Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula

Victorian Undead #2

by Ian Edginton, Davidé Fabbri (Illustrator)

The sequel to the hit VICTORIAN UNDEAD! A year after the defeat of Professor Moriarty’s horde and the fire-bombing of London, restoration is well under way. Yet, from across the sea, ancient eyes cast their hungry gaze upon the still vulnerable capital…Dracula is coming.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Fiction, Vampires, Graphic Novels Comics, Mystery

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2011

About the author

Edginton sees part of the key to his success coming from good relationships with artists, especially D'Israeli and Steve Yeowell as well as Steve Pugh and Mike Collins. He is best known for his steampunk/alternative history work (often with the artist D'Israeli) and is the co-creator of Scarlet Traces, a sequel to their adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. With 2000 AD we has written Leviathan, Stickleback and, with art by Steve Yeowell, The Red Seas as well as one-off serials such as American Gothic (2005).

His stories often have a torturous gestation. Scarlet Traces was an idea he had when first reading The War of the Worlds, its first few instalments appeared on Cool Beans website, before being serialised in the Judge Dredd Megazine. Also The Red Seas was initially going to be drawn by Phil Winslade and be the final release by Epic but Winslade was still tied up with Goddess and when ideas for replacement artists were rejected Epic was finally wound up - the series only re-emerging when Edginton was pitching ideas to Matt Smith at the start of his 2000 AD career.

With D'Israeli he has created a number of new series including Stickleback, a tale of a strange villain in an alternative Victorian London, and Gothic, which he describes as "Mary Shelley's Doc Savage". With Simon Davis he recently worked on a survival horror series, Stone Island, and he has also produced a comic version of the computer game Hellgate: London with Steve Pugh.

He is currently working on a dinosaurs and cowboys story called Sixgun Logic. Also as part of Top Cow's Pilot Season he has written an Angelus one-shot.

http://comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Edgi...

Reviews

[Benjamin Uke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite being warned by British Intelligence, Holmes and Watson continue their investigation and search for where the zombie was discovered. The two dig into the earthwork and find themselves in an underground city dating back to ancient London.

The game is afoot!

2/5. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I just can't look away out of pure morbid fascination.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you liked the first volume you will probably like this one since it follows along in the same vein. I think I enjoyed this one a bit more just because I'm always going to pick vampires over zombies [even though I absolutely loathe the original Dracula novel, #oops]. It was a fun read and I feel like Holmes and Watson are again fairly accurately characterized, but it's still not anything truly outstanding. Although sometimes a light quick read is just what you need.

[Toad Soup · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I were Watson, I would’ve kicked Holmes’ ass the second that man told me we were going after a vampire

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sincerely hope that DC Comics moves forward with this series. The authors had a difficult task incorporating Sherlock Holmes AND an alternate London timeline into the Dracula mythos. However, I believe they pulled off the Hurculean effort quite well and am very excited to see where this new timeline goes. This could turn into an amazing series!

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one more than Sherlock Holmes vs Zombies. It followed Bram Stoker's Dracula to a point but gave the classic a few more interesting twists. Davide Fabbri does the artwork and it is fantastic. This is an entertaining read for a quiet afternoon.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cracking blend of gothic horror and Holmes. I do like a good mash up and this works really well in that subgenre.

[Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

UGHHH okay so i have some things about it.
it might just be because im really horribly autistic about both sherlock holmes and dracula. but. i liked it + thought it was fun btu some of the characterizations were kind of off. godalming would never betray his friends like that, he is passionate as a lover and passionate as a friend and he would support them through and through. similarly, lucy turning into a monstrous being is a classic mischaracterization of her character. mina harker would never have killed herself; she promised she would ask the others too if she had died etc etc but i dont think she would have gone through it because she 1 would have been saved and 2 if not saved she would have been cared for. i also dont think jonathan harker would survive without his wife mina is his life and holiest love and he would've vamped up too. quincey was amazing i loved him. van helsing was surprisingly quiet and normal Man what happened to eccentric autistic rambly grandpa. jack seward was too nice!!! he's an asshole and he's stupid and he's my favorite character ever ever. which kind of upset me that he was Mauled to death by women. Rip fella. god bless women though i love women . the baker street boys were fine
also think that it was kind of fucked up to kill almost all of the dracula cast. what the heck man.
UGHHH but it's literally okay because it was so beautiful

[Tiffany Lynn Kramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

...
As wonderful as the first Victorian Undead was and as subpar as the special turned out to be Sherlock Homes vs. Dracula falls someplace in the middle. For every panel of good artwork there is one that is lacking. With the sudden death of Mina, dear Lucy is giving a brief moment to shine only to promptly disappear. Then there is the ending, what should have come across as dramatic felt rushed and lazy. If this series was to continue I would likely give it one more go as I still love the core idea but as it stands I don't feel heartbroken at the possibiliy of this being the end either.

