Review by: Connor Russell I've been watching Elementary over the past month now and so am kind of in a phase wanting to read things to do with him. So naturally I jumped at the chance of being able to read the collection of Moriarty, being able to get it all in one hit because I missed out on the single issues. Being able to see an interpretation on the character where he is the focal point over Holmes was indeed refreshing and one I enjoyed quite a bit.
Starting about twenty years after James Moriarty killed Sherlock Holmes, it seems that his thrill for life has come to an end. In fact Moriarty now seems to live as a shadow of what Holmes used to be, he's now a detective albeit a different crowd. Under the guise of “Trumbold”, he is approached by the British Government to locate Sherlock's brother Mycroft. Moriarty gets entangled with the occult and other dark objects of unexplained horror all while trying to stay alive and finish his investigation. I'm trying really hard not to say too much because this is something you want to read with no spoilers.
I am unsure if the author Daniel Corey has done other work in comics before (not that I could find) but I hope that he takes on other projects soon. While there are a lot of similarities between Moriarty and Holmes, I think that's the point. Corey is showing why Moriarty was the perfect nemesis to Sherlock, but he still offers a lot of differences with this character that it doesn't feel the same or re-hashed. For example, at times Moriarty wields a sword and even one time has a gun. There is a stronger action spin with this story. It was also interesting with the side of the occult to it, seeing a man of science and logic going up against those of supernatural origin.
On this run were two artists; Anthony Diecidue and Mike Vosburg. The former was the main artist and definitely my favourite of the two. He has this almost messy, grungy artwork with an overwhelming use of lines but it really suits the mood of the story. My description really cannot do it justice; you seriously need to look it up.
I really found myself enjoying this book, and not just because of my current exposure to Elementary. This book has an amazing team and I hope they do more Moriarty. In fact, just more work together. I can't think of specific genre fan-bases to recommend this to, basically if you have an inkling of interest you should check it out.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Daniel Corey
Artist: Anthony Diecidue and Mike Vosburg
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $29.99
Release Date: 6/19/13