Comic Book Review: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: A Spoon Too Short, by Arvind Ethan David and Ilias Kyriazis

Title: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: A Spoon Too Short

Author: Arvind Ethan David

Illustrator: Ilias Kyriazis

Publisher: IDW Publishing

Date of Publication: October 11, 2016

Number of Pages: 120

*I've received an ARC of the book via Netgalley. Thank you to the publisher.

Summary

After the many and conflicting versions of the legendary Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams created Dirk Gently: a detective with a belief in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things, a troubled relationship with the laws of probability and quantum physics, and a love of cats and pizza.

After the events of Dirk Gently s Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea Time, but prior to the detective s relocation to California in The Interconnectedness of All Kings, Dirk finds himself investigating a bizarre case of poaching, dumbstruck tourists, and the inner membranes of a rhinoceros nose."

Review

As a fan of both Douglas Adams and Ilias Kyriazis, I was so eager to get my hands on Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: A Spoon Too Short. Having not read the novels, I can’t really judge if the character was consistent with them. However, I could see Douglas Adams’ influence in the dialogue and I rather enjoyed the dry humour. This comic book takes place after the novel Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul and right before the events of the comic book The Interconnectedness of All Kings.

Dirk Gently is a holistic detective that strongly believes that everything is connected. Therefore, a mysterious case of a family that has lost all means of communication becomes strangely connected to illegal rhino poaching in Kenya. For the most part, I enjoyed the story and I was fully engaged for the ride. Yet, the final resolution felt like it was missing something as I couldn’t really understand how the cases ended up connecting to one another.

My favourite part of the comic book was definitely the scenes that every issue begins with. In these scenes, we get a glimpse of young Dirk and how he comes to terms with his powers. Some of the things that he had to go through were actually horrifying.

Finally, I would like to talk about the art style of the comic book. As I’ve already mentioned, I’m familiar with the work of Ilias Kyriazis and I love it. I’m not sure if and how many of his own comic books are translated into English as I’ve read them in their original language, which is Greek. In any case, I found that his particular style was a great fit for the story. I have to comment though that I wasn’t a big fan of Sally dressing up as a sexy nurse as it was an opportunity for some panels that felt a bit too objectifying.

All in all, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: A Spoon Too Short was a great comic book. If you enjoy the dry humour of Douglas Adams, then you will definitely like it!