Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” 125 years ago this year, and it is regarded as a classic. There have been many adaptations of the main story, but what about what happened after Stevenson’s story ended? Was Hyde killed by police? In “The Strange Case of Mr. Hyde” by Cole Haddon, from Dark Horse Comics, we find out what “really” happened.
Two issues (of 4) have been released to date, and so far the story is quite interesting in many ways. After the initial introduction of Jekyll and a brief reminder of the original story, the action moves forward five years. There has been a killing similar in style and circumstances to those committed by Hyde, and Inspector Thomas Adye gets pulled into a mystery that not only includes Jekyll and Hyde, but possibly another well known criminal, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
It turns out that Hyde was not killed, but has been kept in a special prison cell for the last five years. He is supposedly cured, with Jekyll as the dominant personality. Adye arranges to talk to Jekyll, hoping that he can help with the current investigation.
It is here that my one disappointment happens. This reminds me a little too much of “Silence of the Lambs.” I love that movie, and some similarities would be fine, but it just seems too much like the film. The good news is that later Adye’s dealings with Jekyll do become different, and the action once again starts to build.
The second issue gets into the meat of the investigation, and there starts to be clues that point toward a possible identity for the current killer. I don’t want to ruin the story, as it is an interesting mystery. The later pages of this issue have even more action, as Adye has taken Jekyll with him to confront a suspect. This is definitely the highpoint of the issue, and propels the reader into the third issue, which will be released in late June.
The artist for this series is M.S. Corley, and the work is quite nice. The colors, shading, and background all help with the setting, and the characters have a nice range of emotions. I was especially impressed with Jekyll, as his expressions are definitely mischievous as you might expect from someone playing a deadly game.
I believe this story to be a nice homage to Stevenson, as it feels as if he could have written this tale himself. It is interesting, and moves at a nice pace. I recommend this tale to anyone who likes classic tales, particularly a good mystery.
