MANGA REVIEW | "Moriarty the Patriot" - Volume Thirteen
The clock is ticking for William James Moriarty. Now that Sherlock Holmes knows that he’s the Lord of Crime, the star of Moriarty the Patriot must move fast. Although he figures that this will all end with his death, Moriarty aims to complete his next plan. Rather, as we see in Volume Thirteen, this will be “The Final Problem” Moriarty and his cohorts commit.
However, Sherlock Holmes has to deal with his own issues first. After committing the crime of killing Milverton, Holmes arrives in handcuffs ready to suffer the consequences. Alas, without a body and the evidence burnt down in the fire, there isn’t much the police can do to charge Holmes of a crime. That doesn’t change the fact that he did kill someone, which leads Watson to enter the interrogation room and berate his partner, and rightfully so.
But the time for partners to spar will have to wait. Hot off the presses is the confession of William James Moriarty. News of him being the Lord of Crime cause many a headache for every duke and nobleman. Even the Queen of England is filled with worry, as the news could spell turmoil in the streets of London. So anything regarding Holmes’s confession will have to be put on the back burner; there’s a Lord of Crime to capture.
It’s in this part of Moriarty the Patriot where our villain shows his first signs of regret. Although he was doing this to rid the scum of London’s top people, a part of him wishes that he never had to walk such a path. But as an orphan who witnessed the worst of London, he felt that only he could perform such a daunting task. That doesn’t mean that he crew want him to end his life over this bloodstained quest. In fact, Fred and brother Louis wish to save him from an impending doom!
Most of this volume has Moriarty taking down one nobleman after another. Some are unprepared, whereas others use shady tactics to try to evade death. (One person goes so far as to use his own children as shields, a stunt that gives Moriarty all the more reason to kill such a swine.) As these kills go on, London becomes restless, and Holmes sets himself up for what should be the ultimate showdown.
Whether or not this version of the Sherlock Holmes story will result in Moriarty and Holmes’s demises remains to be seen. But all of the cards have been dealt, and the game’s truly afoot. Volume Thirteen of Moriarty the Patriot isn’t the end game; it’s the blueprint towards it. All of London, nay, England wants the head of William James Moriarty. It’s now up to Holmes to see where justice will be served: on a silver platter for all to see, or in a slop bucket for only the meager to bear witness to.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
