Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Author), Ian Edginton (Adapter), I.N.J. Culbard (Illustrator). A Study in Scarlet. New York: Sterling Publishing, 2010.
Annotation:
The police find a dead man’s body holding a wedding ring in a bloodstained room, but the man has no visible injuries. Even more chilling is the word “Rache” written in blood on the wall next to the man. Detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are summoned to try and unravel this bizarre mystery, hopefully before the killer can strike again.
A Study in Scarlet is a graphic novel that is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s first story to feature Sherlock Holmes, one of literatures most famous detectives. The novel is narrated by Sherlock Holmes faithful companion Dr. Watson who is first introduced to the eccentric detective early on in the story. Dr. Watson is fascinated with Sherlock’s quirks and his amazing ability to deduce facts with seemingly minimal information. It is this gift of intuition and attention to detail that allows Sherlock to carve out a living, on his own terms, as a consulting detective. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are quickly drawn into a case involving a dead man found in an apartment with blood splattered everywhere, but the blood is not from the victim. Sherlock investigates the dead man’s room, and discovers the word “Rache” written in blood on a shadowed part of the wall, and a woman’s wedding ring in the victim’s hand. After collecting several more clues at the scene, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson begin to do some independent fact finding, away from the prying eyes of Scotland Yard.
As the story unfolds, Sherlock begins to reveal some of his famous tricks of the trade, such as hiring young street kids to be his eyes and ears around London, since they are easily overlooked and are hardly ever viewed as a threat. Then as Sherlock and Dr. Watson quickly begin to narrow down the list of suspects, another man is killed. And just like the first murder, the word “Rache” is written in blood on the wall of the second victim’s room. With Sherlock now convinced of the murderer’s identity, he uses a clever tactic to persuade the killer to come to Sherlock's apartment, completely unaware that his guilt has been discovered. It is from that point that all the clues are put together; however, the killer’s motive remains a mystery. Fortunately, unexpected circumstances involving the killer health allow the reader to finally know why he resorted to murder.
Nomination:
A Study in Scarlet is a wonderfully composed and easy to follow graphic novel that introduces the young adult reader to a literary icon that has been fascinating readers young and old for over a century. And since this was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first story based on the character Sherlock Holmes, you are familiarized with all of the main characters right from the beginning. However, as the story unfolds, you begin to realize that you are being denied certain facts (due to behind the scenes events) which make solving the mystery before the end of the story practically impossible. But at the same time, the reader is given enough information to keep them yearning to know more. The graphics also do a fantastic job of keeping the reader’s attention. For example, Sherlock Holmes will often give a knowing glance to the reader when explaining something complicated to the less astute characters in the story. This seems to create a bond between Sherlock and the reader, as if Sherlock is telling the reader, “I know you are smart enough to understand this, but let’s explain it to these people who are far less intelligent than we are”. It is this cerebral bond with the young adult that helps it overcome the lack of wild action and gritty animation that is so commonly found in popular graphic novels being produced today. Therefore, A Study in Scarlet graphic novel is the perfect format for indoctrinating young readers into the eccentric world of Detective Sherlock Holmes.
Genre Category: Graphic Novel / Mystery Fiction
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