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Alright, the other day at the library I found THE COOLEST book. Yes, the coolest. I have quite a few Sherlock Holmes books, as you may imagine, and several of them are of the pictorial variety, such as The Pictorial Sherlock Holmes for an example. You know, lots of illustrations, photos of actors, etc. I was browsing the Holmes section in literary studies and there was a book called Sherlock Holmes in America (I believe), I picked it up and lo and behold it is full of AWESOME picture. ALL of the Frederic Dorr Steele illustrations for Return (sorry Sidney Paget, you know I love you, but Steele is a MUCH better illustrator than you ever were), plus the covers in full colour! Lots of newspaper illustrations! And a whole section on comic strips. So awesome. I've learned a few things:
1. Newspaper strip humour of the early 20th century is incredibly bizarre, and often makes no sense (I knew that before, but it was imprinted upon me even more forcefully).
2. Apparently the phrase, "Quick, Watson, the needle!" was THE Sherlockian catchphrase of the early decades. Why... I have no idea. But it was so well known that people could use "Quick, Watson, _______" as a punchline in adverts and cartoons. Wow. It's random inclusion at the end of the 1939 Hound now makes sense! Or, more sense.
3. If you write The Katzenjammer Kids it completely makes sense to you that your Holmesian parody, Sherlock Guck, wold dress himself as various animals and have a bad Chinese accent. Who knew?
Anywho, I wrote out a couple of the strips because I found them amusing, and so I shall share my wealth of Sherlockian fun! At some point I'll try to scan a few of the good ones (i.e. ones that actually work best when you can both read the text and see the drawing, as opposed to the following, which work pretty much as text without any drawing getting in the way). I will DEFINITELY have to scan the strip series in which all the characters are either dogs or sausages (with an occasional teddy bear or snake). I think it is the COOLEST WEIRDEST STRIP I'VE EVER SEEN. Apart from Little Nemo, of course. But what the hell -- a strip about the murder investigation of a frankfurter? AWESOME.
Sherlock Holmes Analyzes a Perfect Stranger
by John T. McCutcheon
(a four panel comic strip)
Panel 1: Sherlock Holmes -- "Ah, a stranger whom I've never met before."
Panel 2: "How do you do, sir -- I observe that you are in a coal trust; also that you have just had a narrow escape; that you have no children; that you were in a great hurry this morning; that you have been writing, and that you shaved with your left hand this morning. Are you going away on the afternoon or the evening train?"
Panel 3: "Why this is simply marvelous Mr. Holmes. Everything you've said is true. How in the world did you find out all these things about a man you've never heard of before?"
Panel 4: "By a very simple process of deduction. I can tell by your hands that you are in a trust, and I know it was the coal trust by the hungry way you looked at my purse there on the table, and by the way you glanced apprehensively around you as if expecting someone to hit you with a club. I knew that you had just had a narrow escape, by the fact that three bricks grazed you, and the brick dust is still on your coat. You have no children, for if you had you would have some consideration for poor people who have children. I knew that you expected to take a journey, because I understand the grand jury is in session. I also knew that you had shaved with your left hand because your face is cut, and there is ink on your right forefinger, showing that you were writing out an order to whoop the price of coal while shaving with your left. You were in a hurry, because you had time to have only one shoe polished. It's all very simple.
Sherlock Holmes Jr. Tries A New Trick
by Sidney Smith
PANEL 1:
Criminal: "I borrowed Sherlock's rain stick and am just bringing it back I fixed it for him"
PANEL 2:
Sherlock Jr: "An idea -- I'll use that umbrella to hide behind when I'm chasing these thieves"
PANEL 3:
Sherlock Jr: "I'll put my star under my coat and can stand right in their midst and learn their secrets"
PANEL 4:
Sherlock Jr: "I hear them coming now for my disguise"
PANEL 5:
Sherlock Jr: *hides behind open umbrella*
Open umbrella reads: "I AM A DETECTIVE HIT ME WITH A BRICK"
Panel 6:
Sherlock Jr: *is hit in head with brick*
1. Newspaper strip humour of the early 20th century is incredibly bizarre, and often makes no sense (I knew that before, but it was imprinted upon me even more forcefully).
2. Apparently the phrase, "Quick, Watson, the needle!" was THE Sherlockian catchphrase of the early decades. Why... I have no idea. But it was so well known that people could use "Quick, Watson, _______" as a punchline in adverts and cartoons. Wow. It's random inclusion at the end of the 1939 Hound now makes sense! Or, more sense.
3. If you write The Katzenjammer Kids it completely makes sense to you that your Holmesian parody, Sherlock Guck, wold dress himself as various animals and have a bad Chinese accent. Who knew?
Anywho, I wrote out a couple of the strips because I found them amusing, and so I shall share my wealth of Sherlockian fun! At some point I'll try to scan a few of the good ones (i.e. ones that actually work best when you can both read the text and see the drawing, as opposed to the following, which work pretty much as text without any drawing getting in the way). I will DEFINITELY have to scan the strip series in which all the characters are either dogs or sausages (with an occasional teddy bear or snake). I think it is the COOLEST WEIRDEST STRIP I'VE EVER SEEN. Apart from Little Nemo, of course. But what the hell -- a strip about the murder investigation of a frankfurter? AWESOME.
Sherlock Holmes Analyzes a Perfect Stranger
by John T. McCutcheon
(a four panel comic strip)
Panel 1: Sherlock Holmes -- "Ah, a stranger whom I've never met before."
Panel 2: "How do you do, sir -- I observe that you are in a coal trust; also that you have just had a narrow escape; that you have no children; that you were in a great hurry this morning; that you have been writing, and that you shaved with your left hand this morning. Are you going away on the afternoon or the evening train?"
Panel 3: "Why this is simply marvelous Mr. Holmes. Everything you've said is true. How in the world did you find out all these things about a man you've never heard of before?"
Panel 4: "By a very simple process of deduction. I can tell by your hands that you are in a trust, and I know it was the coal trust by the hungry way you looked at my purse there on the table, and by the way you glanced apprehensively around you as if expecting someone to hit you with a club. I knew that you had just had a narrow escape, by the fact that three bricks grazed you, and the brick dust is still on your coat. You have no children, for if you had you would have some consideration for poor people who have children. I knew that you expected to take a journey, because I understand the grand jury is in session. I also knew that you had shaved with your left hand because your face is cut, and there is ink on your right forefinger, showing that you were writing out an order to whoop the price of coal while shaving with your left. You were in a hurry, because you had time to have only one shoe polished. It's all very simple.
Sherlock Holmes Jr. Tries A New Trick
by Sidney Smith
PANEL 1:
Criminal: "I borrowed Sherlock's rain stick and am just bringing it back I fixed it for him"
PANEL 2:
Sherlock Jr: "An idea -- I'll use that umbrella to hide behind when I'm chasing these thieves"
PANEL 3:
Sherlock Jr: "I'll put my star under my coat and can stand right in their midst and learn their secrets"
PANEL 4:
Sherlock Jr: "I hear them coming now for my disguise"
PANEL 5:
Sherlock Jr: *hides behind open umbrella*
Open umbrella reads: "I AM A DETECTIVE HIT ME WITH A BRICK"
Panel 6:
Sherlock Jr: *is hit in head with brick*
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