No, that’s not Robert Downey Jr. lounging in the sitting room of 221b Baker St., it’s me (still in a sling from my rotator cuff surgery) in the famous room’s recreation at the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London.

Of course, I look as much like the literary Holmes as Downey Jr. does… I mean, if director Guy Ritchie can cast a 5’7″ guy with a button nose and weak chin as Holmes, why not a 6′ 235 pound weightlifter cartoonist??

But enough of the snarky complaining. Being an avid Holmes fan and Sherlockian, I had every reason to dislike this film and Ritchie’s very loose interpretation of Holmes, which I felt was focusing far too much on the relatively small aspect of Holmes physical prowess.

However I left the theater having enjoyed the movie thoroughly.

I forgot that anytime something is transferred from the written page to the movie screen, something has to give. Film is such a different medium than writing that invariably the film maker must make decisions that deviate from the books in order to make a better movie… especially if that movie is meant to entertain a wide audience and not cater just to the hardcore fans of the original source material. Peter Jackson‘s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy is a perfect example. Jackson captured the essentials of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s fantasy masterpiece, yet changed many key aspects of the plot and some characters to make better movies of the subject. He managed to satisfy most rabid Tolkien fans and the rest of the world as well. I think Ritchie pulls off the same feat.

Ritchie obviously took a page from Jackson’s “Rings” formula to help appeal to the many Holmes fans out there. Like Jackson, he manages to capture the essence of Holmes despite the many departures from the source material. Ritchie’s “action hero” focus and the casting of an actor who in no way resembles Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary character is offset by the use of many direct lines straight from the original stories (which by the way singled out all the Sherlockians in the audience, as we were the only ones to show delight at those moments), several references to places and events from the books and more importantly other key aspects of the main characters all specifically aimed to please the Holmes crowd.

Ritchie’s Holmes is an Indiana Jones-like adventurer who is as apt to dive out a third story window into the Thames and take on several thugs at once as get down and crawl about with a magnifying lens looking at minute scratches in the floor boards. Ritchie chose to exaggerate the physical nature of Holmes, who in the Conan Doyle stories was an expert boxer, swordsman, martial artist and singlestick player but who rarely used (or cared to use) those skills. Ritchie also chose to depart from the “gentlemanly” nature of the original character and focus on his more slovenly moments and his use of recreational drugs. In this film Holmes’ Victorian gentlemanly persona is a thin veneer over an eccentric genius and man of action. The key to the film’s successful depiction of Holmes is in the character’s other attributes and in his interaction with Watson.

Here also is Holmes with the brilliant mind, detached in some aspects from the real world, analyzing and deducing at lighting pace in ways that shock those about him. It was particularly clever of Ritchie to combine Holmes’ powers of minute observation with his moments of action, as shown in two fighting scenes where he mentally choreographs the entire fight, how he intends to disable his opponent, what observations he’s basing his strategy on and the effects of each blow in a suspended time flash-forward before he does exactly as he has envisioned in real time. That is a brilliant piece of movie magic that combines the more cerebral Holmes of the books with the film’s apparent brawler, making the physicality of the fights second to his scientific examination and the resulting choreography the main point of the exercise. It’s a nod to Holmes still remaining the brain first and the brawn second as Doyle wrote him. Holmes also does many of the seemingly oddball things he would do in the books to get clues… smelling and licking objects, jumping about and examining things that do not seem related to the events at hand.

The best part of the treatment of Holmes is his interaction with Watson. So many of the Holmes films and treatments over the years have depicted Watson as a buffoon and a comic foil, when anyone who has read the canon (as the original 56 short stories and four novels are known) knows Watson was a true partner, trusted friend and a very smart man in his own right. Jude Law‘s Watson is another man of action, but in this case it’s more accurate as in the books Watson was a former soldier and marksman, often acting as Holmes’ “heavy” and was always along whenever physicality was thought to be called for. There was often a lot of bickering and sniping between the two in the canon, Watson continually becoming fed up with his friend’s egotism and impatience with lesser minds, and Holmes often chiding Watson for is lack of observation and incorrect deductions. If anything, this film’s Watson is given more brains and made a more equal partner than the canon ever credited him for. Forget about the rumors of homosexual overtones… there’s about as much of that as there is with Ernie and Bert in Sesame Street. There is a definite bromance here but clearly Ritchie is not going down the homoerotic road.

