Sherlock Holmes: The Hero With a Thousand Faces ambitiously takes on the task of explaining the continued popularity of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective over the course of three centuries. In plays, films, TV shows, and other media, one generation after another has reimagined Holmes as a romantic hero, action hero, gentleman hero, recovering drug addict, weeping social crusader, high-functioning sociopath, and so on. In essence, Sherlock Holmes has become the blank slate upon which we write the heroic formula that best suits our time and place. Volume One looks at the social and cultural environment in which Sherlock Holmes came to fame. Victorian novelists like Anthony Trollope and William Thackeray had pointedly written "novels without a hero," because in their minds any well-ordered and well-mannered society would have no need for heroes or heroic behavior. Unfortunately, this was at odds with a reality in which criminals like Jack the Ripper stalked the streets and people didn't trust the police, who were generally regarded as corrupt and incompetent. Into this gap stepped the world's first consulting detective, an amateur reasoner of some repute by the name of Sherlock Holmes, who shot to fame in the pages of The Strand Magazine in 1891. When Conan Doyle proceeded to kill Holmes off in 1893, it was American playwright, director, and actor William Gillette who brought the character back to life in his 1899 play Sherlock Holmes, creating a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic with his romantic version of Holmes, and cementing his place as the definitive Sherlock Holmes until the late 1930s. By that point, Sherlock Holmes had developed a cult following who facetiously maintained that Holmes was a real person, formed clubs like The Baker Street Irregulars, and introduced the idea of cosplay to the embryonic world of fandom. These well-educated fanboys subsequently became the self-assigned protectors of Sherlock Holmes, anxious that their version of the character not be besmirched or defamed in any way. In spite of this, there was considerable besmirching and defaming to be seen in the early silent films featuring Sherlock Holmes, which effectively turned him into an action hero due to the lack of sound. When sound films took the industry by storm in the late 1920s, there were a numbers of pretenders who reached for the Sherlock Holmes crown, including Clive Brook, Reginald Owen, and Raymond Massey, but it took more than a decade before a new definitive Sherlock Holmes would be crowned in 1939 in the person of Basil Rathbone.

Picking up the trail with the incredibly influential films of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Volume II goes on to explore the antiheroic Sherlock Holmes films of the 1970s, and then the somewhat rocky journey of Holmes into the medium of television (actors Alan Wheatley, Douglas Wilmer, and Peter Cushing all declared their respective TV series as the worst experience of their professional careers). Television finally found its "definitive" Holmes in Jeremy Brett's portrayal for Granada Television, and then the BBC's "Sherlock" had flashed brilliantly across the cultural sky before crashing and burning in spectacular fashion. Still, despite its ignominious end, Benedict Cumberbatch's version of Sherlock Holmes quite literally changed the face of Sherlockian fandom overnight, as studious middle-aged white men now found themselves sharing uneasy ground with a younger, more diverse, and more female audience. Now a full-fledged transmedia phenomenon, Sherlock Holmes can be any gender, ethnicity, or species, and is celebrated in fan fiction and fanvids, as well as conventions that are far more inclusive than Sherlock Holmes societies of the past. Vincent Starrett's poetic notion that Sherlock Holmes is a character "who never lived and so can never die" has never been more true, and the Digital Age promises any number of new versions of Sherlock Holmes to come.

