Moriarty #1

What does Sherlock Holmes' greatest enemy do once his nemesis is dead? Moriarty gets unwillingly pulled into a crazy adventure.

The Good 

From the very first pages you immediately get sucked in. Everyone loves a good villain. Too often, villains come across as too two-dimensional. They're just bad guys that want to rule the world. Having Moriarty narrate the issue allows us to get into his head. He could have had anything with the wealth he accumulated. After Sherlock Holmes was dead, he realized there was actually something missing in his life. Now, twenty years after Holmes' death, he finds himself wondering what comes next. Set in 1914, we see there is more to Moriarty's character. On a single page (where Moriarty's reading a letter) you truly get a sense of how brilliant a character he actually is. That leads to the big adventure in the story, finding the brother of Sherlock Holmes.

Besides the elements of the story, the art does a superb job capturing the mood and feel for the time. The shadows on Moriarty's face speak volumes and you really get a feel of what the atmosphere must be like.

The Bad 

I'm not normally a fan of time-period stories and I'll admit I'm not familiar with a lot of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Despite that, there was something that really sucked me into this comic. In other words, there's nothing bad in my opinion. Those more familiar with the lore of Holmes and Moriarty might question the little changes or the fact that this is twenty years after Holmes' death but for me, the whole thing just worked.

The Verdict 

A new series that anyone can easily jump into. I've never been the biggest Sherlock Holmes fan and might not know the complete history of the characters but just knowing who they were is enough. We get a story of Holmes' greatest villain trying to figure out what to do with himself twenty years after Holmes' death. From the very first pages, we get an incredible amount of insight into the villain's mind. This is clearly a case where things aren't necessarily black or white. Throw in some mystery, suspense and adventure and you'll find yourself wanting to see what Moriarty will do next in his new predicament. Daniel Corey brilliantly weaves an intriguing story and Anthony Diecidue's art fits perfectly to create the characters' look and the atmosphere that pushes the story to the top. I didn't realize I could like a comic based on Sherlock Holmes characters as much as I liked this one.