Downey Jr. manages to make us forget he’s a short guy with a weak chin. He captures Holmes’ barely contained ego and his almost unconscious dismissal of the lesser minds about him as he goes about his business. The Conan Doyle Holmes had a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor that fits Downey perfectly… in fact I can see what Ritchie saw in the actor to cast him as the Great Detective. Downey seems to give off the feeling that he is smarter, cooler and more sophisticated than everyone around him in a condescending sort of way without being too overtly insulting… exactly as Holmes was often depicted in the canon. Once you learn to ignore the fact that he’s shorter than Watson you can believe him to be a convincing Holmes.

The plot? Sadly it’s a bit convoluted and very much plays second fiddle (forgive the pun, Watson) to the characterizations of the central characters. The main villain, Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), returns from the grave following his hanging after being caught by Holmes for a series of ritualistic murders. He embarks on some nefarious and confusing scheme to somehow take over the country, although his new murders and actions seem not ritualistic but revenge motivated. Side stories involving Watson’s impending marriage and his vacating the Baker Street rooms he shared with Holmes, the appearance and involvement of a Holmes’ love interest, a clever criminal named Irene Adler and her employer, the mysterious Professor Moriarty, don’t seem to entirely fit. Adler and Moriarty particularly seemed shoehorned in… like they were characters that needed screen time to establish themselves for a sequel than they were really essential to the storyline… although Rachel McAdams as Adler has some very fun moments with Holmes.

The plot aside this is an enjoyable romp through a very believable Victorian London. We Sherlockians must forgive Ritchie for his changes to the canon’s storylines… like when he has Holmes meeting waton’s fiance Mary Morstan for the first time in a restaurant when they met in the adventure “The Sign of the Four” in the books, or how Irene Adler was not a criminal, a real love interest for Holmes nor even a recurring character after the story “A Scandal in Bohemia”. Ritchie pays us back with many hat tips to the canon and other beloved Holmes adaptations… one particular camera shot during the establishment of the Baker Street area was an obvious homage to the Granada Television Holmes series starring Jeremy Brett, which is much loved by Sherlockians. After all Conan Doyle himself was not above changing the continuity to suit his purposes. Watson’s original war wound was described as a bullet to his shoulder in “A Study in Scarlet”, but later was moved to his leg, and Holmes began his career very much in pursuit of financial security and jealous of the credit for his efforts going to the police but later became more magnanimous and did his work for “the sake of his art” rather than for fame of fortune.

So, if you are a Holmes fan as I am, do not be put off by the much-publicized departures from the ‘traditional’ depiction of the character. Suspend your disbelief and go enjoy the movie for what it is… another enjoyable interpretation of one of the greatest fictional characters ever created.

As promised, here is my sketch of the great Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson from the Granada TV series. I have been enjoying the show on DVD. Brett creates one of the greatest and most convincing portrayals of the Great Detective ever, and he deserves all the accolades he has garnered for his work.

The incomparable Jermy Brett

Last month I wrote this post about my lack of confidence in the upcoming Guy Ritchie film “Sherlock” starring Robert Downy Jr. as literature’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. As I said in that post, I am actually a fan of both Ritchie and Downey Jr., but also as a fan of Sherlock Holmes I find it difficult to believe I will like that film. You can read the post if you want the details.

In that post I confessed to not having much exposure to the many films, TV shows and plays featuring the Great Detective. My expertise with Holmes begins and ends primarily with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original cannon of 56 short stories and four novels, and from the Basil Rathbone films of the 1940s. I received numerous e-mails from people telling me that I had to see the Granada Television series starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes. I was told that many Holmes fans consider Brett one of, if not THE, definitive Holmes. Fellow caricature illustrator Lash LeRoux went so far as to send me a few DVDs on loan to watch. Once I saw them, I was so hooked I ordered the entire series on a 12 disc DVD set.

Brett truly is Conan Doyle’s fictional sleuth brought to life. He obviously went to the source material to incorporate the mannerisms, idiosyncrasies and many details that defined Conan Doyle’s character. He even looks like a Sidney Paget illustration sprung from the pages of The Strand. Brett’s performances as Holmes are remarkable, and make this series really shine. He displays the impatience and hints of immense ego that defined the less savory side of Holmes with enough substance that they are definitely present, yet his Holmes is also likable and as gallant as his class and the times would expect. The sharp laughter and moments of intensity are played as if they escape from the man despite his efforts to remain collected. This Holmes delights and revels in his powers when they are in play, and is frustrated when his deductions are not coming together fast enough. So many of the details I imagined from the stories are brought to magnificently to life by Brett.

