The secret comic book origin of 'Sherlock Holmes' (images)

Before "Sherlock Holmes" was a movie opening on Christmas Day, it was a comic.

Sort of.

Producer Lionel Wigram wanted to do a modern retelling of the classic detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. "I wanted to present Sherlock Holmes not as a fuddy duddy, 'Masterpiece Theatre' guy," said the British-bred Wigram.

Wigram came up with a story treatment but "realized that wasn't going to be enough." He then decided to give his story some comic book pizazz in order to better convey the atmosphere and the attitude. It's one thing to write that the new Holmes has a bohemian or rock-and-roll attitude, as Wigram was going for, but it's another to show a piece of art which embodies it. 

Wigram called DC Comics' Gregory Noveck and asked him for assistance in finding an artist, and Noveck pointed him to John Watkiss, a Brit living in Burbank. Watkiss is a comic artist who's drawn "Sandman," "Deadman" and "Savage Sword of Conan." He also worked as an artist on Disney's "Tarzan" and "Treasure Planet" movies.

Wigram used his own money, $5,000 of it, to have Watkiss draw up scenes from Wigram's story, working with the artist to come up with the best take. Wigram then bound them in a comic book form and published a small amount of them in order to pitch his take.

The final product is not exactly a comic book. There are no sequential panels or word balloons but rather beautiful, moody splash pages with occasional story notes along the borders. (Word incorrectly spread, and was repeated in lesser entertainment rags, that there was a Sherlock graphic novel or Sherlock comic.)

Click the photos for larger versions

Wigram showed the book to Warners exec Dan Lin (who later became a producer on the movie) and then Warners' president Jeff Robinov, who ultimately gave the movie the go-ahead.

"What he drew was what I imagined, but better," said Wigram. "And if you compare Guy Ritchie's screen version to the images, there's a direct connection. Watkiss deserves a lot of credit and recognition for this."

There was talk of DC making a "Holmes" comic, maybe using the images, maybe not, but the movie project found itself fast-tracked and swept away once Ritchie and then Robert Downey Jr. came on board, and Wigram never had a chance to revisit the idea. 

Wigram is surprised that more Hollywood types don't prepare these style of pamphlets when pitching ideas.

Compare the concept character art to the final screen version:

Sherlock Holmes

 

Dr. John Watson

 

Irene Adler

Comments

[valentines day]

wow....Awesome images.I have read this post and I would say Downey's quite a bit older then Holmes was in the originals.By the way great post.Enjoy!!!

[Rick Zubrycki]

Very cool story. Too bad the author is such a nerd. And Ukranian. A fatal combination. I say we get together and write a graphic novel about him choking on a deadly perogie then drowning in a vat of his mother's borscht. Now THAT'S a blog I'd read about!

Down with Borys!

[The Vindicator]

That last comment was poignant, intelligent and media savy. I too would read such a blog and find the bit about Borys's mother's borscht particularly gooey with poetic irony. Well played Zubrycki! Well played! Your take on the graphic novel rocked me out of the tedium with which this otherwise uneventful blog threatened to rock me to sleep.

[Kevin Parr]

I believe the artist here is John Watkiss, not Watkins.