[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Dan Mora
Colors: Tamra Bonvillain
Letters: Ed Dukeshire
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
“Trouble.” – Gran after shooting a flock of Magpies
Once & Future #13 – Beowulf’s arrival was an unexpected one and now that the smoke has cleared, Gran and Duncan are beginning to wonder what other surprises lurk around the corner.
Meanwhile in the Otherworld, Merlin is up to his old tricks and crossing over with another story was just the beginning of his plan…
Positives
Kieron Gillen starts this issue with a poem from 1780. She then uses Gran Bridgette to blow the magpies to hell and back with her gun. Oh Gran…how we will never get used to a chain saw welding and gun toting Granny!
Gillen sets up quite the segue into the action with the first scene and the pace continues. Dan Mora provides detailed art that leaps from the page. Again, Mora would settle in fast with Image’s Spawn or Walking Dead with all the blood and guts. However, he elevates Boom Studios to another level. His artwork is detailed and vivid!
Positives 2.0
Gillen’s script writing is perfect. The exchanges between Gran and her grandson Duncan are priceless.
“You look tired Duncan”
“Oh…I’ve been busy”
Not funny here, but Dan Mora’s flashbacks of the busy life of Duncan make this comic exchange perfect.
Positives 3.0
The art! Dan Mora is in the same vein as Todd McFarlane or Greg Capullo. This is a Violator blood fest, but it works!
Tamra Bonvillain is at the pinnacle of a color fest and she captures night time horror perfectly. But the use of reds and purple and the night is a sight to behold.
Negatives
Once & Future #13 relies heavily on myths, legends, and poetry of old. That is not a negative at all, but it does prompt the reader to dig deeper into the comic past reading it. This is not “bubble gum for the brain”, therefore, it is some high brow reading that accompanies a bit of research on your part as the reader to appreciate it!
Verdict
Once & Future #13 – The Green Knight has come to play in the game. Another turn of the page and another investigation into Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table. I’ll see you on the other side of the library tables as we not only enjoy Once & Future, but also delve into how Gillen comes up with her wonderful stories!
