This September, Titan Comics is releasing the new graphic novel Mycroft Holmes and The Apocalypse Handbook. This novel collects the critically acclaimed comic series led by six-time NBA champion, author, actor, and cultural ambassador Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Mycroft Holmes and The Apocalypse Handbook – based in the word of Abdul-Jabbar’s bestselling Mycroft novel – offers a unique take on the older brother of Sherlock Holmes. At the behest of Queen Victoria and a secret organization at the heart of the British government, Mycroft is pulled into an epic globe-spanning adventure. With a madman on the loose with civilization-destroying weapons, can the smartest man in England set aside his idle, womanizing ways for long enough to track down the foe that may be his match?
Initially, the character of Mycroft only ever appeared in a few of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. Namely, The Greek Interpreter, The Final Problem, The Empty House, and The Bruce-Partington Plan. Since his inception, the character has been adapted in various pieces of literature and media. More recently, Mycroft has gained mainstream popularity through appearances on BBC’s Sherlock and CBS’s Elementary.
“I envisioned him to be a witty and brave man with just a touch of con artist in him, like Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy. I’ve actually created two distinct Mycrofts. The one in the novel is brilliant but still a product of his times: earnest, proper, and naïve. The Mycroft in my comic book is brilliant, but also cynical, subversive, and an adventurer. He has more Deadpool in him than he does Sherlock,” Abdul-Jabbar, said about how this Mycroft differs from earlier versions.
Abdul-Jabbar first read Sherlock Holmes back in high school, but his passion for the series really blossomed during his NBA basketball days. “I became really hooked while playing in the NBA. I would read the stories and novels while traveling to different cities. The long plane rides and tedium of living in hotels was vanquished by my submersion into the nasty crimes 19th Century England. It was my guilty pleasure,” added Abdul-Jabbar.
This graphic novel sees Abdul-Jabbar team with bestselling novelist Raymond Obstfeld (Joker and the Thief), artist Joshua Cassara (New Avengers) and colorist Luis Guerrero (Doctor Who).
Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook will be available from all bookstores and comic shops beginning on September 19.