Not that Brett’s Holmes is the sole reason for the success of the Granada series. I say “series” but actually there were four series in all, totaling 41 episodes… all with Brett as Holmes but with Edward Hardwicke later replacing David Burke as Dr. Watson, both playing him splendidly. Obviously the creators of the show intended to stay as closely as they could to the original Conan Doyle stories, and must have went to great lengths to be accurate in both the time period and the tales themselves… right down to much of the dialogue coming straight from the pages of the canon. It’s always been a mystery to me why so many Sherlock Holmes films and shows insist on inventing new stories or changing the settings and fundamentals of the characters and original tales as Ritchie’s upcoming movies seems to do. Conan Doyle’s stories and characters have not endured for 120 plus years because his plots and concepts were bad. Most of the Rathbone Holmes films were changed from Victorian London to take place in the 1940′s. What the????? Still more only incorporate elements from Conan Doyle’s original stories into their own plots. Again… I can’t for the life of me understand why.

Watson, for example, is often portrayed in film and TV as a bumbling stooge as was the case when played by Nigel Bruce in the Rathbone films . That could not be farther from the original character’s persona. Dr. John H. Watson was an educated man with a doctorate of medicine from the University of London and a physician of some experience who served in the Afghanistan wars as an army surgeon. We was written by Conan Doyle to be a brave and capable man, who despite his intelligence was continually amazed by the insight and brilliance of Holmes who could easily make normal men seem to be slow and unobservant by comparison to his unmatched powers of observation and deduction. Yet this character has often been turned into a clown presumably to provide a comedic foil for the cimenatic Holmes.

The Granada series shatters this and many other conventions that have hung around the Holmes legend like an albatross. The shows are very faithful to the plots and characters of the original stories, and they are the stronger for it. It was a sad loss when Brett died of heart complications at only 62.

I cannot recommend this series more highly. I shall have a difficult time when I revisit the Conan Doyle canon, as I often do on audiobook, to not see the lean and intense face of Jeremy Brett in my head as the Great Detective’s adventures unfold before me.

It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes, the great fictional detective. I’ve done numerous Holmes illustrations for audiobook collections, designed a Sherlock Holmes pen and am somewhat of a scholar on the “Canon” i.e. Conan Doyle’s original 56 short stories and 4 novels. However I am not very well versed on the thousands of works by other creative people with Holmes as their subject including the numerous films, TV series, stories books and comics. Shame on me, perhaps, but I’ve always felt that while you can certainly enjoy the interpretations of any source material you can seldom beat the original creator’s vision. The James Bond films come to mind as taking the creation of Ian Fleming and in some cases making him more interesting and exciting, but I think that’s a rare exception that proves the rule. In any case finding the time to even sample the other works of the most widely filmed, written and acted character in the history of fiction is not easy.

Which brings me to the upcoming new film “Sherlock Holmes” by director Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. John Watson. I’ve gotten not a few e-mails from people asking what I think about this new movie. A full trailer has recently been released (see above). I’ll admit despite trying to keep an open mind I am having a hard time believing I will like this film. That’s saying something considering I am one of the few hardcore Batman comic book fans that loves the Adam West TV series… proving I do not have a problem with very different and oddball takes on favorite fictional characters.

I’ve read articles stating, and it’s quite obvious from the trailer, that Ritchie’s intent is to update the Holmes character to 21st century interest even though keeping it set in the proper century. Still, it’s one thing to reinvent a classic character and another to completely ignore some of the most recognized character elements they possess while playing up some of the least important. I guess Ritchie’s idea of updating Holmes is to turn him into an action hero, leaping out of buildings and fighting villains with all manner of weapons.

