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Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini #1-5
Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini
The world's most famous detective meets the world's most famous magician... and death ensues! Famed sleuth Sherlock Holmes and brash showman Harry Houdini must combine forces to defeat a mysterious mystic dedicated to destroying Houdini's career and killing anyone who gets in his way. Written by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery, the Harvey Award-nominated creators of Kill Shakespeare. Collects the complete comic book storyline of Sherlock Holmes Vs. Harry Houdini issues #1-5.
128 pages, Paperback
First published September 10, 2015
7 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Del Col
131 books46 followersAnthony is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer/producer of podcasts and comics. His stories include KILL SHAKESPEARE, ASSASSIN'S CREED, the controversial graphic novel THE DEATH OF NANCY DREW, and the award-winning Insider comic I ESCAPED A CHINESE INTERNMENT CAMP, a first-person exploration of one Muslim Uyghur woman’s imprisonment by the Chinese government (2022 Pulitzer Award for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary).
His 2020 audio drama ASSASSIN’S CREED: GOLD, starring Oscar-nominee Riz Ahmed, was Audible’s top-rated release of the year. HIs first project with Audible, the found-footage thriller UNHEARD: THE STORY OF ANNA WINSLOW, hit #1 on Audible and broke download records.
Other projects include the Ringo Awards-nominated graphic novel SON OF HITLER (“few war stories are this much fun” - NPR); LUKE CAGE: EVERYMAN (Marvel), three seasons of Wondery’s hit podcast AGAINST THE ODDS, over 50 episodes of the Army Matters podcast and a series of acclaimed and award-winning comics for Insider that explore subjects such as anti-Muslim policies in India, filtration camps in Ukraine and migrant workers in Qatar.
A proud Canadian, he lives in Brooklyn with his lovely - and patient - wife Lisa, son Dashiell and daughter Siena.
His 2020 audio drama ASSASSIN’S CREED: GOLD, starring Oscar-nominee Riz Ahmed, was Audible’s top-rated release of the year. HIs first project with Audible, the found-footage thriller UNHEARD: THE STORY OF ANNA WINSLOW, hit #1 on Audible and broke download records.
Other projects include the Ringo Awards-nominated graphic novel SON OF HITLER (“few war stories are this much fun” - NPR); LUKE CAGE: EVERYMAN (Marvel), three seasons of Wondery’s hit podcast AGAINST THE ODDS, over 50 episodes of the Army Matters podcast and a series of acclaimed and award-winning comics for Insider that explore subjects such as anti-Muslim policies in India, filtration camps in Ukraine and migrant workers in Qatar.
A proud Canadian, he lives in Brooklyn with his lovely - and patient - wife Lisa, son Dashiell and daughter Siena.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 23, 2018
There are two ways you can experience the mature and highly refined way that Sherlock Homes and Harry Houdini interact in this book: one is to read it (which I don’t recommend); the other is to go into any high school locker room, find the two least intelligent but most egotistical young lads, and suggest that whichever one of them can be the bigger asshole will get a date with the most attractive girl in school (and a free sandwich)…and then just stand back and wait.
Look, I get that Holmes had some rough edges, and Houdini wasn’t exactly known as the humblest of prestidigitators. I also understand that a healthy rivalry between two gifted heroes can make for some fun dramatic tension. But, there’s a shade of nuance involved in conveying the characteristic of overconfidence in a way that masks insecurity, particularly insecurity aroused by meeting one’s idol (as the story suggests is the case for Houdini with Holmes here), if you want to use it as a way of developing a truly three-dimensional character. In this insance, however, any vitriol spewed by the aforementioned pair of high school, sandwich-chewing hooligans would make them look like Kant vs. Kierkegaard relative to the goonish morons that Holmes and Houdini portray.
Between watching two otherwise insanely intelligent and highly rational men act like complete nincompoops while trying to one-up each other and artwork that features characters whose facial similarity in close-up situations occasionally makes it difficult to tell what’s happening, there are better ways to scratch your Holmesian graphic novel pastiche fetish (I’m happy to offer recommendations).
I’d steer clear of this, and maybe go buy a local young tough a sandwich. He’ll thank you. We’ll call it 2.5 stars and very generously round up.
(Note: I’ve been on heavy painkillers for the past 72 hours, so it’s entirely possible none of the aforementioned makes sense and that this book was amazing. I hope I adequately explained the presence of the flying nuns and the horny pigeon. Pretty sure I wedged it in there. I mean, it is October, after all.)
Look, I get that Holmes had some rough edges, and Houdini wasn’t exactly known as the humblest of prestidigitators. I also understand that a healthy rivalry between two gifted heroes can make for some fun dramatic tension. But, there’s a shade of nuance involved in conveying the characteristic of overconfidence in a way that masks insecurity, particularly insecurity aroused by meeting one’s idol (as the story suggests is the case for Houdini with Holmes here), if you want to use it as a way of developing a truly three-dimensional character. In this insance, however, any vitriol spewed by the aforementioned pair of high school, sandwich-chewing hooligans would make them look like Kant vs. Kierkegaard relative to the goonish morons that Holmes and Houdini portray.
