MORIARTY: CLOCKWORK EMPIRE #1, from Titan Comics on February 22nd, 2023, follows Holmes and Watson as they investigate a robotic card player and a missing doctor with a secret to “Hyde.”
The Details
- Written by: Fred Duval, Jean-Pierre Pécau
- Art by: Stevan Subic
- Colors by: Scarlett
- Letters by: Lauren Bowes
- Cover art by: Lenka Simeckova (cover A)
- Comic Rating: All Ages
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: February 22, 2023
Is It Good?
Well, consider us thoroughly intrigued. MORIARTY: CLOCKWORK EMPIRE #1 is the latest Sherlock Holmes mystery from Titan Comics. Instead of continuing the adventures through a strictly Sir Arthur Conan Doyle foundation, MORIARTY: CLOCKWORK EMPIRE #1 pictures Holmes in a steampunk reality with shades of Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Mixing historical and literary figures in a new Holmes adventure works extremely well.
Duval and Pécau’s story centers on two mysteries that appear to be unrelated but eventually dovetail into a larger conspiracy. One mystery centers on a case of fraud involving a card-counting robot fleecing attendees in a gambling den. The other is a missing persons case involving Dr. Henry Jekyll.
Fans of Sherlock Holmes, 19th-century mysteries, steampunk, or historical fiction have plenty to like in this issue. Duval and Pécau nail Holmes’s unique air of arrogant deduction, the atmosphere of the assorted inns, opium dens and gentlemen’s clubs, and the Victorian aesthetic of steampunk stories.
This oversized comic starts with an intriguing mystery and builds layer upon layer until the cliffhanger ending. Honestly, for the amount of Easter Eggs, character references/appearances, and the well-crafted story you get, this comic is a steal.
Regarding the art, again, you get heavy shades of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen‘s Kevin O’Neill in Stevan Subic’s art style. The figure work is a whimsical mix of exaggerated anatomy and intricate line detail. Subic’s character designs are pitch-perfect, and Scarlett’s coloring palette selection is spot-on for the period.
The minor down point is the panel layout. Subic crams a lot into every page, and the panels feel cramped in a few spots. It’s like reading a comic through the slats of window blinds in a few places. Yes, there’s a lot of story to cover within a limited page count, but it would have served the story better to give the panels more space.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a disheveled, older gentleman frantically entering an opium den in 1899 London. The gentleman is Dr. Henry Jekyll, and he needs opium to calm his body before something terrible gets loose. Unfortunately for Dr. Jekyll, he receives his hit of opium too late.
Elsewhere, Sherlock Holmes arrives at a gambling club at Dr. Watson’s invitation to witness an impossibility. A scarred and rigid man in a wheelchair has beaten every car-playing opponent for the last month. Holmes quickly deduces, and proves spectacularly, that the man in a wheelchair is not a man at all, causing an uproar that leads to death, investigations, and a threat to national security.
We conclude the issue with a missing persons report, last-minute changes to a Last Will and Testaments, and a daring robbery that links the two.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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MORIARTY: CLOCKWORK EMPIRE #1 hits the nail on the head as a spiritual successor to Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen wrapped in a Sherlock Holmes mystery. The mystery is intriguing, the character cameos are tons of fun, and the art is excellent.
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