1874. The whole world is in grave danger from deadly, highly advanced weapons, and Mycroft Holmes is on a mission from Queen Victoria to halt their spread at any cost! In search of the purloined Apocalypse Handbook, Mycroft Holmes and Lark Adler criss-cross the United States, facing danger and intrigue at every turn. But what does the latest heist of Jesse James and his band of outlaws have to do with their quest? What secrets is Lark hiding in her past? And what traumas and triumphs have shaped Mycroft into the man he is today…?

This issue is less packed with incident than the previous ones, though there is a scene of prolonged nudity and one more gruesome death –­ and prepare to hold on to your stomach as Mycroft, Lark and their young charge Kerry are forced to hide in an excrement-splattered outhouse!

For the most part, though, this issue is about the main characters getting to know each other. “You want to know why I drink and gamble and immerse myself in the passionate company of energetic women?” says Mycroft to Lark. “Because they are pleasant distractions from the soul-crushing predictability of everyone and everything. Otherwise, I should most definitely go insane from the colossal sameness of everything.”

We experience another brief flashback to Mycroft’s past, and we learn the origins of Lark Adler – though not whether she has any connection to the Conan Doyle character Irene Adler. Amusingly, Mycroft’s heckling voice manifests itself as a physical presence within Lark’s recollections, cross-examining her about some of the details.

Just as certain characters seem about to settle down, they are thrust back into danger once again – just in time for the concluding episode next issue…

8

Richard McGinlay