Featuring Contributions by: Stephen Herczeg, Margaret Walsh, Paul D. Gilbert, Will Murray, David MacGregor, Barry Clay, Mike Chinn, Tim Newton Anderson, Ember Pepper (2 stories), Martin Daley, Arthur Hall, Naching T. Kassa, David Marcum, Adrian Middleton, and a poem by Kevin Patrick McCann. 53 New Traditional Canonical Holmes Adventures Collected in Three Companion Volumes Throughout the original Holmes Canon, there were hints and teases of other intriguing cases - The Tarleton Murders . . . The Grice-Paterson Curse . . . The Abernetty Tragedy. Watson mentions over one-hundred-and-twenty of these, which have collectively come to be known as The Untold Cases. Now, once again MX Publishing brings us fifty-three of these adventures in three simultaneously published volumes, with all royalties going to support the Undershaw school for special needs children, located at one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's former homes. "Somewhere in the vaults of the bank of Cox and Co., at Charing Cross, there is a travel-worn and battered tin dispatch box with my name, John H. Watson, M.D., Late Indian Army, painted upon the lid. It is crammed with papers, nearly all of which are records of cases to illustrate the curious problems which Mr. Sherlock Holmes had at various times to examine . . . ." - Dr. John H. Watson So wrote Dr. Watson in "The Problem of Thor Bridge" - and ever since, Sherlockians have been seeking to know more about these tales from the legendary Tin Dispatch Box. While Watson's original Literary Agent only edited the pitifully few sixty stories that make up the original Canon, there have since been literally thousands of traditional adventures about the true Sherlock Holmes - and yet there will never be enough! In 2018, MX Publishing presented Parts XI and XII of this acclaimed and ongoing series, Some Untold Cases, and then in 2020, Parts XXII, XXIII, and XXIV returned to that theme with Some More Untold Cases. Now that concept is revisited with more Sherlock Holmes adventures that further explore those many tantalizing references to some of Holmes's other Untold Cases, as mentioned in The Canon. Join us as we return to Baker Street and discover more authentic adventures of Sherlock Holmes, described by the estimable Dr. Watson as "the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known."

Featuring Contributions by: I.A. Watson, Stephen Herczeg, Paula Hammond, Tracy J. Revels, Tom Turley, Paul A. Freeman, Daniel Lenois, David Marcum, Marcia Wilson, Shane Simmons, David MacGregor, Arthur Hall, Naching T. Kassa, Susan Knight, Alan Dimes, DJ Tyrer, Mike Chinn, Jonathan Schneer, and Chris Chan, with a poem by Kevin Patrick McCann, and forewords by Daniel Stashower, Roger Johnson, Emma West, Steve Emecz, and David Marcum 63 New Traditional Canonical Holmes Adventures Collected in Three Companion Volumes In 2015, the first three volumes of The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories arrived, containing over 60 stories in the true traditional Canonical manner, revisiting Holmes and Watson in those days where it is "always 1895" . . . or a few decades on either side of that. That was the largest collection of new Holmes stories ever assembled, and originally planned to be a one-time event. But readers wanted more, and the contributors had more stories from Watson's Tin Dispatch Box, so the fun continued. Now, with the release of Parts XLIII, XLIV, and XLV, the series has grown to over 900 new Holmes adventures by over 200 contributors from around with world. Since the beginning, all contributor royalties go to the Undershaw school for special needs children, at one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's former homes, and to date the project has raised over $120,000 for the school. As has become the tradition, this new collection of 63 adventures features Holmes and Watson carrying out their masterful investigations from Holmes's life before meeting Watson, to the early days of their friendship in Baker Street, all the way to World War I. Along the way, they are involved in some fascinating mysteries that progress along completely unexpected lines. Join us as we return to Baker Street and discover more authentic adventures of Sherlock Holmes, described by the estimable Dr. Watson as "the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known."

Picking up the trail with the incredibly influential films of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Volume II goes on to explore the antiheroic Sherlock Holmes films of the 1970s, and then the somewhat rocky journey of Holmes into the medium of television (actors Alan Wheatley, Douglas Wilmer, and Peter Cushing all declared their respective TV series as the worst experience of their professional careers). Television finally found its "definitive" Holmes in Jeremy Brett's portrayal for Granada Television, and then the BBC's "Sherlock" had flashed brilliantly across the cultural sky before crashing and burning in spectacular fashion. Still, despite its ignominious end, Benedict Cumberbatch's version of Sherlock Holmes quite literally changed the face of Sherlockian fandom overnight, as studious middle-aged white men now found themselves sharing uneasy ground with a younger, more diverse, and more female audience. Now a full-fledged transmedia phenomenon, Sherlock Holmes can be any gender, ethnicity, or species, and is celebrated in fan fiction and fanvids, as well as conventions that are far more inclusive than Sherlock Holmes societies of the past. Vincent Starrett's poetic notion that Sherlock Holmes is a character "who never lived and so can never die" has never been more true, and the Digital Age promises any number of new versions of Sherlock Holmes to come.

