I’ve always been interested in the contrast between Doyle’s tiredness and the public’s love for Sherlock Holmes and the way the character has continued to be popular throughout the many years. (I also wonder if any fans in his time also wanted them to kiss haha? Were there secret queer readings of JohnLock written or whispered about?) Anyway another great series of art Molly ☺️
there were!!! most notably - ACD's gay brother-in-law, EW Hornung, wrote thinly veiled Holmes/Watson criminal AU fanfiction called the Raffles Stories. They were wildly popular at the time and are SO intentionally queer, it's wild to read now
Also totally unrelated to the post but I just got an arc of the deep dark from my indie bookstore job!! Can’t wait to read and see how the experience differs from reading it in installments!!
I love this! Absolutely agree on wanting to make them kiss, haha. Equally interesting, I think, is how the appreciation of classic characters will be recontextualized as the world changes around them. Holmes is still as enduring as a historical hero as he was a modern one; Frodo is likely as poignant to post-pandemic readers as he was to WW veteran ones. I even wonder if characters in of themselves can be timeless, or if it's really the telling of the collective experience/commentary in a specific way that is. Anywho. Thanks for the lovely newsletter and art!
YES! I'm working on a little pastiche story based on one of the cases Watson mentions but never elaborates on. And one of the patrons commented that you were doing these. I really love how you do Holmes's dressing gown! And imagining the stories through "Watson's Sketchbook" is BRILLIANT.
Hi Molly. I love the original Sherlock stories too, they are amazing. I’ve recently been trying to read through some Agatha Christie stuff. The poirot/hastings pairing gives off similar vibes (though Hastings is dafter than Watson by far) - the one I read recently was The Big Four, and it reminded me the most of Sherlock. No doubt she’d read the stories too as she was publishing at the end of when Doyle was writing.
The Big Four has this sort of ridiculous janes bond / Austin powers type feel to it and is a fun read. I recommend ❤️
Hi Molly, have you ever heard of The Shadow? He was created by Walter B. Gibson
who wrote hundreds of novels about him. But apparently in his old house that he rented,12 Gay st , where he wrote all those books, the new residents saw a ghost dressed like THe Shadow. In an interview Gibson said that the ghost was actually a Tulpa of The Shadow, who came into existence because Gibson wrote so much there. I wanted to tell you about this because it's like the opposite of Doyle and Holmes. Like He felt bound to Sherlock but Gibson saw The Shadow as a spirit that came into reality because of how much he wrote about him. Just funny how one author can feel bound to their character but another sees them as a real being who came into existence. Or so the story goes. Anyway, thanks for sharing your love for the character .
One of my absolute treasures in my Holmes collection is The Sexual Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a gay pornographic novel written and published for the early 1970s gay subculture. It's a BDSM sexploitation interpretation of a handful of Doyle stories, and is a trashy but thoughtful interpretation of Holmes canon as mirror for mid-20th century queer subculture. The author was an activist for homophile justice and won awards in the leather community. All this to say, queer Holmes fandom is rich and storied throughout the ages.
I’ve always been interested in the contrast between Doyle’s tiredness and the public’s love for Sherlock Holmes and the way the character has continued to be popular throughout the many years. (I also wonder if any fans in his time also wanted them to kiss haha? Were there secret queer readings of JohnLock written or whispered about?) Anyway another great series of art Molly ☺️
there were!!! most notably - ACD's gay brother-in-law, EW Hornung, wrote thinly veiled Holmes/Watson criminal AU fanfiction called the Raffles Stories. They were wildly popular at the time and are SO intentionally queer, it's wild to read now
Also totally unrelated to the post but I just got an arc of the deep dark from my indie bookstore job!! Can’t wait to read and see how the experience differs from reading it in installments!!
Doyle would totally be thrilled if someone told him Sherlock’s legacy is old man yaoi <3
I love this! Absolutely agree on wanting to make them kiss, haha. Equally interesting, I think, is how the appreciation of classic characters will be recontextualized as the world changes around them. Holmes is still as enduring as a historical hero as he was a modern one; Frodo is likely as poignant to post-pandemic readers as he was to WW veteran ones. I even wonder if characters in of themselves can be timeless, or if it's really the telling of the collective experience/commentary in a specific way that is. Anywho. Thanks for the lovely newsletter and art!
love this thought process and it's such an interesting question! and your art is still amazing for this, been loving seeing it.
Plus you're right we will ALWAYS want to see them kiss!!
Oh wow I just discovered all these [thanks to a Patreon comment] and the designs are SO GOOD. Thank you!
omg HI BEN HATKE and thank you! I see on Tumblr that you are also drawing Holmes....
I am so late in following all these. I'm just discovering HOW MUCH you've done. It gets better and better!
YES! I'm working on a little pastiche story based on one of the cases Watson mentions but never elaborates on. And one of the patrons commented that you were doing these. I really love how you do Holmes's dressing gown! And imagining the stories through "Watson's Sketchbook" is BRILLIANT.
Hi Molly. I love the original Sherlock stories too, they are amazing. I’ve recently been trying to read through some Agatha Christie stuff. The poirot/hastings pairing gives off similar vibes (though Hastings is dafter than Watson by far) - the one I read recently was The Big Four, and it reminded me the most of Sherlock. No doubt she’d read the stories too as she was publishing at the end of when Doyle was writing.
The Big Four has this sort of ridiculous janes bond / Austin powers type feel to it and is a fun read. I recommend ❤️
Hi Molly, have you ever heard of The Shadow? He was created by Walter B. Gibson
who wrote hundreds of novels about him. But apparently in his old house that he rented,12 Gay st , where he wrote all those books, the new residents saw a ghost dressed like THe Shadow. In an interview Gibson said that the ghost was actually a Tulpa of The Shadow, who came into existence because Gibson wrote so much there. I wanted to tell you about this because it's like the opposite of Doyle and Holmes. Like He felt bound to Sherlock but Gibson saw The Shadow as a spirit that came into reality because of how much he wrote about him. Just funny how one author can feel bound to their character but another sees them as a real being who came into existence. Or so the story goes. Anyway, thanks for sharing your love for the character .
SOOOO fascinating, I had never heard of that, thank you!
One of my absolute treasures in my Holmes collection is The Sexual Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a gay pornographic novel written and published for the early 1970s gay subculture. It's a BDSM sexploitation interpretation of a handful of Doyle stories, and is a trashy but thoughtful interpretation of Holmes canon as mirror for mid-20th century queer subculture. The author was an activist for homophile justice and won awards in the leather community. All this to say, queer Holmes fandom is rich and storied throughout the ages.
WHOA that is fascinating! I just read 'My Dearest Holmes' which is a published 80s romantic novel...fandom history is so cool
💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
That’s cute! ❤️