real trouble starts and continues with great style and energy right up to a nicely judged and very satisfying conclusion.
The great pleasure of this comic is not that it tries anything new rather that it takes the familiar and makes them fresh and smart. The women are beautiful and frequently very dangerous, the demons are big, nasty and very bloodthirsty, the wizards are clever, the action is fast and furious. Best of all Conan has all the barbarian swagger, cunning, courage and wit that makes him the fabulous character that he should be. He has to solve difficult and life threatening problems by being smart as well as fast, he has to enjoy the adventure. Doug Moench delivers all of this with great craft, the dialogue is just the right shade of purple, the structure of the story is thoughtful, the plot threads are beautifully tied together.
The art is a luscious pleasure, the panel structure is used with care and skill to pace the story and to zoom in and out to considerable effect. The cast are the exact mixture between types and individuals that they should be, the aristocrat who is full of contempt for others, his beautiful, scantily clad and lonely wife, the merchant and the mysterious female priest. They move through the action with grace and clarity, their actions as much as their features are expressive and involving.
The colouring by Steve Mattsson is stunning, it is virtually a character in its own right while at the same time not drawing undue attention to itself. It is bold and striking, the colours catch the straightforward mood of the story and deepen it at every turn. Deeply satisfying and a pleasure to read.

Conan Doyle and Joseph Bell. The Real Sherlock Holmes. Alan Mackaill, Dawn Kemp. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (2007)

A short and very charming account of the connection between Arthur Conan Doyle and Joseph Bell who provided a central inspiration for Sherlock Holmes. Joseph Bell was a member of a distinguished medical family in Scotland and the author of a number of significant medical textbooks. He lectured in clinical surgery and one of his students was Arthur Conan Doyle, Doyle must have impressed Joseph Bell as he appointed Doyle as his out-patient clerk.
Joseph Bell emphasised the importance of observing a patient, reading them, as part of the diagnostic process. He used to amuse and amaze his students with how he read a patients occupation and life from the details of their clothes and bearing. One of his favourite stories showed how he managed to get a reading absurdly wrong, he wanted to emphasise that it was part of the process, not a replacement for dealing directly with a patient.
Through the imaginative genius of Arthur Conan Doyle, the teaching of Joseph Bell became the deductive process of Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle always freely acknowledged his debt to Joseph Bell, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was dedicated to Dr. Joseph Bell. This book gives Joseph Bell the credit he deserves for his own considerable accomplishments as a medical professional and nicely underlines Arthur Conan Doyle's own medical background. While both men are to an extent overshadowed by Sherlock Holmes and both felt a little diminished by it, this lovely book rightly gives them the limelight.