Once & Future, Vol. 4-5

[cornerofmadness]

Once & Future, Vol. 4: Monarchies in the UK by Kieron Gillen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the muddiest volume so far but that's only because it's gotten so complex. All of Britain has been sucked into the Other World, existing now in The Story. Fairies and dragons are real and present dangers. Worse now every story version of Merlin/Arthur/Lancelot are playing out for control of the story.

Bridgette, always on top of her game, makes an unlikely allegiance with the oldest version of a folktale that likes to foil kings and the rich. Rose, on the other hand, pulls on her heart strings and gets Bridgette to okay going to Bath after her parents (Bridgette has already housed her retirement community friends and their nurse in her ancestral estate which is partially magic proof) and bring them there.

I'm glad they did because it brought up a tale of a male gorgon in Bath which I had to go look up (cool stuff right there). And did I mention dragons? There are dragons.

This story remains fun and the art is outstanding I want to hang it on my wall.



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Once & Future, Vol. 5: The Wasteland by Kieron Gillen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a conclusion worth the having. Yeah it borrows a bit from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them there are the end but it made sense. It's about the only thing they could have done and it worked logically within the confines of the story's folklore roots.

Bridgette, Rose and Duncan have come up with a way to end The Story and get Britain back to the real world. Time, however, is against them. They need to survive nearly a year in the Other World and not only do they have all of the Arthurs working against them, there's Mary.

If I had one gripe about this series it's Mary. We get why she doesn't trust her mother but it doesn't justify why she treats Duncan as she does. In her head (and in her trauma) I suppose she considers him more his grandmother's child than hers but what is really lacking is Duncan's reaction to all of this. I get it. It would slow the frantic pace down, make it uneven but it still felt like more was needed, even if it's a 'I don't see her as my mother' from him.

Still, over all a solid ending. I adored these characters and I'm glad there's a happy for now open ending on it. I wouldn't mind revisiting them. The art was lush and gorgeous up to the last panel. Kudos. I see there are two hard cover editions. I might need to buy them.



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