I know the arguments that have been made by the actors and others associated with the film… that Holmes was in fact a very physical being and this is closer to the Conan Doyle original character than other portrayals. Whoever makes this argument must have been reading a different set of Conan Doyle stories than I have read. Yes, Holmes did have a number of physical skills in the original stories… he was an expert amateur boxer as demonstrated and referred to in several stories including The Sign of the Four and The Solitary Cyclist. He describes himself as having a “knowledge of baritsu” a “Japanese system of wrestling” (actually Conan Doyle probably meant “Bartitsu“) also referred to a few times as in The Empty House. Watson describes him as having a surprising level of physical strength for a man of his “excessive leanness”, as he demonstrates in the story The Speckled Band when he straightens out a bent iron poker with his bare hands to show he is quite as strong as the antagonist who bent the poker in the first place. Watson also describes him as an expert singlestick player (singlestick is a martial art related to fencing and stick fighting using a wooden weapon and stick fighting is the use of a small staff, cane or walking stick as a blunt hand weapon) and swordsman, although these skills were never featured in any specific Holmes story (Holmes used a riding crop a few times). He was also a decent marksman with a pistol, as demonstrated by his writing the royal initials “VR” in bullet holes in the wall of his sitting room during the occasional indoor target practice which so displeased his landlady, Mrs. Hudson. So there is an argument that Holmes was a formidable fighter and man of action.

However Holmes the detective abhorred that kind of physicality. As a “consulting detective” he preferred to deliver his opinions from the comfort of his armchair, and would reluctantly “bustle about and see things with my own eyes” only when the case called for it. While he would not hesitate to doff his shoes and socks and scale the walls of a house (The Sign of the Four again), spend a morning trying to tranfix a hanging pig carcass with a harpoon (Black Peter), burgle a house in the dead of night (Charles Augustus Milverton) and perform other energetic feats, Holmes always preferred using pure mental power to solves his cases. Several times he both said and insinuated that Watson was the person he relied on when “some little violence” was imminent. In my mind it becomes quite a stretch to take the Holmes of Conan Doyle’s stories and make him a swashbuckling action hero, which is apparently what Ritchie has done. It seems he has latched on to some of the less import elements of Holmes’ character and caricatured them to make them more prominent.

The trailer seems to also indicate that Ritchie has taken other attributes of Holmes’ from the canon and exaggerated them. Holmes’ penchant on being slovenly and untidy, for example. He was thus described several times by Watson, yet as a Victorian gentlemen he would never dream to be out of proper attire even in his sitting room. “Slovenly” is a relative term, and what would be considered sloppy in the late 1800′s in a gentelman’s Victorian London would be fastidious today. For example, both he and Watson undoubtedly would share the British habit of being clean shaven and groomed no matter what the circumstances, yet Holmes appears to have perpetual 2 days stubble in the trailer. Watson also chastens him for his unclean habits in the trailer. I wonder if Ritchie will make Holmes a drooling cokehead as well.

There seems to be a lot of humor in the trailer, which I think is well placed. Holmes had quite the dry wit, and he cracked plenty of sarcastic jokes and comments. Robert Downey Jr. excels in that kind of dialogue, so that will no doubt be very entertaining. Ritchie’s movies are centered on humorous English banter amid violent circumstances.

Finally, the casting of Downey Jr. is a bit of a mystery to me. He is very far from the classic look and physicality of Holmes, who was “rather over 6 feet and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller”, had a “thin, hawk-like nose” and a “square and prominent” chin. Downey Jr. is 5 foot 8 inches in “Hollywood height” which means he’s probably 5’7″ max with a small rounded nose and no chin. Now, in many cases you can get around a difference in the physical nature of an actor vs. a fictional character’s common description, but the tall, lean Holmes is iconic. Under no circumstances should Watson be TALLER than Holmes, which at 6 feet he clearly is in the trailer. Downey Jr. is a great actor and maybe he’ll make me forget he is a little guy, but I think it will distract me the entire film. It’s like casting a taller Robin alongside Batman.

I could go on and on here, but I’ll let it go and try and keep an open mind. I may love the film and still shake my head and say “fun but it wasn’t Sherlock Holmes”. Who knows? I won’t until the movie comes out. I am a fan of Guy Ritchie’s films, and it will be interesting to see if his very recognizable stamp is on this movie and how he works it in to a film set in Victorian times.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 56 short stories and 4 novels starring his famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and his “Boswell” Dr. John Watson. They are collectively known as the “canon” to Sherlockians. These are his “official” adventures, treated as if they were his biography were he an actual person from history.

