Comic Review: Once & Future #22

BOOM! Studios

Writer: Kieron Gillen

Artist: Dan Mora

Colors: Tamra Bonvillain

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Once & Future is one of the best looking books out today. The Dan Mora-Tamra Bonvillain pairing is particularly unstoppable in #22. The issue opens with a wintry, machine gun-fueled car chase from yet another knight of myth. Yvain, like the demonized knights before him, has an epic design worthy of a dorm poster or Heavy Metal tattoo sleeve. Plus, he rides a giant, flame-breathing lion.

That said, while the in medias res opening grabs reader’s attention, it’s a reminder of how uneven the world building can be in Once & Future. There’s been plenty of myths, spells, and monsters to take in, but there’s still precious little depth or coherency to any of it.

We don’t see Yvain’s arrival or know what our heroes were doing when he found them, but does it matter? The book has an established rhythm. Bad guy appears out of nowhere. Tries to brutalize good guys. Narrowly defeated through fairy-tale logic and/or rocket launcher. Rinse and repeat. Even the villainous triumvirate of King Arthur, Merlin, and Mary/Nimue lack clear direction. Arthur wants to cleanse England and…that’s the extent of it.

Paper thin protagonists might suffice in a world as rich with lore as it is beautifully drawn, but the nature of “The Story” allows Gillen to essentially do as he pleases page to page. For instance, there’s a scene where Rose, Duncan, and Bridgette uncover a hidden study of William Shakespeare. When Duncan asks about the papers covering the walls, he’s told they are “Foul pages…first drafts, useful insulation to keep wild stories away.” It’s unclear what this means. The notion of Shakespeare’s early drafts physically protecting him from dark magic is quite intriguing. Alas, it’s the type of detail that gets thrown around with no follow-up.

While the narrative of Once & Future remains in a perpetual holding pattern, the action and charm continues to make it a book worth pulling. In addition to Yvain’s explosive entrance, visual highlights range from a disgusting, massive giant trying to break into the grail castle to Shakesperea’s exquisitely detailed study. For all of Arthur’s shortcomings as a thought out antagonist, his design and posing remains impressive–even the biggest anime bad would be jealous of that epic, always-billowing cape of his.

It will be interesting to see how Once & Future tackles the next few issues. The narrative is splitting for the first time, with Rose’s parents and Bridgette’s senior friends setting up shop in the grail castle. Mary is very much back in the picture and a conversation between her and her mother could prove quite illuminating. And the Arthur vs. faux Arthur showdown seems poised to boil over; there’s little stakes in that villain vs. villain battle, but damn if it won’t look good.