The Justice League mascot becomes…Snapper Carrnage!

Blue Beetle becomes…Kordnage!

Starfire becomes…Korinage!

Supergirl becomes…Karanage!

Some of the Sherlock Holmes pastiches I've read feel like acts of self-harm. But the good ones make the pain worthwhile.

How great would it be to see a Gerard comic book series by someone as talented as writer/artist Patrick Zircher? If you're not familiar with his work (shame on you), check out his Solomon Kane books and prepare to be wowed.

Houdini’s reappearing act: David Haig’s new play lays bare the magician’s dispute with Conan Doyle An interest in spiritualism drew the escapologist and the Sherlock Holmes author together but, as actor-playwright Haig’s drama Magic shows, also threw them into conflict

It’s easy to mock Doyle’s belief in Spiritualism. I tend to see it as tragic self-deception. I welcome any analysis that positions him as dreamer rather than a fool.

The Lost World! Yes!

I’m always saddened when a story lies fallow without taking advantage of the perfect actors who could bring it to life. The world has missed out on Brian Blessed as Professor Challenger and we’re all the worse for it. Let’s not miss the next perfect casting

On the literary side, I’ve read a few Holmes/Ripper mashups: “The Mycroft Memoranda,” “The Whitechapel Horrors” and even chapter 15 of Baring-Gould’s Holmes biography. My favorite is “Dust and Shadow” by Lyndsay Faye

Ah! Perhaps the most divisive pastiche of all. Published in 1978, it rode the wave of combined interest in Sherlockiana and Ripperology that included such movies as “A Study in Terror,” “Murder by Decree” and “Time and Time Again.”

Legend
Clue
Annie

Another major pastiche came out in 1994, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R King. It won several literary awards and launched a series that is still going strong after 20 novels. If I had to guess, I’d pick that book as the one that inspired your argument

However Meyer wrote a sequel, The Canary Trainer, that came out in 1993. That’s a possibility even though the book wasn’t nearly as successful as its predecessor

The gold standard of Sherlockian pastiche is The 7% Solution by Nicholas Meyer. It came out in 1974. Seems unlikely you’d be talking about it decades after its popularity had faded

Hmmm. “When the internet was young.” Let’s start our search for the mystery pastiche in the mid-90s.

But it’s easier now to segue into talking about Doyle’s stories and other great performances by Rathbone, Wilmer, Brett, etc. I’m happy that Cumberbatch is part of the conversation, but not the entire conversation

I’m glad that the Cumberbatch strain of Sherlock-mania has eased. And I like Benedict. But for several years, that was always the conversation starter with new fans. Again, that’s great. The show did wonders to broaden the fanbase

The pickle dish…

The setup to that movie is so much better than the execution. It had all the elements to be great and fell short by making too many concessions to fans of the animated series

I loved rereading my favorite childhood books aloud to my daughter. It gave me the “excuse” to revisit them. The experience of seeing the stories through my adult eyes while observing her first reaction was fascinating

Totally agree about the Legion. In their future, there are still battles to fight. But it’s a hopeful place of endless possibility and wonder

More superheroes need to rock a fanny pack

Drives me crazy that Tubi shows a thumbnail image from this version of Hound, but when you click on it, the version that plays is the 2002 movie with Richard Roxburgh.

I would have fallen for it if there were only four companies. Since there were five, I had a hunch something was up

70s entertainment took cynicism to a new level. But the seeds were planted in the 60s with Bonnie and Clyde (67), Butch and Sundance (69) and even Planet of the Apes (68)

And I appreciate how the show’s borrowed its central conceit from Les Miserables and The Fugitive TV show. Both are great role models

For sure, episodes of the Hulk varied dramatically in quality. And there was a high cheese factor. But Bixby gave the show a strong and authentic emotional core.

I know what you’re saying about the 70s with Watergate and gas shortages and urban decay and rampant crime. But the 60s were pretty famously turbulent

68 also saw the assassinations of RFK and MLK. All of this happened either before or during the run of the Batman TV show.