#Sir Baskerville

[doctorstrangereview]

Strange Tales #135

Cover Date: August 1965 On-Sale Date: May 4, 1965

This month Strange Tales introduces its answer to James Bond. Sgt. Fury is recast as super-spy Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Doc is completely absent from the cover bar a tiny portrait in the corner box. I really miss those boxes. In this issue we get a nice amount of intrigue and back stabbing as Doc fully embraces his mission to find "Eternity".

Doc has gone to London to search for "Eternity". He's keeping vigilant this time as he smokes out a Mordo spy in the airport just after he's landed. After wiping the minion's memory, he travels to a castle on a foggy moor. The castle belongs to Sir Baskerville. So far there are no signs of any hounds. Doctor Strange's thought bubble identifies Sir Baskerville as a "former" disciple of Mordo until he met with an accident. The fact that he's Sir and not Lord means he's a pretty minor noble. I wonder if he has his Knight Grand Cross. It's a nice castle whatever the case.

A grey haired gentleman in a rather fine long smoking jack lets Doc in. We see the 'accident' left him with an injured hand that he keeps encased in something. Or did he lose it and this is capping the stump? We may never know, but he's still a proper English gentleman who offers Doc tea. Doc's like "Sorry dude. Got no time for that. Did you happen to hear of 'Eternity'?" "By golly, I believe I have! Let me go get that scroll for you."

Sir Baskerville with no hounds leaves Doc in front of the fireplace to contemplate his situation. Wisely, Doc thinks the situation out rather than his usual shouting out to all who can hear. Just a few stories ago, as Doc was vanishing to Shazana's and her nameless sister's realm, Doc recognized Dormie's voice. Here he thinks "if only I knew from whence Mordo's increased power has come!" which sounds to me like he hasn't a clue. The colors in this panel are delightfully moody.

We change scenes to the Dark Dimension where Dormie is steaming even more than usual. He's still worked up by someone mucking with his Mindless Ones barrier. Fortunately, his security is somewhat better than most magic users in this series. Using a round edition of the magic smoky flat panel TV, he replays the events around the barrier incident. I suppose being and absolute, supremely powerful dictator makes you a bit paranoid and you watch everything. He watches Clea steal the energy draining device and place it by the barrier. It looks like she's in Nightmare's realm instead of the Dark Dimension, but whatever. Of course, if he had truly effective security, Clea wouldn't have been able to steal the device in the first place. Dormie is pissed and does the equivalent of putting his fist through the TV and begins to carefully plot his vengeance. In a better show of continuity Clea wears the same outfit in the flashback as when she first seen stealing the device last issue.

Going back to Castle Baskerville, we find out Sir Baskerville is still in the thrall of Mordo. Whoa! Would have never suspected that! Sir Baskerville contacts Mordo mentally who dispatches Kaecilius to take care of things. Unlike previous teleportation, Mordo has to speak a spell to achieve it this time. Arriving, Kaecilius and Mordo's giant floating head yell at Sir Baskerville. He grabs a scroll and goes back to Doc. Sneaking up behind, Kaecilius/Mordo attacks. But, Doc is the tricky one this time! It was only an illusion of Doc which quickly fades. A suit of armor begins to move and Kaecilius/Mordo, attack it again and again, but it doesn't fall. Doc's trick #2! Running through a doorway, a hidden Doc clobbers Kaecilius, cutting off his contact with Mordo. There's something very satisfying about that panel.

Doc freezes Sir Baskerville and probes Kaecilius' mind, without consent, of course. Here he confirms that Mordo's secret partner in crime is Dormie. Continuity crisis averted!

While this is going on Mordo is dispatching his ninja minions. Before they can reach the castle, Doc finds out that Mordo promised to restore Sir's hand. Having some knowledge of this particular situation, Doc informs him it can't be done. Then, he actually says "You no longer interest me!" In a race against time Doc retrieves his cloak. This is what caused the armor to move and why the devastating force had no effect. He goes to the roof of the castle as the minions arrive. "You, ninja dudes, my mind to your mind my thoughts to your thoughts. Doc has gone to the netherworld. You should go there to." And the flee.

Mordo realizes something is wrong and goes to the castle himself as Doc flees. Realizing he's been outwitted, Mordo shakes his fist in the air in a classic "I'll get you next time!" moment.

I like this. Doc has a definitive victory against Mordo who clearly outclasses him in power. He achieved this through his wits. Doc is more than a magical blowhard. He's a cunning strategist. Outmanned and outgunned he can still come out on top. It's bittersweet. His mission to find "Eternity" is still a failure. The story moves the arc along at a sufficient, if not brisk pace. Pieces are set in place or have begun to move. Sir Baskerville will return in a number of years in a future story arc that is truly masterful. It will even include some familiar participants. From here to "Eternity," baby!

