From the mind of the late Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), Dirk Gently’s adventures continue with Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency: A Spoon Too Short from writer Arvind David. If you are unfamiliar with the character he’s a holistic detective who believes in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. He’s weird and unorthodox but he gets the job done with much hilarity throughout. A Spoon Too Short is a wonderful blend of mystery and science fiction that continues the wacky life and career of our oddball protagonist.
Illustrator Ilias Kyriazis and colourist Charlie Kirchoff have done an excellent job in creating a unique and quirky style that brings Dirk Gently and the world around him to life. Kyriazis really knows how to accentuate certain features and make memorable characters stand out, his cover art is brilliantly eye catching and he gets the right amount of sci-fi, noir and comedy in all his pages. We most certainly dig Dirk’s ridiculously big hair. There are also some beautiful variant covers by Robert Hack (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) to get a hold of.
Arvind has done a great job in continuing Dirk’s adventures and keeping the fundamental elements that Douglas Adams created. There are a few weird choices within the character development making it rather unclear whether the creators are trying to make a joke out of objectifying women or if they’re trying to make an excuse for having a female character in a raunchy outfit. They obviously know sex sells, but either way it doesn’t really work as it feels too forced, it’s also the same when characters describe themselves as being stereotypical. These are small hiccups in an otherwise entertaining story, Arvind knows how to grip the audience and with his previous experience writing screen plays he also adds a lot melodrama and spice that’s perfect for this genre.
DIRK GENTLY’S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY: A SPOON TOO SHORT / AUTHOR: ARVIND DAVID / ARTIST: ILIAS KYRIAZIS / PUBLISHER: IDW / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
