TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews by Tommy Hancock
“The Hound of the Baskervilles-A Sherlock Holmes Mystery”
Originally written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Graphic Novel Adaptation written by Martin Powell
Graphic Novel illustrated by Daniel Perez
Published by Stone Arch Books

Sherlock Holmes. The name conjures a very specific image. Angular nose, deerstalker cap, pipe, violin. And a stalwart companion named Watson. Now, there have been twists on the original, some fairly decent, some gut wrenchingly bad. I am a firm believer, though, that except in a couple of cases, the best way to retell a Holmes story is to keep all the tropes that Doyle gave us originally. Interpret it your own way, sure, but leave Holmes Holmes.

I, for one, am glad Powell and Perez believed that, too.

“The Hound of Baskervilles” from Stone Arch Books is a graphic novel retelling of one of the best Holmes stories ever. Equal parts mystery and horror story, “Hound” tells of an ancient curse plaguing a family on the English Moors. Watson and Holmes are brought in to hopefully save the Baskerville family line from an alleged hell hound stalking members of said family. That’s the basic concept that almost anyone familiar with when they hear the story’s title. What they get in this version, however, is that and so much more.

Powell faithfully adapts Doyle’s work, keeping the story as we know it intact. What he adds to his interpretation, by the turn of phrase, the sharp, effective dialogue, and the pacing of the tale (The whole novel is condensed into 37 pages) is a tension that keeps the reader turning the pages. We get a Holmes who is self assured, focused, and ready to tackle the issue both intellectually and physically. We also get a Watson worthy to be Holmes’ wing man. Powell sees Watson for what Doyle meant him to be. A complement, not a foil, to Holmes. And that shines through plainly in this volume.

Perez’s take on the story is simply dead on phenomenal. Although a hint of cartoon winks his eye in his work, it’s a welcome shine added to the work. There are excellent moments captured all throughout the book, but my absolute favorite is a scene of Watson firing his gun. That’s a poster moment for me.

“The Hound of Baskervilles: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery” is an excellent graphic novel telling of a classic tale and is accessible by all ages. Kids will thoroughly enjoy the action and the dialogue and adults equally get a true helping of Holmes/Watson goodness.

Five out of Five Tips of Hancock’s Hat (Five tips are reserved only for those who have channeled Dent, Gibson,Doyle,  Page, or one of the long gone, but not forgotten greats.)

TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews by Tommy Hancock
“Dracula Lives!”
Written by Joshua Reynolds
Published by Pulpwork Press

The title of this book itself will make a person pick it up off the shelf. Yes, its one in a long list of cliché sounding references to the ultimate vampire used hither and yon in books, comics, and movies, but it’s catchy. It sings. The difference between this and other tellings of the return of the worlds’ favorite undead aristocrat is a major one.

This book is in no way like anything that has come before it. Trust me. Read the first sentence of this paragraph again. It’s a true statement.

The title tells it all. This is a story of Dracula living again. The way Reynolds brings Vlad back from the grave and squarely plants him firmly in the Twenty First Century, however, is both original and nostalgic. At some points, it reads like a good ol’ fashioned heist and chase movie from the 1970s. Other parts squarely compare to some of the best Ian Fleming pages ever written. Still yet more of it smacks of Le Carre at his best. The originality comes in with the way that Reynolds takes these various types of stories, including a fantastic exploration of what makes his central character tick, and turns them into a high octane, faster than fast and well paced espionage/horror/adventure/noir novel as well as a more than proper return of one of the few villains that truly defines evil in the Pulpiest of ways.

The plot is actually fairly simple. A former government man turned mercenary is hired to procure a rare artifact. Who hires him as well as why he was really hired is a mystery for more than three quarters of the book. Almost immediately after being retained, various other parties show interest in our focal character, Jonas Cream, and the chase is on. I mean it. Chase. Literally around the world. That’s the plot, or at least as much as I’ll reveal. For hints at what remains of the plot, read the title again.

There are a couple of things about “Dracula Lives” that might have been better for me as a reader. One is the number of people pursuing Cream throughout the book just gets plain confusing At times, I thought one person was with one group, but then maybe they were associated with another interested party and…well you get the point. Now, this in part was Reynold’s intent obviously, to keep the mystery interesting and lively. But keeping things straight early on in “Dracula Lives” required a bit of re reading and took away from the experience a bit.

A second issue is a little harder to explain without giving major plot points away. Let’s just say the way a titular character reacted toward the end of the novel to a situation went against everything that had been established about said character thus far. I totally would have had the reaction I took issue with, probably one much worse, but as a reader it was jarring when….well when that happened.

Those two points, however, are minor in comparison to the pulp goodness that Reynolds has wrought with “Dracula Lives.” The action starts in the first two pages and doesn’t even really stop at the last period of the book. The characters are exciting and each one stands on their own, no cookie cutter comparisons here. The political machinations and the resultant spy hijinks are well crafted and expertly delivered. Oh, and then there’s the title character and his various children. Wow. Yeah, that says it…wow.

