Comics / Manga

Case Closed: Volume 43

By Leroy Douresseaux
July 11, 2012 - 14:08

Case Closed Volume 43 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

Two nefarious men in black administer a mysterious substance to ace high school detective, Jimmy Kudo.  The substance physically transforms him into a first grader.  While searching for a cure, Jimmy adopts the identity of elementary school student, Conan Edogawa.  Acting alone and sometimes with his friends, the Junior Detective League (JDL), Jimmy/Conan continues to solve criminal cases and mysteries.

As Case Closed, Vol. 43 opens, Jimmy and the JDL are trying to solve the mystery of the mark of the Slasher!  The next case involves a missing cell phone, and the owner is dead.  Is the death a murder or an accident?  A crime has been committed, but Jimmy and Richard Moore the “Sleeping Detective” will have to figure out just what crime has been committed.

Then, Harley Hartwell, “the other greatest detective in Japan,” and Jimmy investigate the murder of a toy company executive, but there is a complication.  Jimmy and Harley are joined by Richard Moore, Rachel (Moore’s daughter), and Kazuha (Harley lady) in a contest of deduction.  The side that solves the murder gets to choose which weekend outing they attend.  Later, the quintet enjoys a famed high school baseball tournament, but a terrorist has Jimmy and Harley in a race to find him and to stop disaster.

THE LOWDOWN:  The Case Closed manga (known as Detective Conan in Japan) is reliable in the way it entertains.  It is the classic detective fiction or mystery novel in graphic novel form.  Case Closed has always been the comfortable mystery; curl up on the sofa with a warm beverage and enjoy the whodunit.  The toy company murder stretches credulity beyond the limits of modern physics, but it is filled with red herrings, which makes it fun to play along.  The best of this volume is the last two chapters – the terrorist at the baseball tournament – a pity the volume ends in the middle of this storyline.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers who want the mystery story in comic book form will want Case Closed.

 

Rating: 9 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12