Webcomic / Signs Of Three

Signs Of Three is an ongoing crime/mystery webcomic by AuthorLoremIpsum, and a contemporary update of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

The comic aims to update the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson into the modern day, whilst simultaneously introducing LGBTQ+ themes and similar diversity absent in the original tales.

It can be read here.

This webcomic provides examples of:

• Adaptational Name Change: Lestrade's full name is listed as "Arie Greyson Lestrade", but he goes by his middle name.
  • Compare the original, who was only known as "G. Lestrade".
• Aerith and Bob: Sherlock and John.
  • And the former's parents, Concord and Grace.
• An Arm and a Leg: Watson lost the lower half of his right leg whilst serving in Afghanistan.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Sherlock is stated as having ADHD by the author.
• Caption Humor: The Alt Text alternates with quotes from the stories relevant to the situation, or humorous phrases about the page.
  [On a page featuring a married lesbian couple]
  Caption: Good thing about modern Holmes stories: we can make it GAY :D
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The speech bubbles are coloured depending on who is speaking.
  • So far, we've had Red (John Watson), Blue (Sherlock Holmes), Pink (Mrs. Hudson), Green (Lestrade), and Yellow (Stamford). Minor characters also have their own signature colours.
• Coming-Out Story: After accepting the deal for 221b Baker Street, Sherlock confesses that he is transgender, which - to his delight, expressed by cute dancing stick-men - Watson is utterly unbothered by.
• Corrupt Church: Scarlet mentions that her late girlfriend Lucy's church was "like a cult", controlling the town and virulently homophobic.
• Ditzy Genius: Invoked, as with many incarnations of Sherlock Holmes. This one things of his mind as a tool box, only keeping the most valuable and helpful "tools" inside it.
  Watson: You're an expert biochemist...but you've never seen Doctor Who?
  Holmes: The mind is a toolbox with limited space, Watson! Why would I keep aliens in my toolbox?
• The Gambling Addict: Watson, who states that his gambling habit is part of the reason why it's impossible for him to stay in pleasant accommodation for too long.
• Gender Flip: The male Stamford of A Study in Scarlet becomes one Michelle Stamford.
• Inspector Lestrade: DI Lestrade himself.
• Mythology Gag: Has its own page.
• Old Friend: Invoked in the first chapter of Book One, in which Watson runs into an old friend from medical school, who subsequently introduces him to Sherlock Holmes.
  • Likewise, running into another old friend kicks off the plot of The Fangs of Sussex.
• Race Lift: Whilst the Watson of the books is depicted as Caucasian, here he is a black man.
  • Likewise, police detective Tobias Gregson also goes from white to black.
  • Word of God states that Mrs. Hudson is Asian in this adaptation.
• Sherlock Scan: Several examples.
• Suspect Existence Failure: During A Study of Scarlet, barely an hour after Holmes & Watson investigate a suspect, Inspector Gregson discovers he has been murdered.
• Vlog Series: An in-universe example; Watson keeps a vlog about his life, including moving into 221b with Holmes.