Horror has recently found a fascination in remaking the Victorian age of literature. We've seen novels parodying Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, and now we have a creation from Ian Edginton and Davide Fabbri pitting Sherlock Holmes and Watson against mindless zombies. Do we have a fascination in debauching (in a good way) the classics?
Perhaps. And of course, Edginton and Fabbri create chaos in Victorian London throughout this first issue of this six-part series, crafting a fairly familiar storyline about a radioactive meteor that falls from the sky to create zombies. Edginton's story for this issue is more focused on the zombie plague that is spreading throughout London more than it is on incorporating Holmes into the chaos. While it gives us a slight understanding of the menace that works its way through the land, I couldn't help but wish for Holmes to get right into the thick of the plot. By the time Holmes and Watson are alerted to the presence of the undead, 44 years has apparently passed from the time of the first zombie. It would seem as though, because of the story's portrayal of the infection, that a multitude of zombies would be running amok by this time.
But with this qualm aside, Edginton's take on Holmes' investigations is rather interesting. If a zombie outbreak were to occur in Victorian London, it makes sense that Holmes would be called to uncover the mystery before anyone else. Yet I'm very interested to see how the story pans out, especially since I see Holmes as more of a frail detective type than a strong and battling character, which is normally required for survival. To be frank, I hope to see Edginton explore the more strategic side to Holmes' zombie survival rather than a tête-à-tête.
Fabbri's drawing style is good as well. His zombies are gruesome because of their immediate shift in pallor after death; they take on a blue-ish tinge that scares because of its sheer wrongness. The violence isn't overly graphic, but the comic does have its moments. The long setup at the start of issue 1 allows for Fabbri to have his fun with grotesqueries, but the stand-out work here is the cover, full of maggots and rotting flesh. It immediately draws the reader.
While Victorian Undead takes a while to get to Holmes himself, the zombie opening allows the reader to get right into the action. If you're not feeling the story in the opening ten pages, you'd best put this comic series down and start another. But if Sherlock Holmes fighting zombies is a draw to you, this series is worth the first issue. I would really like to see what Edginton and Fabbri can do in the next 5 issues of the series, because they have crafted a compelling read here.
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