Part XXXIII featuring contributions from: Terry Golledge, Naching T. Kassa, Susan Knight, Martin Daley, Dan Rowley, Marcia Wilson, Tracy J. Revels, Josh Cerefice, Craig Stephen Copland, Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Mark Wardecker, David Marcum, Kevin P. Thornton, Tim Symonds, Tom Turley, David MacGregor, Andrew Bryant, Hugh Ashton, a poem by Alisha Shea, and forewords by Jeffrey Hatcher, Roger Johnson, Emma West, Steve Emecz, and David Marcum Parts XXXI, XXXII, and XXXIII 2022 Annual 61 New Holmes Adventures Collected in Three Companion Volumes. In 2015, the first three volumes of The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories arrived, containing over 60 stories in the true traditional Canonical manner, revisiting Holmes and Watson in those days where it is “always 1895” . . . or a few decades on either side of that. That was the largest collection of new Holmes stories ever assembled, and originally planned to be a one-time event. But readers wanted more, and the contributors had more stories from Watson’s Tin Dispatch Box, so the fun continued. Now, with the release of Parts XXXI, XXXII, and XXXIII, the series has grown to nearly 700 new Holmes adventures by over 200 contributors from around with world. Since the beginning, all contributor royalties have gone to the Undershaw school (formerly Stepping Stones) for special needs children at Undershaw, one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s former homes, and to date the project has raised nearly $100,000 for the school – as well as helping provide a world-wide awareness of its mission. As has become the tradition, this new collection of 61 adventures features Holmes and Watson carrying out their masterful investigations from the early days of their friendship in Baker Street to the post-War years during Holmes’s retirement. Along the way they are involved in dozens of fascinating mysteries, all progressing along completely unexpected lines. Join us as we return to Baker Street and discover more authentic adventures of Sherlock Holmes, described by the estimable Dr. Watson as “the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known.” 61 new traditional Holmes adventures in three simultaneously published volumes The game is afoot! All royalties from this collection are being donated by the writers for the benefit of the preservation of Undershaw, one of the former homes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Part XXXI featuring contributions from: Sean Wright, John Lawrence, I.A. Watson, Kevin Patrick McCann, Arthur Hall, Tim Symonds, Tracy J. Revels, Susan Knight, Hal Glatzer, Thomas Burns, Geri Schear, David Marcum, Robert Stapleton, Gordon Linzner, David MacGregor, Terry Golledge, DJ Tyrer, Steven Herczeg, Dan Rowley, a poem by Kelvin I. Jones, and forewords by Jeffrey Hatcher, Roger Johnson, Emma West, Steve Emecz, and David Marcum Parts XXXI, XXXII, and XXXIII 2022 Annual 61 New Holmes Adventures Collected in Three Companion Volumes. In 2015, the first three volumes of The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories arrived, containing over 60 stories in the true traditional Canonical manner, revisiting Holmes and Watson in those days where it is “always 1895” . . . or a few decades on either side of that. That was the largest collection of new Holmes stories ever assembled, and originally planned to be a one-time event. But readers wanted more, and the contributors had more stories from Watson’s Tin Dispatch Box, so the fun continued. Now, with the release of Parts XXXI, XXXII, and XXXIII, the series has grown to nearly 700 new Holmes adventures by over 200 contributors from around with world. Since the beginning, all contributor royalties have gone to the Undershaw school (formerly Stepping Stones) for special needs children at Undershaw, one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s former homes, and to date the project has raised nearly $100,000 for the school – as well as helping provide a world-wide awareness of its mission. As has become the tradition, this new collection of 61 adventures features Holmes and Watson carrying out their masterful investigations from the early days of their friendship in Baker Street to the post-War years during Holmes’s retirement. Along the way they are involved in dozens of fascinating mysteries, all progressing along completely unexpected lines. Join us as we return to Baker Street and discover more authentic adventures of Sherlock Holmes, described by the estimable Dr. Watson as “the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known.” 61 new traditional Holmes adventures in three simultaneously published volumes The game is afoot! All royalties from this collection are being donated by the writers for the benefit of the preservation of Undershaw, one of the former homes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.