Interesting Interview: Rusty Mason

I have to apologize right up front.  I thought I had interviewed Rusty Mason before now.  A good Sherlockian friend of mine, I was horrified when I realized I never had him be a part of this interview series!  

Many people know Rusty as Steve Mason's son.  To paraphrase The West Wing, he's "the guy the guy counts on."  Overhauling and upkeeping massive websites for The Crew of the Barque Lone Star and The Beacon Society as well as drawing over 500 episodes of Baker Street Elementary should put him on anyone's radar.  But Rusty is a guy that's definitely worth getting to know on his own as well.  Beer connoisseur, fan of every sports team in the Lone Star state (unless they’re from Houston), 221B Con supporter, my Broadway show companion, and a dude that knows a lot about Sherlock Holmes to boot, here is this week's Interesting Interview: Rusty Mason!

How do you define the word “Sherlockian”?

I don't think there is a benchmark for a Sherlockian, so for me it is hard to define. I think it is up to the individual person to determine if they are a Sherlockian or not. That being said, I do believe there are two types of Sherlockians: those who have discovered other Sherlockians and those that have not. 

How did you become a Sherlockian?

Like most people, I read a story or two when I was in school, but I was not hooked then. I started to get serious through my dad, Steve Mason, over a decade ago. He asked me to revise our local society website and help with the art for a little webcomic. From there it just took off.

What is your profession and does that affect how you enjoy being a Sherlockian?

I do information management work as a contractor for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We work on Superfund record management and FOIA. My work does not affect me being a Sherlockian, other that giving me enough time off to travel across the country to Sherlockian events held throughout the year.

What is your favorite canonical story?

I would have to go with the “Five Orange Pips." The fact that our local society, The Barque Lone Star, gets it's name from the story give it a little personal touch. 

Who is a specific Sherlockian that you think others would find interesting?

That is a hard question to answer since I find most Sherlockians interesting. Peter Blau, Brad Keefauver, and Burt Wolder are few that I could spend hours just listening to. If I had to pick one though, I would pick Don Hobbs. I am always amazed at his knowledge and ability to command any room full of Sherlockians. 

What subset of Sherlockiana really interests you?

I have always loved the adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. From the TV shows, movies, comics, and art, I just can't get enough of it. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, it seemed every cartoon that I watched as a kid had an episode related to the great detective. I am intrigued to see how established shows portray Holmes in the series, either the main characters dressing as him or have Sherlock show up in the episode.

How is your experience in Sherlockiana affected by being the son of another Sherlockian?

It's an adventure. He is the one that fully brought me into the world of Sherlock Holmes and a lot of things I have done have been because of him. From reworking our society's and the Beacon Society's websites to illustrating a webcomic for almost a decade, most everything I have done started as an idea from him. 

One of the things that I enjoy being the spawn of a Sherlockian is going to event across the country with him. For those that might not know, my dad hates to fly, so we drive to every Sherlockian event from Texas. Yes, that includes all the way to New York every year. We do make an event of most of the drive we take; going to sporting events or visiting other Sherlockians along the route.

At the Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY

What are some Sherlockian anime that people should know about?

The first Sherlockian anime that I will always recommend is Sherlock Hound (1984-1985). It is a wonderful show that is based in a steampunk technology society with anthropomorphic dogs as the characters. The show is geared towards children, but I still find it quite enjoyable as an adult. The episodes are available on YouTube.

The second one I would recommend is Moriarty the Patriot (2020-2021), which is a different twist on a Sherlockian show since it follows the rise of Moriarty. Moriarty encounters Holmes in the series and a battle of wits between the two is an underlying plot point throughout the show. I enjoy the development of Moriarty's crew (Sebastian Moran/Fred Porlock) that one does not get there other media sources.

The final anime I would recommend is Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape (2019). This is an animated film based off a children's book series from Hong Kong. The film follows Sherlock after he caught and sent a Robin Hood-like outlaw to prison. After the outlaw escapes, his daughter gets kidnapped and needs the help of Holmes to help find his daughter.

What book would you recommend to other Sherlockians?

Well, since I love adaptations/crossovers of the great detective, I will pick one of those. My all time favorite is the a crossover with the Marvel anti-hero Deadpool in the comic series titled Deadpool Killustrated (2013). The basic plot is that Deadpool teams up with Frankenstein's monster on a quest to kill off all literary characters. Sherlock Holmes discovers about the killings and creates his own team to go after Deadpool through different literary worlds. The climatic fight with Deadpool and Sherlock on H.G. Wells's time machine will always be one of my top battles.

Where do you see Sherlockiana in 5 or 10 years from now?

That might be one of the most difficult questions to answer. Look just at our own society, the past 5 years have changed so much. Five years ago, we held in person meetings once a month that had about 20-25 people on average attend. Today, we are almost fully online, other than the quarterly in person dinner. We have about tripled the amount of people coming to the current meetings from 5 years ago. The ability to have so many wonderful people helping out in the meetings and the opportunity to have guest speakers from across world is something that we could only dream of 5 years ago.

With the growth and use of technology over the past few years with Zoom and even Facebook, I can only say that the Sherlockian world will grow and thrive with the ability to reach out and communicate with other much easier that before.