Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook

Basketball legend and Sherlock Holmes enthusiast Abdul-Jabbar and frequent collaborator Obstfeld up the steampunk quotient in this graphic novel set in the world of Abdul-Jabbar’s 2015 novel, Mycroft Holmes. Brother Mycroft is the classic ne’er-do-well, a carousing womanizer, boozer, and gambler who seems to be wasting his considerable mental gifts. He soon becomes involved in a government effort, helmed by Queen Victoria, to recover plans for weapons of mass destruction and save the world. This mission takes him on a romp to the United States, where he teams up with a formidable woman bounty hunter. This is not a sober incarnation of the Holmes universe, but an over-the-top, visually bombastic action potboiler peppered with pithy dialogue and saucy set-ups. Drawing in a somewhat generic adventure comics style, artist Cassara (The Falcon) manages to capture the weird details with flair, although the storytelling is often flat. If the adventure is in danger of becoming too glib, the smooth writing and Abdul-Jabbar’s knowledge of the material save the day, adding believable human depths to the seemingly shallow Mycroft. (Sept.)