In a nutshell, Joshua Reynolds leaves no doubt indeed that “Dracula Lives” when you close this book. What is in doubt, though, is just how happy a life it might be for ol’ Fang Face. Obviously much more is to come as various and sundry mortals mobilize against the evil that has returned and I will definitely be on the blood splattered frontlines just to watch.

Four out of Five Tips of Hancock’s Hat (usually reserved for heads of state, arresting officers, and little old ladies, which is pretty darn good.)

TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews by Tommy Hancock
“Just Another Day in Paradise”
A Collection of Short Fiction by Katherine Tomlinson Available through http://www.smashwords.com/)

Pulp comes in many shades and although most of them concern good versus evil, over the top action, and high adventure, some are more sullen, somber, and sadistic. Dark fiction has haunted Pulp since its inception, from Lovecraft forward. The combined fascination and horror at our innermost fears, things that go bump in the night, and the worst evil being within our own hearts lives on well in this collection of short dark fiction from Katherine Tomlinson.

“Just Another Day in Paradise” is a compilation of short staccato punches to the midriff and the reader’s troubled consciousness. Tomlinson moves ably from the mundane being made monstrous to the supernatural becoming the normal, each type of story causing chills and thrills. Tomlinson shows a great grasp on the voice of each of her characters, regardless of gender, disposition, or any other aspect of said creations. And when I say ‘voice’, I’m not just referring to how they are portrayed. I really mean the voices that speak to each of these people living in Tomlinson’s world, the conflicting desires and terrors that drive them all, the feral motivations wrestling with higher level morals and ethics. Tomlinson seems to crawl inside the head of each of her cast of characters and, by the time she is through, divulge them of everything dark and hidden right onto the written page.

The strongest tale by far for me was ‘Tired Blood’, which concerns a world where humans exist right beside creatures of the night. This, according to Tomlinson, is the beginning of what will one day be novel length adventures set in this universe. Instead of this type of ‘they live among us’ story being clichéd, Tomlinson writes this tale as if it were a straight ahead police procedural/mystery story, which it is. She doesn’t dumb it down for her readers, either. There is no hand holding with this story, no exposition explaining why the world is this way opening the story. You know why by the end of it, well at least some of why, but its handled with the most respect to the intellect of the reader and to the benefit of the story itself.

Other stories that stand out include the title story, ‘Tiger Bone Wine’, Sweet Tooth’, The Anticancer (a mechanic who is a real wizard…literally), The Sin Eater, among others. Actually, there’s not a bad tale in the lot on the whole. The greatest drawback to this collection of short fiction is…the fiction is too short at times. Tomlinson does an excellent job of setting up individual worlds, distinct viewpoints in each tale, but in some instances it’s just not enough. A few stories, ‘Kingdom of the Cat’ comes to mind, could have gone on a few more paragraphs and been outstanding instead of just good.

Katherine Tomlinson’s ‘Just Another Day in Paradise’ is a guaranteed delightfully disturbing  diorama of darkness that haunts the human soul and even the nonhuman psyche.

Four out of Five Tips of Hancock’s Hat (usually reserved for heads of state, arresting officers, and little old ladies, which is pretty darn good.)

TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews by Tommy Hancock

“Wild Bill Hickok and the Philosopher’s Stone” a tale from the anthology VAMPIRES VERSUS WEREWOLVES, Age of Adventure, Wayne Skiver, Publisher
Written by C. William Russette

Mixing things in stories is problematic at times, especially for authors who don’t mix well. Even mixing similar things, like say vampires and werewolves can present some issues. A writer has to steer clear of clichés, remain true to the basic concept of each creature type, and sprinkle enough of his/her self into the flow to make it…well, flow. It gets even more complicated when the combining and mingling of ideas, concepts, and tropes involves several aspects of the tale, such as monsters and genres and literary devices. Hard sell to make sometimes for a lot of writers.

Not for C. W. Russette.

“Wild Bill Hickok and the Philosopher’s Stone”, a short tale that appears in the newly released Age of Adventure anthology “Vampires Vs. Werewolves”, takes a lot of ideas and characters that probably were never meant to exist in the same story and stirs ‘em together with a big spoon into a pretty satisfying literary Brunswick stew. The title character is indeed Hickok of Old West fact and fiction, stood up alongside other men plucked from the era. Russette’s handling of known characters is deft, precise, and done in a way that would make you think he knew all about Hicok, Rudibaugh, and others. He also gives the impression of an author who understands the psyche of such men and what would drive them on even in the face of, well, monstrous odds.

And to his monsters. Russette blends the horrific existence of creatures of lore into this Western scarefest so well that the terror of their existence and actions blend almost seamlessly with sixguns shooting, horses running, and men living and dying in the sand. The monsters don’t seem added in, they seem a part of the fabric of the tale told. This is truly a feat to note since westerns are not Russette’s typical genre of choice.

It is obvious that Russette is not stomping familiar ground at times, particularly in dialogue as well as description. Sometimes it is not enough, sometimes too much. That should not, however, keep one who enjoys Old West action laced heavily with occult influences and monsters to boot, from diving headfirst into “Wild Bill Hickok and the Philosopher’s Stone.”

Three out of Five Tips of Hancock’s Hat-This is reserved for stories I really like and see more potential to tip the hat to the author in the future and will definitely read again.