For several years now, Toobworld Central has celebrated Sherlock Holmes on what many Sherlockians/Holmesians consider to be his birthday. (Although there is some disagreement - click here.)
And because I count myself among that original (and more respectable) group of January Sixers, the TVXOHOF continues that tradition today....
From the FB page, “The Crossover Universe” (April 25, 2025)
By Jess Nevins:
(Holmes' name doesn't come up in the rest of the story, and nothing more is made of Zatara being in Holmes' old stomping grounds).
There have been many movie and TV appearances by Sherlock Holmes over the last century, and unless they are played by the same actor, each of those productions need to be shuttled off to separate fictional universes.
New pastiches of the Holmes Mythos appear weekly in story form, whether as short stories or novels, and for the most part they can be treated as existing in the same universe. (There are a few tales too outlandish to be reconciled with the established canon.)
As they all exist in the mind of the reader, it is their imagination which blends the portrayals together. (And while Sir Arthur Conan Doyle defined the appearance of Holmes with words, it was Sidney Paget who first provided the artistic template upon which every fan builds their mental vision of the Great Detective.
The overall comic book universe is not my bailiwick; I’m a Toobworld Curator (mostly retired). But it’s my contention that for the most part, any Sherlock Holmes story illustrated for comic books belongs in the same dimension as the others, no matter the different styles of artwork. It’s the story which remains key; the artwork merely illustrated that story for the reader.
What I especially liked about this fleeting mention of Holmes in a story about Zatara is that it can be shared by so many Sherlock Holmes stories in comic books, no matter if their storyline is too contradictory to the greater output of stories. Most of that is due primarily to Holmes only being mentioned, and the statement about him is probably considered to be an established fact by many fans.
So, what Jess Nevins has brought up is not only a damned good crossover (I will have to check my books by Win Scott Eckert and Sean Lee Levin to see if Zatara is considered part of the Wold Newton Universe. I’ll get back to you before this is posted; I’m writing it in April of 2025), but it could be a nexus point for so many Sherlock Holmes stories in the Greater Metafictional Universe for all media, including Toobworld.
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