Somerset Holmes Revisited!

I had fond memories of this 1983 Pacific Comics series by Bruce Jones and Brent Anderson, but I know I never finished reading the story because it got cancelled and Pacific Comics went under before the story was shifted over to Eclipse Comics for a two issue finale. I was out of the Indy market by that time, so I've never seen the ending -- until recently when I found the full run. Admittedly it was the work by Al Williamson which got me over the hump on this series as he and Jones did a back up for the comic called "Cliff Hanger".

I grabbed the issues and read them through. It's a really really good comic book story. The first three chapters set up some outstanding suspense and the storytelling is exquisite. The artwork and the storytelling begin to get a slightly bit more choppy for the final three issues (perhaps a change from slick paper stock when it moved to Eclipse had something to do with that). The ultimate mystery is not a cheat, but I will say as is often the case the enigma and the possibilities are usually more interesting than the truth. Though despite this story having an ending, I do see room for a sequel if necessary. The story essentially is the saga of a woman overcome by amnesia who seems to have some really impressive fighting skills, and she needs them because it seems almost everyone she meets wants to kill her, or do her harm.

The Cliff Hanger story was a lot of fun. The pacing is a bit off in places, but I'll confess they got the over-the-top aspect of the old serials well in place. The twist at the end seems a bit overwrought and I'm not sure I bought it, but the plot to destroy America with Nazi Killer Bees was fun.

All in all a really fun read. If you like pulpy mysteries, you'll like Somerset Holmes. I can't say it was necessarily worth the 25 year wait to finish the story, but it wasn't a bad read at all.

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