While all stories can be adapted and changed, with stories in the public domain being the most attractive choice, Holmes' death and resurrection make his character special because they serve to retcon (from retroactive continuity) his fictional narrative, a process that cannot be undone. Once Conan Doyle decided that earlier features of Holmes' story were open to interpretation and mutation, it meant that going forward, almost any feature of Holmes' story could be shifted and reinterpreted. The practice of retroactively altering fictional continuities is common to pulp and serialized stories, and Conan Doyle's detective stories were no different in this regard. This will help explain the natural synergy that arises between the character of Sherlock Holmes and comic books, because Holmes' own magical resurrection and mutable continuity is directly in line with the editorial and narrative practices that would arise within the American comic books of the 20th century.

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