As someone who’s never really exposed himself all that much to the likes of Sherlock Holmes and Alice In Wonderland over the years in its various incarnations and only really knowing the basics, reading SHTWC (and interviewing Chuck) had been a fun little experience for me. Chuck starts this story off with a fellow by the name of Mr. March as he invites himself into Holmes’ bedroom in a frantic manner over a young and missing lady named Alice and more than likely annoying Holmes quite a bit in the process. I mean… I’d be pretty annoyed too if I had someone do that and (possibly) wake me up without so much as an apology. But never the less, our frantic Mr. March gets ol’ Holmes’ attention that he takes the case of the missing girl. Which is quite the ride in my view and J. Schiek I feel does a great job in his duties on art, especially as certain characters Holmes’ runs into don’t necessarily look like people you could trust to hold onto an empty water bottle.
The small use of color (namely red) through out the book is also a nice touch as well in my view and by the end of the story, you just find yourself questioning Holmes’ experiences after Mr. March’s seeking him out. Part of that questioning if whether or not Holmes’ might have uncovered something pretty bad going on or if it really was all the result of a bad trip thanks to some Wacky Tabacky. Chuck did a great job with the ambiguity/mystery vibes in addition to mashing up two separate properties into one pretty darn great. Something I wouldn’t mind seeing more of him from in the future if it all possible if the Road of Creation leads him back to that universe. Though having read this story, it does leave me to wonder how Holmes would handle an actual trip down the Rabbit Hole where Madcap Hijinks are a plenty. With that said, be sure to grab yourself a copy of SHTWC when it comes out on October 19th!
Sherlock Holmes & The Wonderland Conundrum (One-Shot)
Self-Published
Written by: Chuck Suffel
Art by: J. Schiek
Letters by: Cardinal Rae
Cover by: Roberta Ingranata and Warnia K. Sahadewa
Reviewer: Rob Wrecks
Summary: Sherlock Holmes is arguably the best investigative mind of all time, but will the world of Alice’s Wonderland be too much for even his brilliant intellect to handle? When a mysterious man interrupts Holmes’ experimentation with a new “tobacco” he is thrown into a whirlwind of ludicrous characters, a London he barely recognizes, and a seemingly unsolvable case. Taking place in just one day the great detective may be forever changed by what he witnesses, if even he can believe it in the end.
