Sherlock Holmes and The Empire Builders - The Gene Genie Volume One

Story

 

I have been a fan of Holmes since ! was a child and Sherlock Holmes and The Empire Builders is my love letter to Doyle’s creation, while bringing something new to the canon. The series has been over twenty years in the making and now the creators, having tested the waters with the three shorts, feel now that we are ready for a longer form story.

 

Fans of Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion books like Elric and Hawkmoon or Bryan Talbot’s acclaimed The Adventures of Luther Arkwright graphic novel series will enjoy Sherlock Holmes and The Empire Builders. Fans of Sherlock Holmes both on the printed page and the big screen will enjoy this series too. The series also owes a great deal to DC’s Vertigo imprint so fans of comic series like The Sandman, Hellblazer, The Invisibles and others will also appreciate The Empire Builders. 

 

“When you think there is nothing more to be said or done with Sherlock Holmes, along come Meadows and Bennett to breathe fresh life into the great detective.  Bravo!  I’m thoroughly enjoying this  original tale!”

– Michael Moorcock, fantasy writing legend (Elric, Jerry Cornelius)

 

 ‘Drawing from the wonderful classic that is Sherlock Holmes, Joel Meadows and Tripwire have once again delivered an electrifying story in a dynamically driven comic spread’.

– Richard Taylor, Wētā Workshop (Lord Of The Rings films, Planet Of The Apes)

 

“A brilliant celebration of an iconic character. Joel Meadows delivers in style, with a refreshing take on Sherlock Holmes and the art by Andy Bennett is just what you need in a comic. I can’t recommend it enough.”

– Mark London  CEO/CCO Mad Cave Studios and Writer of Hunt.Kill.Repeat, Wolvenheart, Battlecats, Knights Of The Golden Sun

 

"If you learn the names of your home's previous tenants and it turns out Sherlock Holmes used to live there, I would say get the locks changed--but it wouldn't do any good. This problem, and others, never would have occurred to me without the benefit of Joel Meadows' paranoia and Andy Bennett's moodily feathered art. Also, never reveal the secret potentials of DNA to a fascist, even a well-bred one. Especially a well-bred one."

– Tom Peyer, writer, The Wrong Earth, The High Heaven (Ahoy Comics)

 

Preview

 

 

 

Barry Kitson interior art

Art Prints

Mark Chiarello / Walter Simonson

 

Liam Sharp & Bill Sienkiewicz / Shawn Martinbrough

Bios

Joel Meadows

Joel Meadows is a journalist and writer with over three decades of experience on newspapers, magazines and books. His CV includes some of the world’s most renowned publications including Time Magazine, The Times, The Sunday Times, Financial Times, The Guardian, Guinness World Records and The Observer. He has also written extensively about comics, film, TV and culture for publications like Playboy, Time Magazine, Esquire, Variety, Empire, Big Issue In The North, Jewish Chronicle. He is also the editor-in-chief of Tripwire, a position he has held since 1992. He lives in London.

 

Andy Bennett

Andy Bennett was born in southern Ohio. He is a graduate of Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, and The Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus. Today he serves as a digital media designer at Highlights for Children in Columbus, as well as offering freelance design and illustration work for a wide range of clients. He currently lives in Columbus with his wife Lisa. http://www.b3nn3tt.com/

Stretch Goals

Once we hit our target of $5000, stretch goals will kick in. Our first stretch goal at $6,500 will activate this A4 Holmes print for everyone who pledges on the campaign, featuring art by David Hitchcock.

 

 

If we hit $8,000, then everyone who pledges on the campaign will get a new A4 Subterra poster

 

 

and if we get to $10,000 then everyone who pledges on the campaign will get digital versions of every Tripwire magazine since 2020 (Autumn Winter 2020 edition, Autumn Winter 2021 edition, Autumn Winter 2022 edition and May June 2023 edition)

Budget

The money raised will pay cover artists Walter Simonson and Mark Chiarello, the pin up artist Shawn Martinbrough, and also the series co-creator and artist Andy Bennett. It will also cover the cost of printing the hardcovers and the add-ons, as well as paying for the design and pre-production of the book.

Timeline

The graphic novel has been partially scripted and the finished script for this volume will be completed by the end of August. Artist Andy Bennett will have the pages drawn and lettered by the second half of August and the book will be finished in terms of design by the beginning of September. Also both volumes will cleverly weave the three shorts that have already run in Tripwire as part of this epic new comic tale and they are already drawn and lettered. We are confident that all books and add-ons will be shipped by the beginning of December. This story is too big to contain in one volume so the second volume will be published early next summer with two new covers and the rest of the tale.

 

The risks here are ones we are aware of but with the momentum already as a big chunk of the script has already been written and the shorts already exist that will be weaved into the new story, we feel confident that both books will be completed to deadline.