Holmes’ adventures in fiction hardly stop there. It is said there have been more books written about Holmes and related characters than any other character in literary history. I have not been able to find even an estimate as to the number of non-canon works, but it certainly numbers near or over a thousand. Many fall into the “pastiche” category. In literary terms, a “pastiche” is something created in imitation of a genre or style. They can range from the very serious imitation to the tongue-in-cheek, but all are done with a level of respect for the source material. Pastiches of the Conan Doyle Holmes fiction are numerous and greatly vary in quality. I admit I have not read many Holmes stories outside the canon. I am sure there are many very good ones, but I am of the mind that a character’s creator is the ultimate authority on writing his/her adventures. Still that shouldn’t stop me from enjoying stories others have written, and it hasn’t of the several I have read.

Which brings me to this audiobook review of Sherlock Holmes and the Seven Deadly Sins Murders by Barry Day, read by the incomparable David Ian Davies. David sent me the chapters in advance of the audiobook’s release to review months ago, but I am embarrassed to say I haven’t had time to accomplish that task until now. The good news is that the audiobook is now available for download, so if you are interested in getting it you need not wait for it’s release.

The book’s plot revolves around a murder of a transplanted rich British gentlemen keeping to himself in the Scottish countryside. Holmes and Watson happen to be on the scene, and the resulting investigation leads to a little known collegiate club of three decades ago called “The Seven Sinners”. The members, most of who are now well known, successful citizens, seem to be the target of a homicidal maniac. Holmes brother Mycroft is one of the targets.

Seven Sins is easily the best of the few pastiches I have read or listened to so far. Author Barry Day successfully captures the Victorian era flavor of the times and makes good use of the vernacular of the day. Many pastiches use the familiar Victorian terms used in Conan Doyle’s stories, but Day goes farther using other terms and phrases of the times that shows he did his homework. He also does an excellent job of describing parts of London and other locations that further place the listener convincingly in late 19th century England. Day is not slavish in his imitation of the Conan Doyle style… so many other pastiches overuse direct quotes and exchanges from the canon as to be tedious. Day writes in a fashion that seems cut from the Conan Doyle cloth without smothering the reader under the fabric.

The story itself is inventive and enjoyable, if a little haphazard. It’s a fast moving adventure yarn. Some of the plotlines seem to go nowhere or seem unrelated to the whole, and the story lacks any real suspense, twists or the presence of any of Holmes’ trademark deductions that turn the case on it’s ear. The culprit is obvious as soon as the club is identified, and the rest of the story is much more of a straight chase and adventure than an exercise in Holmes’ detective skills. For all that it is a fun adventure with great, accurate characterizations of the main characters. Holmes’ powers of disguise are well utilized. There is plenty of the familiar and some interesting new characters.

Many of these Holmes’ pastches fall into the trap of constantly mentioning events and facts from the canon. In many stories Watson cannot walk past any place in London without recollecting the part that pub or street corner or hotel played in one of the canon’s stories. Day’s book does plenty of that but falls just short of overburdening the reader with misty-eyed flashbacks from Watson. That’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine with these pastiches, and I’d love to read or listen to a few that avoid that altogether. One odd thing, twice in the story Watson refers to the “fourteen steps” leading up to their rooms at 221b Baker Street… yet it’s a well known “fact” that there are seventeen steps up to 221b. I am not sure if that was intentional for some reason, or if it’s an uncharacteristic mistake.

Another pet peeve of mine is the “crossover crutch”. Many pastiches are based on Holmes’ meeting up with some person or event from some other literary work. Dracula, Jack the Ripper, Fu Manchu… you name it. These seem silly for the most part. The Seven Sins Murders also does this, but it’s a clever, appropriate and subtle crossover that many would miss. One of the original members of the Seven Sinners, presumably targeted for death, is one Professor George Edward Challenger. This is another, less well known character of Conan Doyle’s from a series of stories the best known of which is The Lost World. The subject of that book is briefly mentioned in this book.

As for the audiobook, it is the usual brilliant performance by David Ian Davies. His vocal talents are astounding, and listening to his narration is like listening to a full cast dramatization. His Holmes has a touch of the playful, without the superiority of some interpretations. His Watson is perfect. Other characters are so distinctive that there is never any confusion as to who is speaking. It’s really a joy listening to his readings.

Overall I definitely recommend this audiobook. Very enjoyable and worthy of the Holmes literary legacy.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the availablility for purchase of the sculpted Sherlock Holmes pen that was based on my illustrations of Holmes for the audible collection of the complete Sir Arthur Conan Doyle collection One Voice Chronological: The Complete Holmes Canon. That announcement was a bit premature, as the web page meant to enable buyers to purchase the pen was having some trouble.

