Well, here's another development in the annals of east-west comic book relations: it seems that the western-produced, BBC-run series Sherlock is, for whatever reason, getting itself its very own manga adaptation in Japan.

Appropriately titled Sherlock, the manga will be running in Kadokawa's Young Ace magazine, starting on October 4th, and will be illustrated by an artist going under the pseudonym "Jay". Hmmm, finding out who that artist is could be a case for the great detective himself! As for stories, the manga will be picking up the show's first episode "A Study in Pink" to start with. No plans for a western release have been announced.

While adaptations of western live-action properties aren't new (Supernatural got an anime, after all), it's less common for something like this to get a manga adaptation seems more unusual. Most western properties that get an anime are at least partly motivated by the "not-for-kids" mystique that the medium still carries (hence the "anime" projects for Halo, Dragon Age, Marvel comics, etc), so a manga running in a standard Japanese magazine feels more targeted towards the domestic market, and to tap into the whole "detective fad" that spawned countless investigative otaku shows.

That said, I'd still be interested in seeing it cross the pond, just to check how pretty or boyish this "Jay" intends to make Holmes and Watson look. Those two are prime BL material, after all.