There are many bande dessinée albums crying out for an English edition, but one recently-launched series that must be up for consideration has be the award-nominated “Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes” series by Cyril Lieron and Benoît Dahan, launched last year.
Published by Ankama, the series launched last May with the first volume of Dans la tête de Sherlock Holmes – L’Affaire du ticket scandaleux, (“Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes – The Scandalous Ticket Affair”).
The story opens with Holmes longtime companion Dr Watson conducting a simple medical diagnosis that turns out to be much more. The discovery of a mysterious powder on clothes and a very special show ticket leads Sherlock Holmes to think that the patient is not the only victim of a large-scale plot, one involving a Chinese magician, Wu-Jing. Other tickets found confirm the detective’s suspicions…
The second volume of the two-part story was published just before Christmas last year, launched with a huge instore marketing campaign that would put the efforts of many an English language comics publisher to shame, a reflection of the high regard for the “Ninth Art” in France, and on the continent.
While Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are on the trail of Wu-Jing, the British Colonial Secretary is in targeted by the magician. This time, it is the highest levels of the state are the target of a sinister plot. The famous detective is faced with a challenge from a character as mysterious as he is worrying – and he has plenty more surprises up his sleeve.
The first volume has already been republished in Spain by Norma Editorial, and both albums look absolutely stunning, and surely worthy of a place on the bookshelves of Sherlock Holmes fans on both sides of the Channel, although they are available as eBooks, too.
A third volume – a one shot story – is currently in development.
Benoit Dahan is a French writer, artist and colourist who lives in Paris. After studying Graphic Arts at ESAG, his professional career as an illustrator began with work for newspapers and magazines such as Le Monde, Libération, Le Point, and Science et vie junior, and children’s books. He is also the co-creator of Simon Radius with his friend, Erwan Courbier.
Cyril Lieron, a colourist since 1995, has worked on a huge range of titles, including titles such as Percevan, L’Arcantane Noire, and Le Maître des Étoiles for Dargaud, Red Label Voodoo at Soleil, and more.
• Dans la tête de Sherlock Holmes – L’Affaire du ticket scandaleux Volume One (AmazonUK Affiliate Link) | ISBN 979-1033509721
• Dans la tête de Sherlock Holmes – L’Affaire du ticket scandaleux Volume Two (AmazonUK Affiliate Link) | ISBN 979-1033512547
• More about the “Dans la tête de Sherlock Holmes” project on Facebook
• Benoit Dahan is online at www.benoitdahan.com | Instagram | Twitter
• Follow Cyril Lieron on Instagram
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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This is amazing!
This is a great wee book, I got my copy of Volume 1 back in Brussels in summer 2019 in those far off days of European travel. It’s a fun absorbing read – as far as my schoolboy Francais allows and a welcome edition to my BD collection.
Thanks for the feedback. This looks like a title Soaring Penguin or SelfMadeHero should be looking at, perhaps