Sherlock Sam and the Comic Book Caper in New York
Page 9
Subway—The New York City subway system is one of the world’s oldest and most used public transit systems. It is also the system with the most stations and the most track, covering four of the boroughs of New York (Staten Island is the only borough not covered). It is open 24 hours per day, 365 days a year, unless there is a breakdown.
Tacos El Gordo—A restaurant in San Diego that serves authentic Mexican tacos. Highly recommended by Adan and Felicia.
Times Square—A neighbourhood in the heart of Manhattan famous for its shopping and theatre district, and very bright lights.
Tipping—A practice in the US of leaving money behind for your waiter or waitress’ excellent service (usually 15% to 20% of the total bill).
Uncanny valley—A hypothesis which says that almost human features on a non-living entity can cause feelings of discomfort in people. Examples can include robots, dolls, aliens, and CGI characters.
West Village—A neighbourhood in lower Manhattan that evolved naturally in the earliest days of the city, before the grid plan was implemented. It has many side streets that curve and wobble, and Adan and Felicia have got lost there many times before the invention of Google Maps.
ABOUT THE CHARACTERS
SAMUEL TAN CHER LOCK a.k.a. SHERLOCK SAM
A 10-year-old detective who tends to bite off more than he can chew, Sherlock Sam loves superheroes and comics. His heroes are Sherlock Holmes, Batman, Agent Coulson and his dad. Exceptionally curious and intelligent, Sherlock cannot resist a perplexing mystery, not even when it can get him in trouble.
WATSON
Less than two years old, Watson behaves more like a grumpy old man though he has remarkable similarities to a sulky toddler. He is often reluctantly drawn into Sherlock’s misadventures. Watson secretly wants to join S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Science division and create an army of like-minded robots.
WENDY
Wendy, Sherlock’s 11-year-old sister, can be a tomboy. Her arch-nemeses are mosquitoes and broken colour pencils, She is a talented artist and her favourite colour is green. Her Chinese is terrible.
JIMMY
Sherlock’s classmate, Jimmy, seems to have the super power to fall down without injuring himself. His enthusiasm for everything is infectious and no one can stay mad at him for long (that might be his other super power).
NAZHAR
Nazhar is a bookish boy who loves reading about history and is the big brother of the group. He is trying to learn more about the outdoors from Eliza but, unfortunately, Nazhar has a horrible sense of direction.
ELIZA
Eliza is an only child. Her parents have recently divorced which was very difficult for her. Though sometimes sarcastic and mean, Eliza has become a true ally of Sherlock Sam and a member of the Supper Club. She really loves My Little Pony and neat hair.
DAD
A brilliant engineer, Sherlock’s dad is constantly working on top-secret experiments. He cannot concentrate unless he is chewing on Red Vines, a twisty liquorice candy. He has never stopped reading superhero comics because he thinks that everyone needs heroes, no matter how old they are.
MOM
Sherlock’s mom is half-Peranakan and a genius in the kitchen. She loves reading books by Jane Austen and enjoys watching superhero movies more than she lets on— especially those featuring Black Widow.
OFFICER SIVA
Officer Siva is an experienced and insightful police officer with the Singapore Police Force, but he cannot work without his morning kopi. A trusted ally of Sherlock Sam, Officer Siva is studying Spanish because he’s addicted to telenovelas. He hopes they’ll be the new Korean dramas in Singapore.
MORAN
Moran used to belong to the Fiendish Mastermind, but now lives with Jimmy, his sisters, his Mama, and Auntie Gina. Unlike Watson’s robotic voice, Moran sounds almost human. He also has an amazing moustache.
INSPECTOR GENEVIEVE LESTRADE
A somewhat unorthodox INTERPOL agent from France who loves to cosplay randomly. Officer Siva calls her “conspicuously inconspicuous”. Some of her previous costumes include: fire hydrant, mini-Eiffel Tower, and bakery shop.
THE DARK DEFENDER
Not much is known about the Dark Defender except that she appears at night to help victims of crime. She dresses all in black, and her secret identity is unknown to all except Sherlock Sam. She is very smart and well trained.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
A.J. Low is a husband-and-wife writing team!
Adan Jimenez was born in the San Joaquin Valley in California to Mexican immigrant parents. He became an immigrant himself when he moved to Singapore after living in New York for almost a decade. He has worked for comic book stores, book stores, gaming stores and even a hoagie sandwich shop once. He loves comics, LEGOs, books, games (analog and video), Doctor Who and sandwiches.
Felicia Low-Jimenez has been a geeky bookseller for most of her adult life. She has bought books, sold books, marketed books and now she is trying her hand at writing books. She loves to nap and eat chocolate. She spends most of her free time reading, and, when she can afford it, she travels, usually to look for beautiful bookstores around the world.
Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong won the International Schools Libraries Network’s Red Dot Award 2013-2014 in the Younger Readers’ Category. Sherlock Sam and the Ghostly Moans in Fort Canning took third place in the Popular Readers’ Choice Awards 2013 in the English Children’s Books category.
You can find them at sherlocksam.wordpress.com, facebook.com/SherlockSam Series and sherlock.sam.sg@gmail.com
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Andrew Tan (also known as Drewscape) is a full-time freelance illustrator and an Eisner-nominated comic artist. He illustrates for print ads, magazines and also enjoys storyboarding and illustrating for picture book projects. During his free time, he’s always creating his own comics for the fun of it. In his home studio you’ll find an overflow of art tools of all kinds as he loves experimenting with them. He already has too many fountain pens and tells himself that he will stop buying more. Andrew published his first graphic novel, Monsters, Miracles & Mayonnaise, in 2012.
ALSO IN THE SERIES
Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong
Sherlock Sam and the Ghostly Moans in Fort Canning
Sherlock Sam and the Sinister Letters in Bras Basah
Sherlock Sam and the Alien Encounter on Pulau Ubin
Sherlock Sam and the Vanished Robot in Penang
Sherlock Sam and the Cloaked Classmate in MacRitchie
Sherlock Sam and the Stolen Script in Balestier
Sherlock Sam and the Fiendish Mastermind in Jurong
Sherlock Sam and the Obento Bonanza in Tokyo
QUANDARY IN QUEENSTOWN
AND ADVENTURES IN ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS!
Look out for the next two books in the Sherlock Sam series as the adventures of the Supper Club continue!
In Sherlock Sam and the Quantum Pair in Queenstown, strange and impossible phenomena manifest near Dad’s office. The Supper Club is immediately activated and Sherlock suspects that the weirdness is caused by alternate realities bleeding into his own. Can Sherlock, Watson, and the rest of the Supper Club stop worlds from colliding? Or will they face a crisis of infinite Watsons spouting sarcasm everywhere they turn? Find out in the next exciting exploit of Sherlock Sam!
In Sherlock Sam’s Orange Shorts, you’ll get a glimpse at some of these alternate realities yourself, as we visit different versions of the gang throughout space and time, from Onay-359 and an Ancient Land That Was Not China to the town of Tumbleweed and a Place That Is Not on Any Map. See Nazhar, Moran, Wendy, Mom and Dad, Officer Siva and Inspector Lestrade, Jimmy, Eliza, Watson, and Sherlock Sam as you’ve never seen them before! Will Sherlock’s orange shorts escape unscathed?!