So, for those who don’t know, Ellery Queen is an amateur sleuth, created in 1928 or so, and has had numerous print, film, television and probably radio adventures. This issue of Maze celebrates his sixtieth anniversary and gives him a comic book adventure.
I’m vaguely sure Barr mentioned him earlier in the series as a fictional character, which makes his appearance here strange. It’s a gimmick for mystery geeks… not sure there are a lot of those but whatever, Barr actually does quite well.
He establishes the character’s modernized setting quickly, he gives Queen a fun relationship with the leads (Queen admires Jennifer’s abilities while Gabe follows him around like a lapdog) and produces a relatively interesting mystery.
I say relatively because it’s interesting while reading, but immediately forgettable. The guest stars aren’t the suspects–Barr focuses that spotlight on Queen.
Some very nice work from Hughes and Magyar too.
CREDITS
The English Channeler Mystery: A Problem in Deduction; writer, Mike W. Barr; penciller, Adam Hughes; inker, Rick Magyar; colorists, Carol Van Hook and Kevin Van Hook; letterers, Tom Addis and Vickie Williams; editor, David Campiti; publisher, Innovation Publishing.
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