Sherlock Holmes: The Liverpool Demon #1
Publisher: Dynamite
Writers: Leah Moore & John Reppion
Artist: Matt Triano (cover by Francesco Francavilla)
Colors: Brennan Wagner
The world’s greatest detective is back! He and his confidant, Watson, are knee deep in the seedy underground of Liverpool, and the rabble there might be the least of their problems in this story. The two sleuths first dealt with a typical murder mystery, but as they are waiting for a train back to London, they’re approached by a man that knows Watson from his school days. He invites them over for dinner, and at first everything seems to be fine. Holmes does look around quizzically a few times, so you know that’s bad news. The men at the dinner table discuss many things, but when the supernatural is talked about, Holmes easily debunks the belief and shows a bit of parlor magic to the men just to prove a point. Towards the end of dinner, a shriek breaks up a silent moment, and when they travel outside to investigate, someone or something is seen leaping onto a rooftop!
You want a classic Sherlock Holmes story, you got it with this one. The book read very cinematic for sure, but nothing over the top. There’s an action sequence right out of the box, which is fantastic, and gets you interested right away. The best part, though? Definitely “watching” Holmes, as he wanders around a room, seemingly missing everything, but proving that theory wrong every time. Again, just to reiterate, the book is what you’d think, no real surprises so far, then again that’s the point of a Sherlock Holmes story, isn’t it? Once you think you have it all figured out, he proves you wrong!
Artistically, Matt Triano (Grimm Fairy Tales, Iconic) did a superb job on this book, no doubt about it! He has a dark and detailed style that just keeps on going right until the end. The characters and the settings are all the same, with no edge to one or the other. Of course, the cover looks fantastic, and Francesco Francavilla is responsible for that gem. His unprecedented work has been lighting up the covers of books all over the place lately, and hopefully he will be featured as an interior artist for many other books in the future. His style really needs to be showcased more throughout the entire book! Rating 4/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
