What do you think?
Rate this book
Sherlock Holmes: Dynamite Comics #0-2
Sherlock Holmes Omnibus, Volume 1
Presenting three captivating mysteries of Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, in the first-ever Omnibus collecting his comic book adventures! From young Holmes' first encounter with Dr. John Watson, to the detective's role reversal as a suspect for murder, to a rash of Liverpool killings seemingly committed by a supernatural entity, the finest whodunnits in the Dynamite Entertainment library begin with this very volume! Collects the complete "Trial of Sherlock Holmes", "Year One", and "Liverpool Demon" storylines.
448 pages, Paperback
Published December 6, 2016
18 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Various
455k books1,332 followersVarious is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).
If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.
Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.
If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.
Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 19, 2021
While Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorite classic literary characters, I was not all that enthused by this graphic novel adaptation. The artwork was great, but, some rather bloody scenes and quite a bit of language, including some misuses of Jesus' name, made me feel like I was playing an "M" rated video game instead of reading an old-school whodunit.
March 4, 2021
Even when I'm reading collected volumes in an omnibus, I prefer to log the individual volumes. Seems like a more fair rating, especially as quality can change from volume to volume, as do storylines. I forgot to with this Sherlock Holmes comic, so I'm just flopping it on the omnibus listing. This is marked as v.1, although I don't think we can expect any further omnibus releases (and to finish off your Sherlock Holmes-by-way-of-Dynamite-Comics experience, you'd need to grab several other individual volumes: Moriarty Lives and The Vanishing Man).
This volume contains three arcs: Year One, The Trial of Sherlock Holmes, and The Liverpool Demon.
Year One, as the title implies, is a bit of a starting point. Holmes himself is more-or-less established here, but it does—briefly—go into John Watson's meeting of Sherlock and the odd fascination he develops towards the man before pivoting a bit into an actual mystery (which I believe has to do with the Cesar killings, although my memory of the three volumes is starting to jumble). I never quite felt that the characters of Holmes and Watson—and the nature of their relationship—was properly established. That may sound weird for such well-known characters, but I'm also of the opinion that each author is going to have their own spin on them, so it's still necessary to lay the proper groundwork. Maybe that groundwork feels tedious, but it's still important. As such, Year One never quite finds its footing because I never got to a point where the dynamic between Holmes and Watson felt right.
The Trial of Sherlock Holmes works much better. It's a focused story with a really solid narrative arc to support it. Our characters are much older here, with an established camaraderie, and I was never at a loss for who was on the page or why. It's got one inherent problem—one, doubtlessly, impossible to write any other way, so I don't even blame the author for this—where Holmes spends most of the volume in jail. Separating the titular character and, essentially, shoving him out of sight, doesn't a satisfying Sherlock Holmes story make. It's a great story, just... well, you know.
The Liverpool Demon, then, finds our duo traveling. Right before they return home a murder with a supernatural tingle extends their stay. Sherlock, working with a new police force, has to unravel a case with locked doors, an urban legend, and dog fighting. It's a grimy, street-slop story with gothic undertones. Of the three volumes, this is the one with the most visual variety and interest, although the mystery never quite feels as important and alarming as the ingredients suggest.
Overall, these stories share some key problems:
1. It needs a perspective character. Watson, of course, performs that function in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories. Film and TV adaptations have taken a broader view—one that a more cinematic medium supports. Here it feels like they were trying for the cinematic, 3rd person view, but the result is random, jumbled storytelling. A perspective character would help unite the stories' focus.
2. Related to point 1, but these stories are all over the place, even on a page-to-page basis. We're with Holmes, oh wait now we're with the inspector, wait we're with the antagonist, now we're with Watson, and now we're with a random police officer—does he even have a name?—doing something boring but maybe it'll make sense later?, and now we're with a random guy hobbling along the street thinking random thoughts, and now we're... and now we're... You get the idea.
3. Part of the appeal of Sherlock Holmes is in seeing a detective ferret clues that feel meaningless to the average reader. In this way, Watson—bless his soul—serves as our stand-in. But we actually see very little of Sherlock's sharp detection skills here. Most of my examples would be too spoilery to mention, but suffice to say it feels like Holmes just sort of comes up with answers; we don't see the logical groundwork that got him there.
Despite all that I had a decent time with the first (and only) omnibus collection of the Sherlock Holmes comic series. If you're in a Sherlock Holmes and comic mood, it's a solid way to spend some time.
