Comic Books

Benoit Dahan takes us ‘Inside The Mind Of Sherlock Holmes’

The new OGN explores the famed detective Sherlock Holmes like never before.

October 31, 2023

Sherlock Holmes‘ appeal isn’t just that he’s a great detective. (Or that he made the Deerstalker really cool.) No, it’s that he’s sort of unknowable, and his very thought processes come off as almost magic-like to us less capable specimens. Until now, that is.

As its very titles suggest, Inside The Mind of Sherlock Holmes gives us an preview in his venerated “mind palace.” The book, from writer Cyril Lieron and writer-artist Benoit Dahan, sees Sherlock on a case involving missing Londoners, a “mysterious powder,” and a Chinese magician with secrets galore. Through “intricate visual representation,” we can understand Sherlock’s ideas and thought processes like never before as the world’s greatest detective (sorry, Batman) cracks this layered mystery wide open.

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Inside The Mind of Sherlock Holmes is due out November 14 from Titan Comics. Dahan was kind enough to put on his own Deerstalker to answer a few of our questions, including why they opted for this unique approach, his favorite Sherlock Holmes stories, and how to craft that perfect Sherlock story.

Courtesy of Titan Comics.

AIPT: What’s the elevator pitch for this story?

Benoit Dahan: Hi! In this graphic novel, we explore Sherlock’s great mind from the inside. Dr. Watson usually is the narrator in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, so he witnesses Holmes actions and conclusions only from the outside. Most of the time, he doesn’t know everything about the intricate steps his friend went through, and the same can be said about the reader. We try to show what Watson couldn’t.

AIPT: Is it daunting tackling a Holmes story? Do you do a ton of research? Try to reference and/or touch on other stories?

BD: For two avid Conan Doyle readers like Cyril Lieron and me, it’s not daunting but only exciting. So many apocryphal Sherlock Holmes stories have been written by so many writers after Doyle that we had to try and come with something more.

As for the Victorian era and its iconic City of London, yes, we definitely had to do a lot of research, even down to street names that have changed in modern times. Our only references are the original “canonical” stories by Doyle (four novels and 56 short stories) — for example, The Red-Headed League is mentioned in our story.

AIPT: Similarly, do you have a favorite Holmes story?

BD: Cyril and I both love The Hound of the Baskervilles; such a perfect story. The Sign of the Four is another favorite. There are many other shorter stories that are brilliant — Silver Blaze, The Musgrave Ritual, or The Blue Carbuncle.

Courtesy of Titan Comics.

AIPT: What other stories or influences inspired the look of this book? It feels really vivid while effectively balancing both modern and old aesthetics in some really interesting ways.

BD: We wanted to fully immerse readers in the world of Sherlock Holmes and the Victorian era, so we used every means we could muster: yellowish paper, thin hatched inking as in 19the century prints, watercolor that smear on the borders of panels similar to old prints and lithographs, and last but not least we feature parts of authentic vintage maps of London and its surroundings to show Holmes and Watson’s wanderings. The touch of modernity in the graphic aspect comes in the form of a somewhat cartoonish style applied to the characters. That was a choice we made after noticing that most Sherlock Holmes comics had a realistic style, and we hoped to differentiate. The choices in page layouts also aim to surprise the reader while pertaining to what is happening in the page itself — for example, a layout in the shape of a newspaper when Watson is reading the news for Holmes.

AIPT: Press says this book offers up a “unique look into the inner workings of the great detective’s mind.” Why use that device, and were there challenges and/or opportunities in trying to depict his “inner world?”

BD: We strive to show Holmes’ “brain attic” in detail, as he briefly mentions it himself in the first novel, A Study in Scarlet. These are the very words written by Conan Doyle himself that we took literally, and that’s the foundation of our whole project. Similar to that, the “thread” in Holmes investigations are physically depicted and are omnipresent in our book, as Holmes often mentions it in the original stories. Also, we sometimes inject “special effects” in the way the readers will use and handle the book : sometimes we might ask them to look through a page with a light to uncover a visual clue, or other unorthodox narrative effects.

Courtesy of Titan Comics.

AIPT: Similarly, what does this “working brain” of Holmes actually offer visually or from a story perspective in comparison to other ways that he’s been depicted elsewhere? I’m thinking about the floating effects of the BBC Sherlock series.

BD: The BBC Sherlock Holmes series is great! But we felt that through the use of comic-book panels and creative layouts we could go much further in actually showing in great detail Holmes’s “brain-attic”, with its many rooms and technical features. Notice the difference with the “mind palace,” which is a modern concept that is not present in Doyle’s writings.

AIPT: Why is Holmes still so compelling as a hero/character?

BD: We think that he owes it to his imperfections, mainly his too-professional, despicable, cold-blooded behavior at times. Also, his addictions to tobacco and cocaine. Without that, he just would be too perfect: Holmes is almost a superhero — not only a super-genius but also a superb hand-to-hand fighter.

AIPT: What are the elements or ideas that make for a really good Holmes story?

BD: Fog, pipe smoke, gaslight, hansom cabs, and top hats all set the mood and backdrop for such a story. Then, a fine Sherlock Holmes story should feature a quantity of complex clues that complete each other, and that the reader feels compelled to solve himself. And, as a cherry on the top of a Sherlockian cake, if it is able to bring some undertext reflection on our world (past and present), so much the better. We tried our hand at that in The Case of the Scandalous Ticket.

Courtesy of Titan Comics.

AIPT: I think you can’t have a good Holmes story without the faithful Dr. Watson. What role does he play in this story, and why is he important (or not) here?

BD: Definitely, Watson is an essential counterpart to Holmes, even though he isn’t the narrator here, since all our story is told from Sherlock’s point of view. He also brings a much needed touch of humor. In fact, Conan Doyle’s stories are more humorous than one would think at first. Also, Watson is a former military doctor who went through war in Afghanistan, so we wanted him to visually convey a feeling of physical strength that makes it believable he can be a valuable fighter when the need arises, not just an old, bumbling, goofy sidekick.

AIPT: There’s some hallmarks of Holmes you really nail, including the tendency for “monologues.” Is Holmes really best suited for the realm of comics/visual media?

BD: Yes, even though it is a graphic novel, we wanted to keep a somewhat literary writing style so that one would get the same feeling that one gets when reading a Conan Doyle story as much as possible. Moreover, Holmes loves to show off his intellectual superiority through his long-winded speeches. We certainly didn’t wish to “dumb down” Sherlock Holmes.

AIPT: Do you have a favorite moment/panel or page in this book?

BD: It’s hard to pick just one… Let’s say, Holmes in his chemical laboratory; the effect of drugs on his brain; how pipe smoking really set his brain in motion like steam in a machine; his moral values getting challenged by the villain…

AIPT: Should more stories feature the inner workings of characters like this? Or does this only work for the genius of Holmes?

BD: Of course, this technique could be applied to other characters, like Hercule Poirot for example, but I guess it wouldn’t be different enough from what we delivered here. Anyhow, we are currently working on a new case Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes, a story that takes place in Scotland and will show further aspects of Sherlock’s “brain-attic.” We hope to challenge the readers in this next adventure, one that will be full of creepy mysteries!