LEVIATHAN

Sherlock Holmes and Captain Nemo join forces to save the world.

How do you get a reader’s attention? There are a million ways but the first is to create an unforgettable and appealing protagonist. Scarlett O’Hara. James Bond. Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes is the most famous fictional character in history. As a boy in Madison, WI, I joined our local chapter of The Baker Street Irregulars. We would meet once a month in a stone cottage to talk about the stories and their appeal. Holmes’ personality is fascinating and that’s what keeps us reading. I believe he had Asperger’s Syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that is part of the autism spectrum and is characterized by social interaction difficulties, repetitive behaviors, and restricted interests.

He was easily bored and turned to cocaine and fiddling with his violin. The only time he came alive was when he had a case. “Come, Watson! The game’s afoot!” There are ten times as many post Conan Doyle Holmes stories than Conan Doyle wrote. Kareem Abdul Jabbar has written three graphic novels featuring Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother. It was only a matter of time before I dipped my pen in that bottle of ink. Holmes is the towering fictional character of the Victorian Era, which gave us Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, H. Rider Haggard’s Quatermain, and of course Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo.

Others have gathered these characters before. Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, for one.

Leviathan finds Holmes joining forces with Captain Nemo to stop a madman from igniting world war. Those familiar with Victorian literature will recognize this madman. I wrote about illustrator Richard Bonk’s excellence and speed before, in Fast and Good. Richard had been waiting his whole life to draw steam punk. He just didn’t know it. The proof is in his explosive art for this new adventure, which captures the spirit and wonder of Victorian science fiction in all its glory.

We have just launched Leviathan: Sherlock Holmes meets Captain Nemo. You can watch the trailer at baroncomics.com. We go live on Halloween.