Review: Moriarty The Patriot Volumes 2-3 by Ryosuke Takeuchi

Rating: 9/10

Volume 2 Synopsis

After successfully establishing a foothold in Durham and cleansing the city of some of its corruption, William James Moriarty sets his sights on London. To make headway there, he needs the aid of his brother Albert. But while on his way to London, William is kidnapped by a gang of criminals! Will Albert be able to save him in time?

Volume 3 Synopsis

Just as everything appears to be going his way, Sherlock finds himself arrested for a murder he didn’t commit in a plot orchestrated by none other than Moriarty! He soon escapes police custody and sets out to clear his name. The victim, Count Drebber, wrote Sherlock’s name in blood before he died, but why? Will Sherlock be able to solve this puzzle and save himself?

Review

Thank you to Viz Media for a review copy of Volume 3 in exchange for an honest review.

I love the whole concept of this series. The stories of Sherlock Holmes told from the perspective of Moriarty and his criminal organization is fascinating in and of itself. That, along with the fantastic artwork and the compelling characters make this a series you dont want to miss.

Throughout these two volumes the story got darker as it went and I enjoyed that. It helped me to root for these characters that are definitely morally grey as they were taking on horrible, horrible people. I really enjoyed that we got to meet Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the 2nd volume. I can’t wait for Moriarty and Sherlock to clash directly as they are one of my favorite rivalries in all of fiction.

I LOVE the artwork in this series and it continues to impress in these two volumes. Not only how the characters look, but the settings and action sequences are so full of life that they truly make the story jump off the page.

I think my only con for these 2 volumes and for this series as a whole is that it can sometimes get a bit bogged down in being too wordy which makes my mind wander and starts to take away my interest at times. However, the other elements that are amazingly well done definitely make up for this and I will definitely be continuing this series with Volume 4!