Sherlock Holmes: The Vanishing Man #1
Written By Leah Moore and John Reppion
Illustrated by Julius Ohta
Cover by John Cassaday
Published by Dynamite Entertainment
Released 5/2/18 / $3.99
This book suckered me in right away.
You see, if you put a John Cassaday cover onto a book, I just want to open it up. You know, after I glare at it for a few minutes. The story inside isn’t half bad either, though I always wish Cassaday drew the interiors as well.
Sherlock Holmes stories are pretty straightforward. There is a mystery, and then a few twists and then, finally, Holmes shows us why he is smarter than everyone. He solves the case and we get ready for another adventure. This story starts off and doesn’t seem to break that mold.
The mystery here is about a reliable family man who one day just disappears. Nobody knows what happened to him. And then Holmes and Watson are brought in to solve the case!
Moore and Reppion don’t do much outside of the regular formula for the set up. We even get a “game’s afoot” line at the end. There’s also just a lot of talking heads in this issue. A lot! I got bored after awhile as it felt just like exposition and a lot of it was needless.
The art is rather lackluster too. It’s cartoony and not in a good way. Holmes and Watson visually look bland. As a matter of fact, so does most of the people in this book. If Ohta excelled at facial expressions, it might have worked but sadly, he does not.
Sherlock Holmes is a kind of comfort food for many people. If you want that comfort, then this is perfect. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
RATING: C+
