Graphic Novelty²

In this concluding fifth volume of Once & Future, it is up to Gran, Duncan and Rose to save everyone from the deadly Otherworld that has now infiltrated the entire U.K. It all started when British academic Duncan and his monster-hunting Gran, Bridgette, fought off an un-dead King Arthur that some Nationalists had reanimated to keep Britain pure. Due to some magical treachery, the Otherworld is now out in the open, and reality and fantasy have become co-mingled. Our three heroes try to save their friends and family while battling new creatures, but Duncan’s mother Mary and his half-brother always complicate matters.

As with all the volumes, King Arthur and Merlin play a big part in the narrative. But there are several versions of them that have appeared, all believing themselves to be the true King and wizard. There are many twists and turns, and Rose’s adoption plays a pivotal part towards the end. There are sacrifices made, but Gran and Mary always know what to do and how to manipulate the situation in their favor.

Author Kieron Gillen is obviously an expert in English stories, but the average reader is not, so there were times the warped mythology became too confusing. Throughout the entire series, he threw in so many different characters and plots from English folktales and legends that it was hard to keep straight who was who and how they all connected to one another. However, I learned from his previous series, The Wicked + The Divine, that you can’t get caught up in the small details, as you have to step back and look at the big picture.

I really enjoyed the art by Dan Mora and how he drew the characters plus all the fantasy elements. Fond of many panels per page, the action flowed in cinematic-like sequences.  Mora created amazing monsters and landscapes, and the coloring by Tamra Bonvillain was perfect. The floating orbs that were previously a clue that magic was moving into the regular world and they should be wary of are now everywhere, so on the flip side, when the story ended, I was sad to see the orbs disappear.

The concluding page points to the possibility of further adventures, which Gillen confirms in his farewell statement. The mythology in this series was deliciously warped, so I look forward to future adventures with hunky Duncan and his ass-kicking Gran if this creative team decides to reanimate the story in the future!

Read the rest of the series!

V1: The King is Undead

V2: Old English

V3: The Parliament of Magpies

V4: Monarchies in the U.K.

In the first volume of Once & Future, British academic Duncan and his monster hunting Gran, Bridgette, fought off an un-dead King Arthur that some Nationalists had reanimated to keep Britain pure. While they were successful in defeating him, the king is now down but not out with the Otherworld in disarray, leaving other legends and deadly creatures to emerge and fight for power. 

The second volume begins with Duncan rightfully angry at his grandmother, who had kept secrets from him his whole life, and now he has to be on his guard for new dangers. His colleague Rose, who is also a love interest, uses some magic to determine where the next problems will pop up and he is exhausted keeping up with it all. But when Beowulf appears, King Arthur and an evil Merlin try to harness his strength to their advantage. And for those familiar with the Beowulf mythology, there are additional monsters such as Grendel and his mother, who show up at Bridgette’s assisted living home and cause havoc and destruction as Duncan races over to help. 

The artwork continues to be amazing, although I did notice a change in making some facial reactions extreme and anime-like. I prefer a more realistic approach, as the monsters and mayhem were always detailed and naturalistic, and I don’t want the hunky Duncan to become a caricature.  The Otherworld had vivid almost hallucinogenic colors, with the floating orbs a clue that magic was moving into the regular world and they should be wary. 

I continued to enjoy this new series, and look forward to more warped British mythology. King Arthur remains a threat, and Duncan also has to contend with his family disfunction as his long-gone mother and half-brother are part of the Nationalist group that opened the portal into the dark world. That the volume ends with a real-world politician ready to make an unholy allegiance open the story to more exciting plots! 

-Nancy

Do you think you know King Arthur’s story? Think again!

In this alternative fantasy world set in Britain, Duncan McGuire is a handsome but bumbling academic out on a disastrous date when he gets a call that his grandma is missing from her assisted living home. But his doobie smoking gran Bridgette turns out to be a monster hunter who has been keeping a lot of secrets from Duncan whom she raised. Soon he is in the middle of a crusade to block a woman Elaine from reanimating King Arthur who is not the kindly king of lore. In a Brexit-inspired plot, a group of Nationalists wish for him to keep Britain pure so they bring his remains back to life. Then it a race to prevent a dark prophecy from taking hold, with several twists and turns and improbable family connections.

Reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code plus The Mummy and National Treasure movies, the action is fast and furious and plays loose with history. In a familiar trope, an unsuspecting character is thrown into the thick of things and can shoot, fight with a sword and run like an Olympic sprinter as needed. (As an aside, I recently went to an axe-throwing business with my husband and friends and was disappointed that I wasn’t better. I had the strength but little finesse. What good will I be if a zombie horde or an evil reanimated king attacks my family? Unfortunately, I didn’t magically have the best skills like characters do in books and movies)

I really enjoyed the art by Dan Mora and how he drew the characters plus all the fantasy elements. Fond of many panels per page, the action flowed in cinematic-like sequences.  The only criticism I had was a certain female character was drawn too young- she was a mother to two adult sons and looked to be their sister. In comparison, her mother was drawn too old, so they should have aged the one a bit more and de-aged the other to be more believable. The colors by Tamra Bonvillian were superb, with rich colors and a psychedelic swirl of colors and floating orbs in the fantasy realm.

This was a very appealing first volume of a series I plan to follow. The mythology was deliciously warped and I look forward to future adventures with Duncan and his ass-kicking Gran.

-Nancy