Victorian Undead: Sherlock Homes vs. Dracula #1
Written by Ian Edginton
Illustrated by Davide Fabbri with Tom Mandrake
Colored by Carrie Strachan
Lettered by Saida Temofonte
Cover art by Ryan Sook
Published by DC/Wildstorm
It’s probably just my own obliviousness, since this is a sequel and all, but did you know that there was a previous Victorian Undead series? Sherlock Holmes vs. zombies? I didn’t. In truth, when this comic showed up in my mailbox, I kind of laughed at it, yet another genre mashup. Cowboys vs. Aliens. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I haven’t actually read any of them. They might be good, but it just doesn’t appeal to me. But here is was, Sherlock Holmes battling Dracula, and it was in my hands.
Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula is, perhaps not surprisingly given Ian Edginton’s name in the credits, a very good genre potboiler. Edginton doesn’t force the action – the set-up is simple, and Holmes involvement makes obvious sense. The titular villain doesn’t appear until the final page, so readers are essentially treated to twenty pages of Holmes’ investigation. Edginton clearly knows his Arthur Conan Doyle.
The art’s fairly strong, with strong character designs and very good page layouts. Fabbri’s able to move the reader’s eye through the page very effectively. The end result is a fun, engaging genre thriller, sharply dialogued, well drawn, and worth the time of any interested reader.
November 23rd, 2010 at 7:29 pm
I agree that it’s a strong book, and I’m proud to have given Ian a few minor suggestions. The earlier issues (zombies and Jekyll & Hyde) are equally as good and well worth reading.
Of course, the Holmes vs. Dracula confrontation has been treated by others as well in this format, notably, the sadly-out-of-print “Scarlet by Gaslight” by Martin Powell and Seppo Makinen (unfortunately b&w graphics).
Les Klinger
Editor, The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes