Victorian Undead #2 Review
Can we tolerate yet another zombie series? Apparently the answer is... yes.
December 23, 2009
I have to wonder if Wildstorm didn't make a mistake in naming this series Victorian Undead. "Sherlock Holmes vs. Killer Robots and Zombies" is much more direct and to the point. No, this is hardly the grittiest or most dour zombie book you'll ever encounter. It is, however, and heck of a lot of fun to read. Despite the criminal lack of robot battling in issue #2, the second installment is even an improvement over the first.
Having been exposed to the hungry undead in issue #1 and seen Her Majesty's soldiers work to cover up the damage, Holmes and Watson are now inexorably drawn to the case. Before jumping into the thick of the carnage, writer Ian Edginton stops to focus on the relationship between the two heroes. He writes a simple little scene where Watson turns Homes' penchant for quick deduction back at him. It maybe a small portion of the book, but I do appreciate Edginton's efforts not to sacrifice characterization in lieu of the more bombastic aspects of the book. His dialogue isn't necessarily as layered or authentic as the better Holmes "fan-fiction" (for lack of a better term) but given that the story isn't entirely serious or even set within the standard Victorian England, such a thing is forgivable.
Edginton has his heroes explore the bowels of London and come face to face with the centuries of history piled on top of one another. It's an effective setting even ignoring the zombies. For comparison, imagine a zombie tale set within the Paris Catacombs. That's two great tastes that taste great together, as far as anything zombie-flavored can taste good. We see plenty of zombie slaughter in this issue, and a few hints of the steampunk culture that Edginton has worked into this world.
Unfortunately, the one true weakness of this series is that the art never does Edginton's script full justice. Davide Fabbri's pencils are attractive and clean, but neither is necessarily the right quality for a zombie story in 19th Century London. The characters are so clean-cut and toned they they seem like actors playing a part rather than convincing renditions of Holmes and Watson. Fabbri can draw a good zombie, but the overall visual tone of the series is just too cheery for its own good.
But that's hardly enough to derail the book. I never knew how much as I wanted to see Sherlock Holmes cleave zombie skulls in twain until I started reading Victorian Undead. The series has already gotten better in issue #2, and if that's who I think it is on the last page, issue #3 will probably be even better still. The game is afoot.
Replies
Bump