Watson, we have just been shown the door by agents of her Majesty's secret service! 
- — Sherlock Holmes
Victorian Undead #1 is an issue of the series Victorian Undead (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 2010. It was published on December 16, 2009.
Synopsis for "Part One: The Star of Ill-Omen"
A strange green glowing comet soars over England in March 1854. From the London slums of Soho, the people are left in awe of this spectacle. Am old crone named Madge sees the comet as a sign of ill-omen. The comet then releases little fragments in which one hits through the slums' local street water pump.
In August, an unknown outbreak has broken out in Soho and killing one hundred and twenty-seven people. At a makeshift hospital, Doctor John Snow and Reverend Henry Whitehead have overseen their latest patient to succumb to the outbreak. Snow discusses with Whitehead about the source of the outbreak, which he believed to have come from the Broad Street water pump. He then notices that there is something bothering Whitehead. The reverend explains that he had heard rumors of the dead were being decapitated after having learned from a direct confession from a young tanner's apprentice, who claimed that he helped his father in mutilating the dead bodies of his dead mother and sister, which they seemingly come back to life and attacked them. After Whitehead said this, the body of their recently dead patient resurrected as a zombie in front of a shocked Snow and Whitehead.
In August 1898, a rich gentleman invited two men of importance to his home for "equally rapacious appetites." He then presses a switch, illuminating the entire room from a hypnotic chandelier. The gentleman is using the chandelier to hypnotize his guests to reveal their secrets. However, one of the gentlemen looks away from the chandelier and takes off his disguise, revealing himself to be Sherlock Holmes. The consulting detective has been investigating the man for mesmerizing Trelawney Hope. Holmes attempts to arrest the man, but the man is surprisingly strong and easily beats him down. Fortunately, Holmes grabs a tableware and throws it at the chandelier, destroying it. The other man, Dr. John Watson, is broken free from his mesmerism and shoots the mesmerizer with his pistol in which the criminal is revealed to be an advanced automaton. Holmes and Watson are perplexed by this technological discovery, in which Holmes deduces from the copper flooring that the machine was being controlled by someone, who personally knows Holmes.
The next day at an underground railway construction yard, two workmen, Ron Baker and Daniel Cobbett, come across a half buried corpse. Ron sees a gold ring on the corpse's hand and greedily attempts to take it. Daniel warns Ron not to pick the ring or touch the body as he believes that it is contaminated from an old plague pit. As the workmen argues, the corpse comes to life and bites into Ron's face. Daniel decapitates the zombie with a shovel and sees to Ron, who then turns into a zombie and also bit his friend. Daniel fights off the undead Ron and repeatedly smashes his head with a hammer. As the shocked workman looks over Ron's body, he is slowly succumbing to the bite.
At 221B Baker Street, Holmes and Watson examine the automaton's head. Holmes is amazed by the sheer craftsmanship to the point that it surpasses any known inventors. He believes that the advanced quality of workmanship involved may help in narrowing the focus of their investigation. Just then, Mrs. Hudson delivers a telegram for Holmes. The telegram is sent by Inspector Lestrade and it reads that Holmes is urgently needed at Scotland Yard.
Holmes and Watson meet Inspector Lestrade, who explains to them what appeared to be a murder between Ron Baker and Daniel Cobbett over a gold ring. But Cobbett died a couple of hours ago from a fever. Holmes questions Lestrade as to why he is summoned over a typical criminal investigation. Lestrade leads Holmes and Watson to a cell and tells Holmes to see for himself. Inside is a zombified Cobbett, restrained in a straitjacket and his head secured in a metal cage.
Lestrade explains that after Cobbett came back to life he was quickly restrained and fortunately no one was injured. Lestrade also has a jar containing the decapitated head of the zombie founded by the workmen. Holmes is now keen on investigating the crime scene. However, they are shortly visited by three Secret Service agents who inform Lestrade that the government is now overseeing the investigation and he must not speak of this to anyone. They also tell Holmes and Watson that they must cease their investigation under threat of imprisonment.
Appearing in "Part One: The Star of Ill-Omen"
Featured Characters:
- Sherlock Holmes
- Dr. John Watson
Supporting Characters:
- Doctor John Snow (1854)
- Reverend Henry Whitehead (1854)
- Inspector Lestrade
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Ron Baker (Dies)
- Daniel Cobbett (Dies)
- Mrs. Hudson
Locations:
- London, England (1854 and 1898)
- Soho
- 221B Baker Street
- Scotland Yard
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Trelawney Hope, as mentioned by Holmes, is the Secretary of State for European Affairs who appears in the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Second Stain. He later appears in full person in issue five.
Trivia
- While Holmes examines the automaton's head, he mentions Charles Babbage, Pierre Jaquet-Droz and Jacques de Vaucanson. Babbage was a mathematician and engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer. Jaquet-Droz and Vaucanson were inventors and creators of early automatons in which the latter was credited for making the world's first true robots.
- Holmes also makes a reference to Edison's Phonograph Doll, which was originally invented by Thomas Edison in 1877.
See Also