posted by @HeyItsKamo

Rad-tober is staggering right along; we’re three installments in and have plenty more horror coming your way. Today we’re going to take a look at a pretty creepy, but overall awesome comic book- it’s what would happen if zombies invaded Victorian era England… and then Sherlock Holmes took the case.

A six-issue series published by Wildstorm (Stormwatch, The Authority), Victorian Undead follows everyone’s favorite British detective, Sherlock Holmes, as he and his trusty partner Dr. Watson try and solve their most deadly case yet: the Case of the God Damn Zombie Apocalypse.

Written by Ian Edginton (Scarlet Traces, The Red Seas) and drawn by Davide Fabbri (Star Wars, Starship Troopers: Insect Touch, Batman: Arkham Unhinged), the duo gives us a look at what a zombie outbreak would look like in 1800s London.

I’m strictly going to stick to issue one in this post, since it builds the story and sets the tone for the rest of the series, but I would recommend trying to get your claws on the rest of the issues; it’s one heck of an entertaining comic book run.

So we start off in London, 1854. A gigantic glowing thing is heading towards Earth at alarming speeds. The London townsfolk are standing outside, heads to the sky, dumbfounded at the sight they’re witnessing. An old hag speaks up, claiming it’s an ill omen and blah, blah, blah no one gives a shit, lady. It’s a pretty green ball of light, and those townsfolk are going to be damned if this old broad (who’s clearly a witch. I mean, if anyone is going to know about ill omens and the sort, it’s this chick) is going to ruin their good time.

Remember, there was no television in 1854 (I think), so this was basically the Super Bowl for these 19th century Londoners.

So the comet breaks apart over London and lands all over the place. Fast forward five months, and hundreds of people are dead from some strange sickness (hmm…). A doctor and priest are talking about what’s going on over the lifeless corpse of a previously healthy prostitute- they think the sickness is coming from the water supply. Rumors have spread that some of the dead have been coming back to life, and the good doctor and holy man get a glimpse of this first hand.

Cut to a fancy party scene. A strange, unnamed man is throwing a party in an upscale neighborhood, where he tells his (all male) guests, “Trust me when I say this house caters for tastes both dark and extreme! What is done within these walls, remains with these walls.” So it turns out Sherlock Holmes and Watson are at the party and are there to get blowjobs put an end to this guys good time. Holmes removes his disguise and tries to fight the party host. Somehow, this guy turns out to be a robot (?) and Watson shoots the Hell out of him before he finally falls, dead. Or broken. Because, you know, he’s a robot.

Cut to a mine or something… definitely a mine. Two guys find a dead body wearing a gold ring. You can probably see where this is going- the ring is on the hand of a body, the body turns out to be a zombie, the zombie bites the one guy, that guy turns into a zombie, his un-zombified friend is forced to kill him but not before getting bit himself. At some point, the police find the scene and call up Holmes to investigate.

Holmes and Watson travel to Scotland Yard, where the dead bodies from the mine are being held. The one dead guy is alive, but restrained in a straitjacket with a cage over his head. Watson does some tests and it’s revealed that, yep, this fucker’s dead but somehow still alive. Just before Holmes is about to deduce what’s going on, the British Secret Service (in the 1800s? who knew?) arrive and kick everybody out, warning them not to talk about the strange display they just witnessed or else.

Ok, let’s recap issue one: comet lands on Earth, people start getting sick, the dead start coming back to life, Sherlock Holmes fought a robot that was going to give him a blowjob or something, zombie plague/sickness begins to spread, Holmes and Watson are called to investigate some strange zombie happenings, the Secret Service shows up and shuts the investigation down. Sounds pretty good, right?

Due to the popularity of the first run, there’s a second series of Victorian Undead (Victorian Undead II: Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula), where Holmes takes on an army of vampires and undead monsters, all led by mother fucking Dracula.

If you’re looking for a weird twist on the tired old zombie story this Halloween season, I suggest picking up this series. It’s elementary, my dear readers.

Like this post? Fucking hate it? Let Mike know in the comments section!