Issue #5 of Titan Comics' Adler recently dropped, continuing the adventures of several fictional literary characters from throughout history, as well as some that actually existed. We spoke with the team behind the comic book to learn a little bit more about what is being referred to as "The League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen."
The artist behind the book is Paul McCaffrey (DC Comics' Men of War), with the story being penned by World Fantasy Award-winning author and writer Lavie Tidhar (Osama). With a curiosity to learn more about the Sherlock Holmes spin-off, we asked how the team members were chosen, and this is what they had to say.
"One of the things you want to do is you don't necessarily want to take the characters that everyone would be thinking about. So you do want to find interesting characters in history; real Victorian characters that I think are interesting and underutilized and see if we can bring them in. The nice thing about living in London is you can still walk around and you've got the history all around you to gives you ideas."
In addition to the characters that Lavie and Paul pull from literature to give their own spin to, there are also villains in the book that are based on real-life people. One of the most interesting is Jack the Ripper, and Tidhar goes into a bit more detail on the problems that come with writing fictional characters based on true events and how visiting certain locations can help bring the imagery to life.
"We are doing something with Jack the Ripper in the next one, and to try to write that is less fun because obviously, that was a real thing that happened; it was horrible. Being based in London, you get to go to places like the pub where Jack the Ripper drank, and the murder was around the corner, and so with Adler, you're able to draw on places that still exist."
Hear our full chat with Lavie Tidhar and Paul McCaffrey and be sure to check out the trailer and synopsis below. Don't forget to share your thoughts in the comments section!
*This interview has been edited for clarity.*
THE ONLY WOMAN WHO COULD MATCH SHERLOCK HOLMES! - now IRENE ADLER must battle the greatest villain of all time! An alternate history of the greatest literary characters of the 19th Century featuring Moriarty, Jane Eyre, Lady Havisham, Marie Curie, Carmilla and Ayesha!
You can grab your copy of Titan Comics' Adler here.