COMIC: SHERLOCK HOLMES: YEAR ONE #1 IN STORES TODAY

Issue number 1 of Dynamite's new comic book series SHERLOCK HOLMES: YEAR ONE (of 6) arrives in comic stores today - February 9, 2011.

From Dynamite Entertainment:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's dauntless detective returns in an all-new series of adventures exploring the sleuth's untold origins! Join Dr. John Watson as he meets young Sherlock Holmes in a fateful encounter that will\forever shape both men's destinies! Mysteries and murders most foul abound as we discover clues that reveal just how Holmes became the world's most famous detective!

Collectors note: There are variant covers available for this issue.

Visit the Dynamite Entertainment website for more info by clicking here.



Also arriving in comic shops today is VICTORIAN UNDEAD II: SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. DRACULA #4 (of 5) from DC/Wildstorm.

The game is afoot as Sherlock Holmes and his strange group of allies race against the clock to counter Count Dracula's moves in London against the Royal Family. Will their efforts be enough to stop a darkness spreading over the newly rebuilt London? Elementary, my dear reader!

For more info visit the DC/Wildstorm page by clicking here.

AWARDS: SHERLOCK HOLMES ON THE RONDO HATTON CLASSIC HORROR AWARDS BALLOT

The Eighth Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards are in full swing and surprise, surprise Sherlock Holmes, in a variety of forms (Film, DVD, Comic Book), has landed on the ballot.Voting is open to everyone, so go along to the Rondo Awards website and cast a vote for Sherlock Holmes, along with a slew of other great horror nominees today!

For Best Movie of 2009:
- SHERLOCK HOLMES. The Guy Ritchie directed feature film with Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Watson.

For Best DVD TV Collection:
- BBC SHERLOCK HOLMES. Peter Cushing stars as Sherlock Holmes alongside Nigel Stock as Watson in the North American DVD release of the 5 remaining BBC episodes of the 1968 television series.

For Best Horror Comic Book:
- VICTORIAN UNDEAD. Written by Ian Edginton with art by David Fabbri, this Wildstorm series pits Holmes and Watson against a legion of undead zombies.

COMIC: WILDSTORM'S VICTORIAN UNDEAD #3 RELEASED JANUARY 27, 2010

The third issue of Wildstorm's VICTORIAN UNDEAD comic book mini-series pitting Sherlock Holmes against a zombie menace in Victorian London hit comic shops earlier this week. In this latest issue Mycroft Holmes, after rescuing his brother and Dr. Watson from an underground zombie attack in issue 2, explains some of the suppressed background to the newly awakened zombie menace and before the issue is through we find Holme, Watson and Mrs. Hudson facing a new outbreak on the very doorstep of 221B Baker Street!

Simply put, this series is turning out to be a fascinating and well-conceived read and is fast becoming my all-time favourite original incarnation of Sherlock Holmes in the comic book medium. Fun story by Ian Edginton and great artwork by Davide Fabbri! Highly Recommended!

COMIC: WILDSTORM'S VICTORIAN UNDEAD #1 UNLEASHED THIS WEEK

The first issue of Wildstorm Comics new Sherlock Holmes series - Victorian Undead - was unleashed to comic shops this past week, and happily, it is a fine and extremely fun read.

Written by Ian Edginton, with art by Davide Fabbri and a cover by Tony Moore, the book kicks off with a strange and ominous meteor shower in 1854 then jumps ahead to 1898 where workers in the Underground make a deadly and gruesome discovery. Soon after, when faced with a snarling and rabid corpse that won't stay still, Lestrade summons Sherlock Holmes for assistance, only to be warned off by ominous men in black - agents of Her Majesty's Secret Service. So begins the first issue in this exciting new six issue series pitting Holmes against a Zombie plague!

Ian Edginton (also doing a great job of adapting Conan Doyle's Holmes novels, with art by I.N.J Culbard, for Sterling's Illustrated Classics graphic novel series) does a marvelous job of presenting us with a highly intriguing, and so far mysterious, start to this challenging concept, with a hint that there will be far more to this series than simply pitting Holmes against a mindless zombie horde. Dialogue and story are both very convincing and his presentation of Holmes as an energetic,  curious and driven individual works extremely well. The proceedings are complemented by the beautifully rendered artwork of Davide Fabbri, whose character design for Holmes is, if perhaps a bit too handsome and super-heroic in proportions, a perfectly acceptable and appealing creation. Watson fares a little less well and is presented as a slightly stocky, gray-haired gent, sporting spectacles. The zombies are suitably ghastly and actually fairly disgusting to look upon, which is as it should be! Perhaps my only complaint about the look of the book is the somewhat over-lit and vivid colouring applied to the artwork, but it's a minor quibble. On the whole, this is a terrific read in every way and provides a great deal of fun for the imaginative reader, if not for the Sherlockian purist. Get out to your local comic shop and pick this one up! Highly Recommended.

For more info on the series, including cover art for upcoming issues, visit the Wildstorm Comics site.