[kagilasgilas]

"It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but that you are a conductor of light. . . " ―Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

[mssoapart]

Redraw of silly screenshots and quotes out of context, Sherlock au/Detective au (???I don`t know how to call it tbh) for the soul.

Screenshots and quotes are from:

BBC «Sherlock» 2010 - 2017.

Granada Television «The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes» 1984 - 1994 (But the quote from BBC «Sherlock»).

Soviet film «The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson» 1979 - 1986.

[rugwurm]

[detectivejay]

I began writing this post before and lost my draft when I went to check how far along “Letters from Watson” is, so here it is without preamble. Lesson learned. 😆 (It appears to be up to The Hound of the Baskervilles at the time of this post.)

If you chose some combination of the short story collections and novels, I’d love to hear which ones in the comments and tags!

Please reblog for a larger sample size. :)

[angryducktimemachine]

I love Soviet Hound of the Baskervilles because the friendship between Sir Henry and Watson is cute and also the fact that they get piss drunk together.

[ID: a digital drawing of Watson and Sir Henry. Sir Henry is laying on a sofa with a glass of wine in his hand, talking. Watson is sitting on the floor next to him with a glass of wine himself and an absent expression. Text pointing to Watson reads "thinking so hard about Holmes it makes him look stupid" and text pointing to Sir Henry reads "talking about Miss Stapleton". /End ID]

[adaptations-polls]

Which version of this do you prefer?

Note: There have been....A Lot of versions of Sherlock Holmes. Like a LOT. Obviously this is only a fraction of the possible adaptations and retellings that are out there. A second part with further versions will be published at some point in the future.

Further notes:

Apparently Sherlock Holmes may be the most prolifically portrayed character in film ever? So like I really do want to emphasize. There's WAY more versions I could and will put on a poll.

Also some of these are somewhat loosely grouped/are presented together despite slight continuity breaks. Like, the Rathbone films were overseen by two different companies (20th Century Fox, then Universal, though Universal did almost all of them) but they're definitely a series with each other because they're configured around him and his version of Holmes.

Peter Cushing also portrayed Holmes in a 1968 series, but for this poll I've just included his Hound of the Baskervilles film.

Also, not all of these are adapting specific Holmes stories directly. I am counting adapting the characters as enough to count for this poll.

It's the original novel version of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution that's on this poll. A film adaptation was made, and may go on a later poll. I might do a separate poll comparing just those two against each other at some point, as well.

[eloquenthubak1982]

Sherlock Holmes

Sir Arthur conan doyle

The classical literature

[mycroftholmesian]

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988) 🔎

After talking with my good friend last night, I had to rewatch Hound. 😊

[sarnie-for-varney]

Holmes saying this to Watson... and then Watson THINKING ABOUT IT LATER

[holmesiansource]

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S SHERLOCK HOLMES 'The Hound of The Baskervilles' (Part 1) — 30 / Sep / 1968 🔎

[dathen]

“Is this true, Barrymore?”

“Yes, Sir Henry. Every word of it.”

“Well, I cannot blame you for standing by your own wife. Forget what I have said. Go to your room, you two, and we shall talk further about this matter in the morning.”

This is the moment that I first got attached to Sir Henry. I read the book last year when Letters from Watson was on the Musgrave Ritual, where Musgrave saw his butler reading a piece of paper without permission and fired him on the spot, no questions asked. Meanwhile Sir Henry gives Barrymore the benefit of the doubt until he’s caught in the act, given a chance to explain himself, and when it comes out that all the sneaking was to support a serial killer in the wilds because they’re related, he’s just “oh okay that’s fine then.”

It’s the kind of thing that wouldn’t really stand out on its own until you compare it to what would have been normal and acceptable at the time.

[whats-in-a-sentence]

"(...) Might I trouble you then to be ready in half an hour, and we can stop at Marcini's for a little dinner on the way?"

"The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury" - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

[withywindle-valley]

Sherlock "I'm married to my work and also this one man who found his way into my life" Holmes

[sherlockianscholar]

when holmes' tender side really jumps out <3

[piedaterreincensorshipville]

"I observe from your forefinger that you make your own cigarettes. Have no hesitation in lighting one."

Sherlock Holmes casually remarking that Dr. Mortimer's fingers are permanently stained with tobacco juice in the opening chapters of The Hound of the Baskervilles is still one of the most chillingly effective anti-smoking PSAs I've ever seen.

(Even more so since it was likely inadvertent. Watson and Holmes are both enthusiastic smokers, like Arthur Conan Doyle himself. But Conan Doyle didn't hesitate to use Watson as his mouthpiece to denounce Holmes' morphine and cocaine habits, in a time when obtaining those drugs was as easy as waltzing into your local drugstore and asking for them.)