Enola Holmes, the sister of the great Sherlock Holmes, reemerges from hiding long enough to explore another mystery in IDW’s The Case of The Bizarre Bouquets.
It’s the third Enola Holmes mystery, based on an original novel by Nancy Springer. Florida-based Springer, author of over 50 books has written six stories of Enola Holmes, this one in 2009.
In adapting the novel, artist Serena Blasco, based in La Bretagne, France, allows herself full freedom in layout and rendering. It’s London, in 1889. The opening scenes are bathed in lavender, cheerful yellow. Enola Holmes looks for her newest disguise, soon to be swathed in blues, greens, and red. It appears that Dr. Watson, Sherlock’s trusty friend, has gone missing, feared abducted. Enola slyly interrogates unusual individuals, all the while inventing back story after back story. But she needs to avoid detection by the world’s best detective, Sherlock. And that just adds the right amount of paranoia and tension to keep this story from becoming cloying.
Blasco’s playful renderings match the tone of Enola’s visions: her imagination rampant, her energy full of curiosity. The comic panels are borderless and whimsical, the watercolour renderings in turn fantastic and fascinating. When Enola’s mind turns cartwheels, so do the comic drawings!
The Bizarre Bouquet sleuthing adventure is a short one. This book runs just 68 colourful pages, including ‘secret notebook pages’ at the back of the book. But a fun read for young adults and children.
IDW EuroComics, The Case of The Bizarre Bouquets, $14.99 for 68 pages of content. Assume Youth rating. Available in bookstores and from comic retailers.
@serenablasco1, @NancySpringer
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