Sherlock Holmes: Moriarty Lives #3 Review

Will Moriarty get any closer to his goal? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

Bimonthly! Driven by a promise to a dying woman and a vow of vengeance, the world’s most notorious villain must take on a madman who is as brilliant as he is dangerous. In deep disguise, Moriarty works his way deeper into the trust of his new enemy, but even as he forms new alliances and plots new treacheries, his own allies begin to move against him. But when charged with a task too sinister to contemplate, Moriarty must find a way to maintain his cover and pursue his plot. It’s mastermind versus mastermind, as the plot thickens!

So far Moriarty Lives has had me really divisive as though overall I’ve enjoyed it there have been quite a few aspects that I’ve disliked. This issue does however have a lot more going for it with the story development and undertone being very intriguing. We also get some fabulous monologue from Moriarty as though his characteristics may not be 100% accurate we do get the main attributes.

David Liss continues to develop the tale of how Moriarty survived his fatale plunge off the Reichenbach Falls giving us grit and mystery at every turn. Something that Liss has had no trouble succeeding in is setting the right tone for this tale, as despite any problems I have with the story itself it definitely has the right vibe. He also gives tremendous interactions throughout this issue with Moriarty’s devious ways putting him into a lot of intense scenarios. Despite this I still feel that the overall motives of Moriarty isn’t quite to character and along with the inconsistency of the pace it really lets the story down.

The artwork from Daniel Indro and Olavo Costa is imply outstanding with the high level of detail being a marvel to look at. The explosive layouts along with the sketchy tone give the kind of tone that a Moriarty story needs with the scenery being highly detailed. The duo also give us some fabulous emotions throughout as whether it’s the character expressions during dialogue sequences or explosive action from the ever dastardly Moriarty it all adds to the overall intensity of the story. Combine this with the vivid colours of Josana Gonzalez and the ever wonderful cover art from Francesco Francavilla and Moriarty Lives continues to be visually stunning.

Moriarty Lives is turning into the kind of story that Sherlock Holmes fans deserve with his dastardly rival proving to be as worth a protagonist and he is an antagonist. Recommended.