Doctor John Watson and Sherlock Holmes head off to a new adventure. Illustration from The Strand Magazine. Illustration by Sidney Paget

There’s still a few more days to back Belanger Books latest project, Sherlock Holmes: Adventures Beyond the Canon, a three volume collection of new Sherlock Holmes stories by today’s best pastiche authors and inspired by Doyle’s original tales.

Sherlock Holmes himself would have us believe that, once a case was finished, it – or the people involved – never crossed his mind again. “A client is to me a mere unit,” he once told Watson, “a factor in a problem.” And yet, in a career spanning multiple decades and thousands of cases, he must have occasionally re-crossed paths with previous clients – and the occasional villain as well.

This anthology, with twenty-nine brand new stories spread over three volumes, reveals some of those sequel investigations. There are stories ranging from Holmes’s early days in Montague Street, through the legendary Baker Street years, and well into his retirement. We meet former clients with new problems, and former adversaries too.

Sometimes we find that the published canonical version of a story was only the beginning, while other tales in this collection reveal what was really going on during the original narratives.

A Sherlock Holmes illustration by Frank Wiles from The Strand Magazine, October 1914

This series offers fans of the Great Detective opportunity to return to Baker Street and discover more authentic adventures of Sherlock Holmes, described by the estimable Dr. Watson as “the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known.”

The project, which has comfortably achieved its Kickstarter target, is the brainchild of Derrick Belanger, co-founder of the publishing company, Belanger Books. His books Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance and Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Primal Man have been Number One bestsellers in their category on Amazon.com. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes series, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaur, and he edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural.

Since founding Belanger Books in 2015 with his brother Brian Belanger, he has overseen many highly successful Sherlock Holmes related Kickstarter projects, but this one is on track to being the best selling Kickstarter for the original Conan Doyle canon so far.

Along with many other books, Derrick is also is a frequent contributor to the blogs I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere and Belanger Books Sherlock Holmes and Other Readings.

Paul Goodenough. Image GBK Hybrid

Among the creators involved is comics writer Paul Goodenough who founded production company, GBK Hybrid, with Gary Kurtz (Star Wars, Dark Crystal) and Richard Bazley (Iron Giant, Hercules) where he works as a development executive, writer and executive producer. Paul works on both sides of the Atlantic as both a writer and producer, and his first feature film – The Chimeran – combines his love of hard hitting, gripping dramatic propositions and fact-based science fiction. Paul also sits on a sustainable broadcast consortium at BAFTA as well as being a leading figure, inventor and innovator in the digital world through another of his businesses, Aerian Studios.

“I adore Holmes and finely-crafted mysteries with mind-boggling twists and turns that leave readers not just emotionally moved, but also cerebrally,” Paul says in an interview about his story in Volume Two, “Another Man’s Poison”, a tale set in London that sees Holmes investigating a rising number of murders across London.

“To get the chance to contribute to this anthology and add to the stories that have helped shaped modern storytelling is something that I could never say no to. Also, without revealing too much about my tale, I’ve been waiting to write this for some time.”

Also on board is comics creator Will Murray, author of over 70 novels starring Remo Williams, Doc Savage, The Shadow, Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, The Executioner, King Kong and Tarzan of the Apes, who has been writing Holmes stories for the MX anthologies. He co-created the Marvel Comics character Squirrel Girl with legendary artist Steve Ditko.

“‘The Unsettling Matter of the Graveyard Ghoul’ is a sequel to – but wouldn’t that be telegraphing the big reveal?” he teases. “Suffice it to say one of the rare blackguards who escaped Holmes’ brand of justice returns to exact revenge, and receives his just desserts at last.

Here are the core books on offer in this Kickstarter. The links here over authors names are to interviews about the project):

Sherlock Holmes: Adventures Beyond the Canon (Volume I: 1887-1890) contains stories by Narrelle M. Harris, Arthur Hall, Jayantika Ganguly, Benjamin Langley, Katie Magnusson, Stephen Herczeg, Brenda Seabrooke, Nick Dunn-Meynell, and Mike Hogan, with a poem by Rhea Belanger, and forewords by editor David Marcum, Nicholas Utechin, and Derrick Belanger

Sherlock Holmes: Adventures Beyond the Canon (Volume II: 1894-1902) contains stories by Kevin P. Thornton, Roger Riccard, Craig Janacek, Jacquelynn Morris, Thomas Fortenberry, Tim Symonds, Craig Stephen Copland, Mark Mower, John Linwood Grant, Paul Goodenough, and Derrick Belanger, with a poem by Rosie Mower, and Forewords by David Marcum, Nicholas Utechin, and Derrick Belanger

Sherlock Holmes: Adventures Beyond the Canon (Volume III: 1903-1921) contains stories by Will Murray, Daniel D. Victor, Deanna Baran, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Ann Margaret Lewis, Robert Perret, Nick Cardillo, Geri Schear, Tim Symonds and David Marcum, with a poem by Phoebe Belanger, and Forewords by David Marcum, Nicholas Utechin, and Derrick Belanger

If Sherlock Holmes is a passion of yours, not only does this Kickstarter offer the opportunity to secure these three volumes – there are several other books offered in the reward tiers as well.

These include Sherlock Holmes: Before Baker Street, a title that should really need no explanation, and the intriguing Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells. This is a one-of-a-kind two volume anthology featuring traditional Sherlock Holmes stories blended with one or more tales from H.G. Wells including The War of the Worlds, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Time Machine and many more.

This looks like an amazing offering, featuring some great writers, and you can find out more and, perhaps, back Sherlock Holmes: Adventures Beyond the Canon here on Kickstarter.

It’s well worth a look at this project if only to read the fascinating interviews with some of the creators involved, all of whom very keen to share their passion for all things Sherlock with fellow fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s greatest creation!

• Check out Sherlock Holmes – Beyond the Canon here on Kickstarter

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John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

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Tags: Belanger Books, downthetubes News, Kickstarter, Paul Goodenough, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: Adventures Beyond the Canon