The fourth installment in the Liverpool Demon story is here. Does it continue to be a fun story featuring the world’s greatest detective? (I apologize Batman.)

Here’s the official description from Dynamite:

Drummond, now on the run, seeks shelter in Hitchcock’s Menagerie, but how long will it be before Inspector Thornton tracks him down? The final piece of the puzzle falls into place for Holmes as he and Watson return to the scene of Tom Christian’s murder. Yet the route they take is far from straight and perhaps more dangerous than even the Great Detective could imagine.

Interestingly, the Liverpool ‘demon’ is more of a background force in this issue. Holmes is definitely the driving force of the issue, delivering the best lines. The action is gritty and all around this issue issue demonstrates pretty much how a Sherlock Holmes story written today should look.

The writing team of Leah Moore and John Reppion seem to be really having fun writing Sherlock Holmes. His lines are witty (“Next? Why, we descend and hunt Tom Christian’s killer, of course! “) and fun. Of course, the best parts are the mild arguments between him and Watson while going through the hidden tunnel. The action really gets gritty, as a man is pretty much beaten to death and thrown into where the wolves are. While reading however it is easy to forget the story supposedly revolves around an actual demon. It is awesome to finally get a full glimpse of him near the end, it’ll be good to see what kind of an impact it has in the next issue.

Matt Triano’s art is good stuff for the most part. Admittedly it was hard to tell between Holmes and Johnson in the beginning, they were drawn way too similar. Other than that it’s fine. The use of dark backgrounds highlight the grittiness of the fights well. The cover might just be the best yet, having a very classic-looking demon as the backdrop with a sideways shot of Holmes on the front.

Overall, another solid installment of the Liverpool Demon. Holmes continues to be the primary reason why we read this thing, he never gets old. Plus the demon shows itself in all its bat-like glory. The conclusion should be fun.

4/5

My name is Daniel (@Destroyer_199), the main guy for comic reviews here at Unleash the Fanboy. I was born in 1995 in the Big Apple, spent my formative years in Staten Island, and currently reside in the awesome state that is New Jersey.