Mulholland Books Has an Excerpt from the Graphic Novel Ruse: The Victorian Guide to Murder

Mulholland Books is featuring an excerpt from the graphic novel Ruse: The Victorian Guide to Murder (Marvel, October 2011 trade paperback) on its blog this morning, which prompted us to read up on it a bit more. Though comics have long featured crime-fighting superheroes, we're seeing more and more of them featuring crime-solving characters that would be at home in today's popular mystery books, some even written by bestselling novelists (e.g. Charlaine Harris with her Harper Connelly comics and Janet Evanovich with a comic spin-off of her Metro Girl series).

Ruse: The Victorian Guide to Murder is written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Mirco Pierfederici. The first of four issues collected in the graphic novel was published on March 16, 2011, and introduces Simon Archard, the most intelligent of men, renowned as the Victorian world's greatest detective. But when he crosses paths with the mysterious and enchanting Emma Bishop, has the smartest man in the world met his equal?

Here are the descriptions for the other three issues:

Ruse #2 (April 27th, 2011): Simon Archard has had a long string of partners and assistants, none more talented than Emma Bishop. And she'll need her talent now, more than ever — because there's a murderer in Partington who's targeting all of Archard's allies past and present!

Ruse #3 (May 25th, 2011): The City of Partington teeters on the brink of collapse when a deadly string of gambits leaves Simon and Emma at their wit’s end. The games are afoot as Emma and Simon scramble for clues as to who is behind this conspiracy of chaos!

Ruse #4 (June 15th, 2011): The Great Partington Enigma comes to a close as master detective Simon Archard and his partner, Emma Bishop, find themselves at war with one another while trying to save the city they love! What price will Emma have to pay in order to save Simon from his greatest arch-enemy?

See more images from the comics on the Marvel website.