A review by lesbrary
Honor Among Punks - The Complete Baker Street Graphic Novel by Gary Reed

2.0

I was definitely intrigued by the idea of a queer women punk Sherlock Holmes retelling graphic novel set in an alternate steampunk-ish London (whew). Unfortunately, I wasn't really enjoying it at first. The worldbuilding promised by the intro seemed to be mostly missing from the comic itself—this is a world where WWII never happened and WWI only happened to a smaller extent. But the setting of the rival punk gangs' clubs seemed almost timeless, and there were only small moments that made me remember this is supposed to be an alternate 90s London. The tone is dark, messy, and violent—not quite the tidy closed-room puzzle-solving mystery I think I was expecting.

[trigger warning for transmisogyny] When I found out that there is trans representation in this comic, I was immediately more interested. The terminology ("transvestite") and general language used by the main character was cringeworthy, but this was written in the early 90s, so I was giving it a bit of leeway for addressing this at all. Unfortunately, the trans woman character didn't seem to have much of a personality except for being perpetually enraged or annoyed. I was hoping that her character would get more fleshed out later in the book, which I would regret, because she does get more time in the comic:

Spoiler

as a serial killer, who then kills herself (including cutting off her penis).

I don't think her portrayal was meant to be malicious--they do discuss her character as being complex, but regardless of intent, this is an awful portrayal. There is a very minor character (she is in one scene and gets a few lines) who is a trans woman and is gentle and kind, but that's not enough to cancel out the main story line.