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Guy Davis with Gary Reed The late 1980s produced a number of groundbreaking, compelling books. Most are still revered today, notably WATCHMEN and DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. But nipping at their heels is another important, though generally overlooked, work - BAKER STREET. This massive new trade paperback from ibooks collects virtually every scrap from Caliber's BAKER STREET, including ten issues of the regular series, promotional pieces, sketches, and back-up tales. What if the Victorian Age never ended? You'd have the world of BAKER STREET. Not quite as technologically advanced but ever-so-much more charming, the book's London is home to a burgeoning Goth-punk movement, like its "real" 1980s counterpart. In the midst of this counterculture, the enigmatic Sharon Ford serves as her world's Sherlock Holmes, protecting and detecting. The back cover shouts, "A mystery set in an alternate universe London" - but BAKER STREET is much more than that. Like newly arrived (and decidedly non-punk) Sue Prendergast, we enter Sharon's world bit by tantalizing bit, discovering the answers to our own questions with every turn of the page. Davis and Reed give us just enough of the story at one time, wisely doling out more details only when we're ready - or when they'll deliver the most shocking of surprises. BAKER STREET is full of compelling characters with rich, well-reasoned backgrounds, and I dare you not to care for them deeply after a few chapters. Sure, we want to know the serial killer's identity - but what we're REALLY desperate for is Sharon's motivation, Sam's origin, and Sue's acclimation to the culture. Davis's black-and-white art is masterfully evocative, full of lavish detail. He proves himself a modern maestro of mood, and although his work on SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE was remarkable, it's clear Davis is a talent unrestrained here. Despite the occasional misfire - panels that are sometimes TOO detailed, for example - Davis conveys both the exotic and mundane with equal mastery. On the production end, everything's top-notch. Oh, there's an occasional typo, and the lettering is charmingly "retro," but ibooks has put together a slick volume worthy of the material it reprints. I'm quite thankful that someone's given BAKER STREET the permanence it deserves. Even if you're not Goth or punk yourself - even if you don't know what those terms mean - you'll be engrossed in the world of BAKER STREET. The themes of acceptance and the danger of stereotyping are universal, and like Sharon Ford (or even Sherlock Holmes) you may find that you also unearth an intriguing truth or two - just don't be surprised if it's about yourself. Reviewer: Doug Giffin -- Any publishers that would like Doug Giffin to do a review, please feel free to contact him here or you can contact Ed Dukeshire on the contact page. --
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AMONG PUNKS: 