Review – Sherlock Holmes Moriarty Lives #2 (of 5) (Dynamite)

Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Writer: David Liss
Artist: Daniel Indro
Release Date: 12th February 2014

If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes on any level, whether from the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books or from the recent Robert Downey Jr. films, I suggest giving this particular book a read. The story seems to pick up right where the movie “Game of Shadows” left off with Moriarty raising out of the waters at the bottom of that long drop he and Holmes took. Moriarty believes Holmes to be dead and with his network or fellow villains out of commission in England he plans to rebuild in this small town in Switzerland.

This issue picks up right where the previous one left off. Moriarty has begun to train Udo in the art of observation and anticipation. Observation to manipulate people and use them for your own gain and anticipation to use against an enemy that attacks who is of superior strength or size. It seems that our dark and sinister Moriarty has developed a soft spot for the boy he unsuspectingly agreed to take care of in the first issue. Moriarty has also begun to build a fictional gang simply known as the “Wolf Pack” as a way to divert the Baron’s attention from him to this new threat.

Writer David Liss does a fantastic job in continuing the intelligent speech and conversational skills of the beloved characters from the novels. The banter back and forth between characters is not far off from what you have seen on screen in the recent films. It’s witty yet delightfully intelligent and intellectual to a certain degree. The character of Moriarty is very well portrayed not only by Liss’ writing skills but also with Daniel Indro’s art. The art is a little rough around the edges and dark at times but I believe it sets the tone well for the time period that the story takes place. For me I think it’s interesting to read from the viewpoint of Moriarty instead of from Holmes. It brings a fresh perspective to the character and I feel the writing allows for the character to stand strong in the leading role. As I stated earlier if you are fan of Sherlock Holmes and the characters involved in his stories, especially his nemesis then definitely check into this book. I’m curious to see where this story will take us and how Moriarty will best the Baron.