Sherlock Frankenstein is found at last! What are his true motivations? Who is Sherlock Frankenstein really? Lucy Weber will find the answers to these questions, and likely more than she bargained for.
Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil #4
Author: Jeff Lemire
Artist: David Rubín
Inker: David Rubín
Colors: David Rubín
Publisher: Dark Horse
What You Need to Know:
After being led on a wild goose chase from Spiral City Asylum, to the homes of former super villains, Lucy Weber, the daughter of Black Hammer, finds herself face to face with Sherlock Frankenstein at last. Will he have the answers she seeks, or will he only raise more?
What You’ll Find Out:
Our story opens with a story. Sherlock Frankenstein recounts his origin to Lucy. A sickly man in 1893, Sherlock Frankenstein devises a way to save his own life through science. After saving his own life and rendering himself effectively immortal, Sherlock Frankenstein becomes a hero in 19th century London. He falls in love with the nurse who treated him while he was sick, and they marry. Soon after, she gets the same illness he had. Sherlock tries to make her immortal in the same he had, but it doesn’t work. Filled with pain and grief after the passing of his wife, Frankenstein forsakes his heroic ways and leaves London to wreak havoc on America. Fighting Spiral City’s best and brightest heroes for years does nothing to fill the hole left by his wife. Though fascinated by the story, it brings Lucy no closure to her father’s disappearance. She pushes him on this and he tells her that the meeting before the fight with the Anti-God was meant to save the heroes. Sherlock Frankenstein realizes that evil and vengeance wouldn’t cure his broken heart, he gives up on crime and he falls for Golden Gail. He goes to face the Anti-God, but all the heroes disappear when Black Hammer strikes the final blow. Lucy refuses to believe that her father is gone. Angered by her inability to let it go as he has, Frankenstein kicks her out into the night. She begins to walk away, but he relents and comes down on a jetpack. Though he still isn’t convinced they’re all alive, he pledges to help Lucy find them in any way he can. He flies away and decides that it may be time for him to be a hero again.
What Just Happened?
Finally seeing the story of Sherlock Frankenstein was pretty stellar. His story was very intriguing and it left me wanting more. I love the Black Hammer universe and to really get a big look into it is very exciting. While it doesn’t give a definite answer as to how the heroes of Black Hammer were lost, it gives us something even better, a compelling and interesting character I want to read so much more about. It makes me very excited to read the next mini-series about Doctor Star. Also worth mentioning is the moody and atmospheric are by David Rubin. This is his finest work on this title and he really closed the story out with a bang.
Rating: 10/10.
Final Thoughts:
My only disappointment with this book is that it is over. I love these characters and I would read so much more of them. I’m sure we’ll probably see more of them in future issues of Black Hammer and its miniseries. Whatever the wait is, it will be too long. I love Black Hammer and I love this book. Nobody builds a universe like Jeff Lemire.