Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Expanding Holmes: Sherlock Bones, Vol 2



Sherlock Bones, volume 2, story by Yuma Ando and Art by Yuki Sato. Graphic novel.

As I wrote when I reviewed volume 1, there is a high level of “buy-in” required to enjoy this series. First, you have to be willing to read a book with the storytelling and art style common in manga. And second, you have to be willing to accept the premise that a sixteen-year-old schoolboy (Takeru) has adopted a dog who is the reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes, who can communicate with Takeru whenever he smokes the father’s pipe. 

The bulk of volume 2 is made up by the 6-part story “A Script for Death.” In it, Sherdog witnesses an actual murder on the set of a murder movie. He is able to lead his Watson (Takeru) through the string of clues, including paw prints and spilled cocoa, to the killer. It is a story that does what I want a Holmes story (of any variety) to do. It relies on observation, logic, and deduction to solve the crime and catch the culprit.

The volume actually begins with a fun one-part story about Sherdog making bad deductions, but still saving the day – well, after making a complete mess of the house, because … you know, he’s a dog. There are also two brief “coffee time” features that round out the volume. These features add a needed humorous touch to a volume involving murder mysteries.

Sherdog’s insistence that he is a Victorian gentleman is one of the funnier running jokes in the volume, as is his enduring love for Irene Adler, who in this volume is represented by Takeru’s sister Airin. In this version, Airin is a police detective, so their paths cross regularly.

I have found the first two volumes of this series delightful, and look forward to reading more.


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