[Lucas Sierra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nada realmente memorable, creo que un gigantesco "meh" es el resumen pefecto. El escenario del pastiche es una Inglaterra en proceso de reconstrucción a la que arriba Drácula. Sherlock Holmes debe peseguirlo.

No le temo a lo absurdo de ninguna propuesta, confío en el "cómo", no en el "qué" de la experiencia artística. Creo que mi problema está en que ni Holmes es Holmes ni Drácula es Drácula.

Pese a lo anterior, sirvió la lectura para acompañar la pausa del almuerzo.

[Kay's Pallet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun retelling of the Dracula story. However, that's exactly what it was: a retelling. There wasn't anything new or unique, besides Sherlock being in the story. But having Sherlock in the story took away what little mystery there was left. Idk, it was fun and enjoyable, but nothing new.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the first volume in the Victorian Undead series, my expectation regarding Ian Edginton's writing had grown by leaps & bounds. Hence, this volume, and a rapid reading. The book actually contains two adventures. The first one, immediately after the zombie-menace, deals with the problem of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The second one, covering major part of the book, deals with the machinations of Dracula. Both were wonderful (from my perspective, for a puritan they would be horrifying considering the liberties that have been taken in deviation from the original novels). The first one was a little crammed by the drawings. The second one was awesome, with the devil being realised in details. I also found Lucy's outburst to be very genuine, and I am sure many a scholar must have already interpreted women's lib in their self-induced victimisation by Dracula. Nevertheless, even without such weighty issues, the stories are terrific in their portrayal of Holmes: whom we get to see as the best and the wisest men. Highly recommended.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this volume of Victorian Undead Sherlock meets both Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde although Hyde's story has been changed a little bit so that he is undead and closer to a Revnant when in his Hyde state. I liked the twist on the story on the Jekyll Hyde tale and felt bad for Jekyll at the end. The Dracula story was darker and left a little bit unfinished so there is room for a sequel. It was interesting to read about Jekyll teaming up with the characters of Dracula. For some reason I convinced myself he would get along better with the Professor. The artwork is very crisp and clean although every once in a while they will use a funny angle and it will be difficult to see exactly what is going on.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, I love the idea and the artwork. I don't feel like the dialogue was quite as fun as the first Victorian Undead, but I enjoyed seeing all the characters from Stoker's Dracula come together. Though the portrayal of Van Helsing as so inferior to Holmes got my hackles up, I guess there can only be one true hero. One thing I don't get is why Eucharist wafers work against Dracula when holy water doesn't. It's the same principle. . That kind of ruined the climax of the story for me. Still, these comics are great and I hope they do Frankenstein's monster next!

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Victorian Undead II: Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula" (DC, 2011) jatkaa mestarisalapoliisin seikkailuja yliluonnollisen parissa. Ian Edgintonin käsikirjoitus nivoo kohtalaisen onnistuneesti yhteen Bram Stokerin ja Arthur Conan Doylen luomat kirjalliset maailmat. Sarjan ensimmäisen osan lukeminen ei ole välttämätöntä, mutta se on suositeltavaa, sen verran tiiviisti siihen viitataan.

Sarjakuva-albumi sisältää myös lyhemmän tarinan, jossa Holmes ja Watson selvittelevät tohtori Jekyllin tapausta.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this one to be even better than the first, which is saying something because I very much enjoyed the over-the-top-ness of Sherlock Holmes vs. Zombies. It had a great interweaving of the Sherlock Holmes universe with a twist on Stoker's classic Dracula. I'm definitely a sucker for that kind of thing, and I wasn't disappointed.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good graphic novel however "Victorian Undead I" set the bar too high. The drawings are not on the same level than the first volume.
But oh well, Holmes keeps kicking butts and that’s all that matters.

[Emory Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this isn't anything amazing or special, I do love the combination of various mythologies; zombies, vampires, Van Helsing, Sherlock Holmes. It's a fun uncomplicated read. Not for people who don't enjoy violence and gore however as there is a fair bit of murder and blood.

[Annji · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes and Abraham Van Helsing working together to bring down Dracula? Get in! Keeping my eye out in the library for the first in this series.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't need anything else.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not up to the same standards as "Sherlock Holmes vs. Zombies" but still an entertaining match up. I think I enjoyed the first story with Jekyll and Hyde more though.

[Kabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
I liked the art but the stories fell a bit too flat for my liking.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun follow up to SH vs Zombies. There is even a mini story of his battle with Jekyll and Hyde. Brilliant artwork. Amusing dialogue. A good time read.

[Darko Šunjić · Rating 3 out of 5]

Početak je zanimljiv.. Kasnije se malo razvodni radnja i sam kraj mi i nije nešto.. Simpatično ali ništa posebno...

[Max Rudd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, Although many of the ideas felt 'borrowed' from Loren D. Estleman's novelisations of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes" and "The Case of the Sanguinary Count." Enjoyable, but glad I didn't pay full price for it.