Between watching two otherwise insanely intelligent and highly rational men act like complete nincompoops while trying to one-up each other and artwork that features characters whose facial similarity in close-up situations occasionally makes it difficult to tell what’s happening, there are better ways to scratch your Holmesian graphic novel pastiche fetish (I’m happy to offer recommendations).
I’d steer clear of this, and maybe go buy a local young tough a sandwich. He’ll thank you. We’ll call it 2.5 stars and very generously round up.
(Note: I’ve been on heavy painkillers for the past 72 hours, so it’s entirely possible none of the aforementioned makes sense and that this book was amazing. I hope I adequately explained the presence of the flying nuns and the horny pigeon. Pretty sure I wedged it in there. I mean, it is October, after all.)
February 16, 2021
Sherlock Holmes and Harry Houdini bicker like children for 4 issues while the murderer continues to thwart them because they can't get past their own egos. This should have been great. The bickering got tedious real quickly.
The artist has some talent but Holmes and Houdini have a sameness to them that made them hard to distinguish from one another.
The artist has some talent but Holmes and Houdini have a sameness to them that made them hard to distinguish from one another.
October 7, 2016
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this graphic novel. It is a speculative fiction work, a "what if" work. The kind of story that Jules Verne or Victor Hugo would have written. Anthony Del Col and Connor McCreary tap into the primordial essence of speculation in fiction. They have created a piece that is highly precise and accurate for the era in which it is set. It takes fictitious and actual characters from the late Victorian era and blends them into a highly entertaining tale of that era. Fans of both Sherlock Holmes and Harry Houdini should greatly enjoy this story. Fans of speculative fiction and whodunits will also be drawn in to the tale with minimal resistance.
November 27, 2020
There’s a bit of a rivalry going on here, but these two super heroes eventually put aside their egos and distrust of each other to combine forces to defeat a powerful enemy. The storyline is an interesting one, and watching these two intellectuals compete first against each other, and then against the enemy is quite entertaining. The artwork is quite distinctive, and really enhances the story. This well conceived and imaginative graphic novel will appeal to teenagers as well as adults.
October 20, 2018
The biggest failing here is that the setting doesn't feel genuine. The artwork isn't far behind since telling characters apart is sometimes difficult. Holmes's character seems to be explored more through his addiction than his deductive skill. He shares the spotlight with Houdini which further dilutes the story. Still, the two characters' reaction to spiritualists seems to be inspired from the original selves. Both were convinced spiritualists are con artists and this time around the bad guys resort to murder to try to prove their supremacy. Both Holmes and Houdini will face death in this story, so they will have to band together to survive.
I have no idea what type of man Houdini was, so I can't say if his behavior in the story is a match. As far as Holmes is concerned, here he has major failings during his investigations due to substance abuse. While his addiction is true to form, I don't remember him stumbling in any way during a case in the original stories. Still, it makes sense that his body and mind would still be under the influence of the drugs at least a day or two after giving them up.
During two of Houdini's shows an otherworldly giant head appears and threatens the escape artist. Houdini is dead set on proving that spiritualists are frauds, so they are suspected. Holmes realizes from the beginning that there must be a logical explanation for the images they saw and suspects a video projector, but the image is in color. This technology should be beyond the year 1900. Holmes reluctantly accepts Houdini's keen eye during the investigation after a man apparently kills himself with an axe used on Houdini's show.
I have no idea what type of man Houdini was, so I can't say if his behavior in the story is a match. As far as Holmes is concerned, here he has major failings during his investigations due to substance abuse. While his addiction is true to form, I don't remember him stumbling in any way during a case in the original stories. Still, it makes sense that his body and mind would still be under the influence of the drugs at least a day or two after giving them up.
During two of Houdini's shows an otherworldly giant head appears and threatens the escape artist. Houdini is dead set on proving that spiritualists are frauds, so they are suspected. Holmes realizes from the beginning that there must be a logical explanation for the images they saw and suspects a video projector, but the image is in color. This technology should be beyond the year 1900. Holmes reluctantly accepts Houdini's keen eye during the investigation after a man apparently kills himself with an axe used on Houdini's show.
July 20, 2020
Estos crossovers son de lo más predecible. La trama es interesante. En una era donde el escepticismo no era muy común, de arma una batalla por demostrar el lo mágico no existe. Es la misma secuencia de siempre, dos protagonistas de diferentes títulos se reúnen, al principio no se agradan y luchan, para luego encontrar una amenaza en común y unir fuerzas. Un cliché de la más mediocre magnitud. El diseño gráfico fue decente pero nada especial. Me gustó, pero no es algo que recomendaría.
May 3, 2021
The instantaneous antagonism between the two is never justified, and the final reveal of the big bad as yet another historical figure beggars belief, counting on recognition and 'shock' value to cover up bad writing and poor plotting.
November 21, 2015
The first thoughts running through my head when I looked at the book was: Sherlock Holmes and Houdini? That sounds like a very interesting combination!
And it still is! I really enjoyed this graphic novel! Also, I got to meet Conor McCreery, so that was really cool!(Even though I wasn't able to attend his talk, I got to see him after.)