Well, that is all corrected and the new ordering page is up, running and seems to work great on either a PC or a Mac, at least on my Mac using FireFox. While you are at it, visit the main web page of vocal maestro David Ian Davies and follow the links to sample some of his Holmes readings on Audible.com. His work is mesmerizing. He has applied his talents to several other classics available on Audible.com that I have downloaded and enjoyed as well as the Holmes canon, including Robert Louis Stevenson‘s Treasure Island, works by Edgar Allen Poe, H.G. Wells‘ The Time Machine and many others including one I am currently listening to, Edgar Rice Burrough‘s Tarzan of the Apes. All great stuff that it is hard to believe is all done by one person.

The sculptured pen is very well done… I can actually see my original drawing in it:

I have had other 3D work done based on my drawingd which have not been nearly as successful. It’s a must for all fans of Sherlock Holmes. I will have a permanent link to the ordering page on my blogroll on the right. Currently I am working with David’s son, who is the the producer of this and many other resin cast pens and items, on a line of pens based on my artwork. I will let everybody know when and where they will be available.

The Pen is Mightier Dept.

I promised to let everybody know where they can order one of the sculpted Sherlock Holmes pens that were created based on an illustration of Holmes that I did for voice artist extraordinaire David Ian Davies as “cover art” for his complete collection of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes “Canon” audiobooks. Well the pen is finally available and you can order it at David’s website directly from this page. Unfortunately for some odd reason the page does not open correctly when using a Mac, either with Safari or Firefox (at least not for me), so you’ll need to use a Windows PC browser if you want to get one of these pens. They sell for $12.95 plus shipping and come gift boxed.

While you are at it, if you have any interest in Conan Doyle’s Holmes stories, you cannot do better than David’s audiobooks. He does all the voices and it sounds like a full company of actors, each with a distinctive personality and voice. Amazing. His Dr. Watson is particularly fantastic. Check them out on Audible.com.

Usual Panel of Idiots Dept.

Thanks to the mysterious DD of MadMublings.com for these great links to videos of the San Diego Comic Con’s MAD pnael discussion, moderated by Mark Evanier and featuring Al Jaffee, Sergio Aragonés, Al Feldstein and Arnie Kogen.

Wish I could have been there.

Back some time ago I blogged about an interesting project I had doing an image of Sherlock Holmes for One Voice Recordings and it’s awesome voice artist David Ian Davies to use as “album art” for a collection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s complete Holmes canon audiobooks on Audible.com. I subsequently wrote about how David’s son Dana, who produces resin pens and other items done by wonderfully talented sculptors and hand painted and distributes them for sale all over the world, wanted to produce a pen from the image.

The other day I received the final product and it’s very well done indeed. It’s not easy to take a two dimensional image and make it three dimensional, especially when you have to work within the parameters of producing a functional pen and the rigors of casting.

Here’s the original image I did-

And here are some photos I took of the pen (they aren’t the best… sorry)-

Looks great and I think you can still see my artwork in there. A few years ago I did some caricatures for a company that was trying to market sculpted plastic mugs with famous athletes on them as a bobblehead type promotion and once produced they looked very little like my original drawings (and very little like the athletes as well).

I will post a link when I find out when and where they may be available to purchase.

I am currently working up sketches for two full lines of cartoon/caricature pens for the company, and will possibly be traveling to China at some point to work with the sculptors and casters directly. That will be an interesting trip.

I’m still extremely swamped with several jobs, but I thought I’d share something about a new project I’m getting involved with. It’s something very different and I’m looking forward to seeing where it all goes.

Some may recall I did the illustration above some months ago as a favor to the incomparable audiobook vocal artist David Ian Davies, which he used as an “album cover” of sorts for a new audiobook collection of the complete Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes canon. The collection, One Voice Chronological: The Consummate Holmes Canon, features all 56 Doyle short stories unabridged and compiled in chronological order.

David’s son Dana is in the pen manufacturing business. More specifically, his company designs and manufactures novelty pens made of resin and markets them all over the world. They also manufacture statuettes, water globes, ornaments and other sculptured and cast items. Very cool stuff. Dana created a prototype of a Sherlock Holmes pen based on my drawing and contacted me seeking permission to produce it. I was delighted, especially considering how good the initial unpainted prototype turned out:

The final, color version should be out any time now. We have also discussed my participating in designing an entire series of pens based on my artwork, which I will be doing in the coming months. A fun and very interesting project.