Moriarty #2

Written by Daniel Corey
Art by Anthony Diecidue

There are few comics being published today as dense and complicated as Moriarty, a four-issue mini-series featuring Sherlock Holmes's great nemesis.  The plot of this series, involving the origins of the first world war and the creation of a box that can drive men insane, is terrifically complex, and kind of hard to follow.

This isn't a problem though, as Moriarty's journeys through 1914 England are fascinating to read.  This issue alone has appearances by Dr. Watson, the Serbian Black Hand organization, Mata Hari, and ninjas.  How could you not enjoy such a thing?

Corey does a great job of keeping all of these elements in play in a way that is reasonable and believable.  I'm really enjoying Anthony Diecidue's artwork.  I saw, in the first issue, a heavy Guy Davis influence, which continues throughout this issue as well, but I'm also starting to sense that Kevin O'Neill has had a big hand in his development as well.  That makes perfect sense, as in a lot of ways, this book reads like a descendant of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  Good stuff.