This volume contains three arcs: Year One, The Trial of Sherlock Holmes, and The Liverpool Demon.
Year One, as the title implies, is a bit of a starting point. Holmes himself is more-or-less established here, but it does—briefly—go into John Watson's meeting of Sherlock and the odd fascination he develops towards the man before pivoting a bit into an actual mystery (which I believe has to do with the Cesar killings, although my memory of the three volumes is starting to jumble). I never quite felt that the characters of Holmes and Watson—and the nature of their relationship—was properly established. That may sound weird for such well-known characters, but I'm also of the opinion that each author is going to have their own spin on them, so it's still necessary to lay the proper groundwork. Maybe that groundwork feels tedious, but it's still important. As such, Year One never quite finds its footing because I never got to a point where the dynamic between Holmes and Watson felt right.
The Trial of Sherlock Holmes works much better. It's a focused story with a really solid narrative arc to support it. Our characters are much older here, with an established camaraderie, and I was never at a loss for who was on the page or why. It's got one inherent problem—one, doubtlessly, impossible to write any other way, so I don't even blame the author for this—where Holmes spends most of the volume in jail. Separating the titular character and, essentially, shoving him out of sight, doesn't a satisfying Sherlock Holmes story make. It's a great story, just... well, you know.
The Liverpool Demon, then, finds our duo traveling. Right before they return home a murder with a supernatural tingle extends their stay. Sherlock, working with a new police force, has to unravel a case with locked doors, an urban legend, and dog fighting. It's a grimy, street-slop story with gothic undertones. Of the three volumes, this is the one with the most visual variety and interest, although the mystery never quite feels as important and alarming as the ingredients suggest.
Overall, these stories share some key problems:
1. It needs a perspective character. Watson, of course, performs that function in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories. Film and TV adaptations have taken a broader view—one that a more cinematic medium supports. Here it feels like they were trying for the cinematic, 3rd person view, but the result is random, jumbled storytelling. A perspective character would help unite the stories' focus.
2. Related to point 1, but these stories are all over the place, even on a page-to-page basis. We're with Holmes, oh wait now we're with the inspector, wait we're with the antagonist, now we're with Watson, and now we're with a random police officer—does he even have a name?—doing something boring but maybe it'll make sense later?, and now we're with a random guy hobbling along the street thinking random thoughts, and now we're... and now we're... You get the idea.
3. Part of the appeal of Sherlock Holmes is in seeing a detective ferret clues that feel meaningless to the average reader. In this way, Watson—bless his soul—serves as our stand-in. But we actually see very little of Sherlock's sharp detection skills here. Most of my examples would be too spoilery to mention, but suffice to say it feels like Holmes just sort of comes up with answers; we don't see the logical groundwork that got him there.
Despite all that I had a decent time with the first (and only) omnibus collection of the Sherlock Holmes comic series. If you're in a Sherlock Holmes and comic mood, it's a solid way to spend some time.
February 21, 2022
The Trial of Sherlock Holmes has a great premise (even if it requires a bit of out-of-character behavior) but a rushed ending. The Year One story is obviously intended to attract readers who liked the Robert Downey Sherlock Holmes movies, with more action. The Liverpool Demon didn't make a lot of sense to me, with too many threads not woven together satisfactorily.
November 26, 2022
I am a fan of the character, but this was bad. Individual stories were completely out of character, and mediocre at best. The artwork was uneven and inconsistent. I won't be continuing with this series, and will stick to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for my Holmes.
October 24, 2024
These were all very enjoyable. I like to see the way Holmes can put the pieces together. The different ways Holmes and all were differently portrayed from story to story. That was slightly disconcerting.
September 10, 2017
Personal opinion of the artwork is negative, which caused me some confusion in reading the panels,in 2 of the 3 stories. Will not purchase Volume 2.
May 30, 2023
The art work is excellent. Good story
September 10, 2023
I was originally expecting just a graphic novel retelling of some popular Holmes adventures, but it was great to get new stories. I'm going to have to look for the other compilations of these.
April 16, 2024
Watson, the needle …
Great artwork together with good mysteries, what more could one ask ? Quintessential Holmes & Watson deducing & solving crimes ~
Great artwork together with good mysteries, what more could one ask ? Quintessential Holmes & Watson deducing & solving crimes ~
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews