Titan Comics is a company that tends to publish books that no one would ever suspect could become engaging stories. From Assassin's Creed to Doctor Who, Titan has proven time and again that great stories aren't always on television. One such tale is arguably one of the company's most ambitious ideas yet.
Adler is a new story by Lavie Tidhar and Paul McCaffrey that follows Sherlock Holmes' old flame Irene Adler and her ragtag team of literature's finest women, including Jane Eyre and Estella Havisham from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. Mixing a bit of The League of Extraordinary Gentleman with classic English literature, the adrenaline-fueled story dares to tell a unique alternative take on history with lots of action and the best characters from some of England's most beloved tales.
We recently sat down with artist Paul McCaffrey to ask about some of the designs for his characters' costumes, along with the many inspirations from his childhood that helped to get him into art. His answers were insightful and wildly informative, and should add to the story for those who have read it.
You can hear our chat with the artist via the podcast player below. Interior images have also been included along with the transcript. We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
6m 47s
Comic Brooks: I noticed each of the characters in the story has a distinct color. I was wondering, was that always the plan? And if so, what was the inspiration for red being Irene and white being Estella, and all the other characters as well?
7m 8s
Paul McCaffrey: Estella was referenced from Great Expectations with the sort of bridal gown. I had also drawn her as a slightly crazier character initially. In some of those early doodles, she was wearing sort of a straight jacket. So that's why I went for white. Irene Adler has got red hair, so if you stick her in red, red's distinctive. Jane Eyre is ex-military, so I thought to stick her in the corky's greens and browns. It's a little bit of thought, but it's not rocket science.
9m 0s
Comic Brooks: Are there any characters from either literature or comic books that inspired to get more into art when you were younger?
10m 1s
Paul McCaffrey: I was a huge Jack Kirby fan. So Kirby's Captain America, Jim Steranko's Nick Fury, John Buscema's Conan The Barbarian, Gene Colan's Howard The Duck, and Craig Russell's War of the Worlds, are all round about influences on me. Oh, and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, The Flintstones. They have a massive impact on my drawing.
*This article was edited for clarity*
For Sherlock, there was only ever one woman — now Irene Adler is on a mission to take down Moriarty! It's the League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen, as Adler teams up with a host of famous female faces from science, history and literature to defeat the greatest criminal mastermind of all time!
Adler is available to read now through Titan Comics!