At The Mountains of Madness. H.P. Lovecraft (Writer), I.N.J. Culbard (Writer & Art) Sterling. (2010)

A hugely enjoyable adaptation of H.P.Lovecraft's novel of an expedition to Antarctica and the horrible discoveries that are made there. The framing device for the story is that the leader of a previous expedition, Professor Dyer is revealing the truth about what he discovered to prevent another expedition going to the same place. Professor Dyer's team had a biologist, an engineer and a physicist as well as various graduate students, assistants and engineers. The expedition went well and a base was established, the first indication of something unusual was a collection of slates with curious marks on them. Some of the team headed off on a sub-expedition to investigate further, they discovered a cave and something astonishing within it. The story follows the consequences of that discovery, including the discovery some something even more unexpected and very much more unwelcome. The reveals are nicely judged and the mix of horror, science and speculation is wonderful.
The heart of the story is H.P. Lovecraft's ideas about per-human inhabitants of Earth, visitors from elsewhere who colonized Earth and had a part in the evolution of humanity. The relics and echos of these creatures, who are hibernating rather than being departed or deceased are found in remote locations like the Antarctic. The clash of a hard-headed scientific expedition with the unimaginable is superbly done, the collapse of certainty is the motor of horror as the dreadful truth emerges.
I.N.J. Culbard has adapted the story very well into a comic, it is not an illustrated version of a prose story. The panels, splash pages and backgrounds are used inventively, in particular the page backgrounds that the panels are laid upon. The art is distinctive and effective, the cast are expressive and mobile, they interact with each other very nicely. The colouring is used to to shape the tone of the story, it shifts with the scenes and underscores the tension and developments.
The story has a great deal of exposition in it, it never feels like a static info dump, it is delivered at a nice pace and with force.A really effective, atmospheric comic about the unsuspected histoty of the world.

The Hound of the Baskervilles. A.Conan Doyle (Author), adapted by Ian Edginton, I.N.J.Culbard (Art) SelfMadeHero (2009)

This a superb adaptation of one of the best of the Sherlock Holmes long stories, Ian Edginton and I.N.J. Culbard have created a suitably faithful version that translates the story very effectively into a different medium. The story opens with one of the great Holmes and Watson set pieces, the deduction from an object of information regarding its owner. In this case the object is a walking stick left behind by a potential client. The scene nicely sets up the relationship between Holmes and Watson as well as highlighting Holmes ability to observe details and make deductions. The client proves to be Dr. James Mortimer and he has an extraordinary story to tell. It is about a family legend that appears to assumed a deadly reality for Sir Charles Baskerville, a friend of the doctor and which may have consequences for his heir Henry Baskerville. Sherlock Holmes sees that the story could have a cause that is much more mundane and dangerous than any supernatural event and he takes on the case. The story develops from there is a very enjoyable fashion, the atmosphere is suitably foggy and sinister, there are twists and tuns, the reveals are nicely staged and the climax is satisfying and effective.

The greatest danger in any adaptation of a Sherlock Holmes story is that it will loose the essential element provided by the first person narration by Dr.Watson in the original. Ian Edginton manages transpose the story so well that no one who has read the original nor someone who has not would feel shortchanged. The art is also superb, it is rather cartoony and this works far better that trying to capture the feel of the Strand Magazine illustrations. I.N.J. Culbard has gone for his own versions of the characters and they are excellent, they are clear and expressive. This book sets a very high standard for Sherlock Holmes adaptions.