Who has never imagined the crossing of two novels to create a new universe? This is exactly what screenwriter and novelist Neil Gaiman proposes in An Emerald Study by propelling Sherlock Holmes to Chtulhu. Find out in our column if this unexpected trip is a success.
Between logic and fear
An Emerald Study is a one-volume story proposed by the new Black River editions. Everything starts from the very original project of marrying the rationalism of Sherlock Holmes' police investigations by Conan Doyle and the fantasy of HP Lovecraft's Chtulhu tales. An Emerald Study was originally a short story by Neil Gaiman that writer and artist Rafael Albuquerque adapted into comics. The original text is however very present by a recitative taking up the visual motif of the intimate notebook.
Rafael Albuquerque adopts a drawing with more angular features than usual. He manages to render the different expressions as on a page where Sherlock remains imperturbable and concentrated in the theater while Watson is taken by very strong feelings. We see his attempts to capture the main characters in the sketchbook at the end of the volume. The drawing avoids simple illustration to propose a personal style with a very digital colorization creating a blur or watercolor effect. The scenery is then limited to the maximum and this allows to leave in the shadows at the beginning of many revelations of the story but boxes sometimes seem empty.
Between history and imagination
An emerald study begins like the beginnings of Sherlock Holmes. Watson arrives at 221B Baker Street to meet his roommate. It is Sherlock who immediately guesses that he is a veteran of Afghanistan but Watson knows nothing about this eccentric character who receives visitors at any time. A few days later, Detective Lestrade comes to enlist the help of Sherlock Holmes for a cosmic horror murder.
The first body was Prince Franz Drago of Bohemia. The royal family is of Germanic origin which is consistent with the history of the royal family of England of the House of Hanover since the eighteenth century as well as by the mother of Queen Victoria. Here's Stéphane Bern because, for the rest, your history teacher would choke while reading An Emerald Study. Indeed, we gradually discover that the ruling family is out of the ordinary: they do not have blue blood as in France but it is emerald … In addition, Neil Gaiman seems to put forward a Germanophobia totally non-existent at the time and asserts a certain aversion to the monarchy.
Each episode opens with an advertisement from the time. Rafael Albuquerque gives himself to heart joy not only by the visual but also for the themes. It shows the taboos (sexuality) and literary references (Dr. Jekyll & Mister Hyde, Dracula) of the time.
Similarities and differences
Reading this story, the reader can't help but play the games of the seven mistakes with the novels of Conan Doyle or HP Lovecraft. The title comes from A Study in Red, a short story in which Holmes and Watson appear for the first time. The beginning is very close to Doyle's novels until the discovery of the first corpse. Humor was present from the novels but it is even more here by the ridiculous inspector Lestrade. Goinfre, he rushes to the breakfast of Holmes' landlady. He is ready to save everything from his position, even if it means trusting Holmes. The detective is certainly obsessed with logic but he also trusts his instincts by recruiting Watson as an assistant.
The world of Lovecraft gradually shows the tips of its tentacles before the resolution switches completely to the fantastic. Watson is not a doctor but a sniper suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because he fought Elders in Afghan caves. He limps but he also has psychological after-effects because he screams at night. Holmes, as always, reacts coldly by listing all the arguments explaining why this fact does not bother his daily life.
An emerald study is the refreshing cocktail of summer. The association between Sherlock Holmes' police investigation and Chtulhu's threats is very well balanced. Rafael Albuquerque's drawings succeed in rendering Neil Gaiman's short story into drawing. This adventure therefore installs a very rich universe and it is regrettable that there is no sequel – in short story or comics – planned.
Find other stories mixing history and the supernatural with Sideshow and Dungeon Monsters.
