Sunday, August 7, 2016

Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook #1

   A little over a year ago my friend Steve Saffel, an editor with Titan Books, told me about a new book they were publishing: Mycroft Holmes, starring Sherlock's amazing brother.

   He asked, "Guess who wrote it?" I had no clue.

   He smiled. "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar."

   I'm enough of a sports fan to know that Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest basketball players of all time - and an extremely smart and knowledgable guy.

   So sure, why not?

   For those of us who haven't had a chance to read the novel yet, Titan Comics has adapted the story into a new comic.

   Now, centering an adventure around Mycroft has to be tricky, because he doesn't like adventure at all. Sherlock maintains the his brother is actually smarter and more perceptive than the master detective, but Mycroft prefers to sit around the club and enjoy good food and drink.

   The story gets around this (somewhat) by setting the adventure during Mycroft's college days (such as they are). He's pompous, intelligent, a hedonist - and almost impossible to get the better of.

   He's not likable at all - but he's certainly fascinating.

   The story includes an odd McGuffin - a strange, deadly weapon that seems more science fiction than Victorian artifact - but we'll see how that mystery unfolds.

   The art is very good, with strong layouts and a "warts and all" view of the era.

   So far, I'm enjoying this series, and I'm anxious to see where it goes from here. Maybe I need to track down my copy of the novel...

Grade: A-

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