Once And Future #14
The Green Knight comes a-calling in Once And Future #14, writer Kieron Gillen, artist Dan Mora, colorist Tamra Bonvillain, and letterer Ed Dukeshire. Who will become the next Gawain, and what does the Green Knight's appearance have to do with everything? This one is a fast-paced ride that doesn't let up… even at the end.
The Green Knight runs through the skinheads rather quickly, asking them all if they want to play a game. Duncan is about to volunteer when Rose speaks up. She takes a swing with his ax, cutting his face in half…. but much like the story, Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, he gets back up and promises to see Rose in a year. Gran finds that one of the skinheads survived and says she's going to torture him, but instead talks to him calmly, almost sweetly, and gets the information they need- that her daughter Elaine met her child's father at a cauldron. Duncan and Gran send Rose home to make a phone call and do a little scrying and take off. Later on, Rose makes a shocking discovery about what's leaking into the world… and gets a surprise guest.
This issue sets off at a fast pace and never really stops. A lot is happening here, and while sometimes a faster pace can short change things, Gillen knows what he's doing. The appearance of the Green Knight is a bit of a mystery- while his story is related to Arthurian myth, it's not exactly part of the main story. It could mean that the lines between the real world and the world of stories are breaking down, and that is lent further credence by Rose's discovery at the end of the book. Her scrying usually helps Duncan and Gran find a threat, but suddenly, things are popping up all over England. It's an interesting little wrinkle- the stories are coming to life.
Gran intimates as much several times, but the most potent is when she's talking to the mortally wounded skinhead. She says that stories are like maggots that burrow their way into our heads. This analogy holds something else- maggots turn into flies. What happens when the maggots become flies? The Green Knight shows up, and England is inundated with other aspects of its cultural stories. Beyond that, the scene with Gran and the wounded man is top-notch. Gran is known for being a Hardcase, but she sits next to the man and talks to him. She isn't nice, but there's a tenderness to her that readers haven't seen before. Duncan remarks she's never been that nice to him, and she tells him, point-blank, that he was never dying alone on the floor with his guts hanging out.
Dan Mora continues to kill it. There are a few places where his linework is a little more simplistic than usual, but for the most part, it's pretty stellar, especially the scenes with Green Knight. Mora captures a manic glee with the character using just his eyes and mouth, and it's great. Elsewhere, he captures the moment between Gran and the dying man wonderfully. Mora's character acting is just as good as his action sequences.
Once And Future #14 is a fast-paced ride that drops a whole lot more on readers. Gillen has been ramping things up throughout this series, and this issue adds even more. It will be interesting to see what comes next, especially as England, is inundated with even more stories. Mora's art gets a bit sketchy in a few places, but it's still mostly excellent, with his character acting really selling everything. Once And Future #14 ends on a cliffhanger that will pique reader interest, but this would still be an amazing comic even if it didn't.
Grade: B+
