REVIEW: ‘Lost Lad London’ Volume 2

Lost Lad London was a surprising read when it debuted a few of months ago. Created, written, and illustrated by Shima Shinya and localized and published in Yen Press. Lost Lad London Volume 2  is translated by Eleanor Ruth Summers and features lettering by Abigail Blackman.

Last volume, Al was framed for a murder he didn’t commit. When the mayor of London is stabbed to death on the tube, and Ali is on the same train, a series of mysterious events begin to connect him to the murder. Detective Ellis, trying to make up for a guilty conscience for the over-policing of his past offers Al a helping hand. Now in Lost Lad London Volume 2, Al and Ellis are living together and their paternal bond is getting stronger as Al begins to uncover the sins of his real father’s past and begins to be harassed by London detectives.

This volume has everything I could want. The mystery gets deeper, but so does the look at policing in London. Staying with Detective Ellis has given Al some sense of security, but he still has no idea why anyone would want to frame him for the mayor’s murder, even though his true lineage is starting to look more and more suspicious. When an anonymous tip places Al at the center of the police investigation, the abrasive and racist Superintendent Grant is convinced he’s found the killer, even with little hard evidence in hand. The pressure is on as Al and Ellis continue to unravel Al’s ties to the mayor—and the true murderer.

Yuki arises as an ally to the pair, though only because of her closeness to Ellis, the only person who showed her respect when she began working in the department. Yuki trusts Ellis, and uses her intuition to not harm the investigation, but rather offer a kind a face to Al in the middle of it all. Sure to come into a larger spotlight in subsequent volumes, Yuki is a great new addition to the story and allows Ellis to continue to show his softer side even through his stoic exterior.

I called Lost Lad London my favorite manga of 2022 when I reviewed the last volume, and that continues here. Lost Lad London Volume 2 manages to up everything that was special about the first volume by layering the narrative with racial dynamics and political intrigue. Already a strong detective drama that’s fueled by a noir heart, Lost Lad London is now a sweeping story about policing, guilt, race, and grief. It’s a look at crime and mystery in a way that takes into account real-world elements and it does it all with a unique art style that uses deep blacks and negative space to build an atmospheric story.

Lost Lad London Volume 2 is available now wherever books are sold both digitally and physically.