Aetheric Mechanics

Aetheric Mechanics
By Warren Ellis
Illustrated by Gianluca Pagliarani
ISBN: 978-1592910489
Published by Avatar Press

To Sum: A world where Sherlock Holmes meets steampunk. Characters that are very reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes (Sax Raker) and Dr. Watson (Doctor Robert Watcham - just home from a tour of duty on the front), work to solve the murder of several scientists in a case Sax (the Sherlock Holmes character) calls the Case of The Man Who Was Not There.

A good story that is well illustrated. Both writer and artists did their homework. While this is a short graphic novel (coming in at 48 pages), this comes across as a labour of love. There is some slight humor, somewhat subtle.

Some people might be put off that the graphic novel is in black and white, however, their loss.

What To Watch Out For: Eh, not much. There is a war going on, but nothing graphic is shown. The author has a line of "coarse" language, which is immediately apologized for by the speaker. (This does take place in Victorian/Edwardian London, after all. Manners are important.)

All in all, not really offensive, any more than an episode of NCIS or Sherlock Holmes would be.

Where to Shelve: I can see the adults checking this one out more than I can the teens. Not that the teens won't like it, but with it being more Sherlock Holmes like, it would seem to me to appeal to adults more. (Although with the Steampunk influence, the teens might like it more.) The nice thing about this is that it's relatively inexpensive. Yes, it's also short, but the cover price is $6.99.

How I heard of it: It came highly recommended from a dear friend of mine - Mr. Shading. He recommended several titles to me, and this was the first one I've ordered in and had the chance to read.

Other Reviews:

http://paradoxcomicsgroup.blogspot.com/2008/10/graphic-perception-aetheric-mechanics.html
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/11/17/a-whole-bunch-o-graphic-novels-handily-arranged-in-alphabetical-order/
http://geekylibrarian.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/review-aetheric-mechanics/
http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2008/steampunk-propaganda-aetheric-mechanics/
http://www.grovel.org.uk/aetheric-mechanics/
http://justhastobeplausible.blogspot.com/2008/12/aetheric-mechanics-warren-ellis.html
http://www.clandestinecritic.co.uk/2008/10/comic-book-review-aetheric-mechanics.html