After reading "Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini", I just had to look up Tom Baker as Rasputin to compare the two characters. Now, I am going to give the artist a big thumbs up for doing a great job with the character design. Can't wait to see what comes next in this thrilling story!
And it still is! I really enjoyed this graphic novel! Also, I got to meet Conor McCreery, so that was really cool!(Even though I wasn't able to attend his talk, I got to see him after.)
After reading "Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini", I just had to look up Tom Baker as Rasputin to compare the two characters. Now, I am going to give the artist a big thumbs up for doing a great job with the character design. Can't wait to see what comes next in this thrilling story!
February 19, 2019
Good story, but nothing special.
And bad artwork.
And bad artwork.
December 24, 2020
I really liked this. I remember reading once that at one time, both of these figures stood equally prominent in the public's collective imagination. It is strangely ironic that the real man is seldom talked about now, while the fictional one stars in films, TV shows, and new books (not to mention being featured on keychains, coffee mugs, t-shirts, etc.). I was delighted to read a graphic novel where they once again share the center stage. Their conflict and (eventually) their camaraderie drive the story. Both leads are well-crafted. I especially appreciate the way that Anthony Del Col brought Houdini to life here. He is remembered for the desperation with which he sought a way to communicate with the dead, as well as for the cleverness with which he exposed the fraudulent mystics. This book stays true to that, while still imbuing him with subtlety and dignity. His orderliness, his tenacity, his ego—all are thoughtfully portrayed. Sherlock feels a little out of character at times, but that might simply be because I am not used to seeing him interact with (and compete with) someone who is his intellectual equal. He still embodies the essence of the great detective, and fans of Arthur Conan Doyle will find much to cheer for here. This book plays a little fast and loose with a few historical details, but the storytelling was so engaging and the characters so dynamic that it didn't really matter. This is meant to be a fun romp, and in that respect, it certainly delivers.
February 21, 2021
Nada destacable, el dibujo sin ser malo tampoco es bueno y a veces puedes llegar a confundir a los dos protagonistas. Ambos tienen como característica su enorme ego y al principio chocan, pero terminarán llevándose bien... típico. El "truco" final de Holmes también es totamente predecible y casi que repetido de otras ocasiones.
Medianamente entretenido pero sin más. No lo recomendaría ni a los fans de Holmes. Pero si casualmente cae en tus manos, sirve para pasar el rato. El nº 2 fue dónde el interés subió un poco más, para luego ir decayendo muy rápidamente, sobre todo después de saber quién era el místico antagonista de la pareja.
Medianamente entretenido pero sin más. No lo recomendaría ni a los fans de Holmes. Pero si casualmente cae en tus manos, sirve para pasar el rato. El nº 2 fue dónde el interés subió un poco más, para luego ir decayendo muy rápidamente, sobre todo después de saber quién era el místico antagonista de la pareja.
April 28, 2022
Difficult to follow the art at key moments. There's entertainment in seeing Houdini and Holmes bicker, but I never believed that Holmes would indulge in hallucinogens nor that either of them would let their macho posturing get in the way of stopping the true villain. Also off-putting that Houdini's wife Bess is only referred to by name once that I recall; most of the time she's just the wife. More a Houdini story than a Holmes.
August 2, 2022
Overall a very fun graphic novel with the world’s greatest detective and magician. I was expecting Sherlock and Houdini to be adversaries in the book rather than frenemies. And Rasputin as the villain… ehhh didn’t do it for.
The artwork is well done and fits the time period. I did find that Houdini and Sherlock were very similar visually so that I couldn’t tell them apart. But they did have good banter.
The artwork is well done and fits the time period. I did find that Houdini and Sherlock were very similar visually so that I couldn’t tell them apart. But they did have good banter.
June 30, 2023
This is an enjoyable comic execution a pretty obvious character mashup. I love that the "vs." in the title refers more to verbal/mental sparring between the two protagonists than to any sort of battle. The art by Carlos Furuzono and Aikau Oliva is wonderful, conveying action and emotion effectively.
I would like to say more and hit on more points in the story, but I really don't want to spoil anything. To state it plainly, the story is definitely worthy of both names in the title.
I would like to say more and hit on more points in the story, but I really don't want to spoil anything. To state it plainly, the story is definitely worthy of both names in the title.
January 6, 2018
Bloody brilliant!
July 3, 2017
Disappointed in both story and artwork.
May 15, 2019
3.5 stars
May 7, 2024
🆒
Great storyline with an interesting slant to it, having three great minds trying to compete & outwit each other, with their own arrogance being a hindrance !!!?
Great storyline with an interesting slant to it, having three great minds trying to compete & outwit each other, with their own arrogance being a hindrance !!!?
September 21, 2015
I read this as individual issues as they were released. I thoroughly enjoyed the team up of Holmes and Houdini. I thought Del Col and McCreery captured their personalities pretty well. The villain turns out to be a major historical figure as well, with an evil plot that tests the abilities of our heroes to their limits. The artwork by Furuzono is quite good and adds a nice layer of verisimilitude to the story.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews