Once And Future #16
All roads lead to the Grail Castle in Once And Future #16, by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Dan Mora, colorist Tamra Bonvillain, and letterer Ed Dukeshire. Gillen and company play the setup game, moving pieces around the board for a coming showdown.
At Camelot, Merlin, Arthur, and Galahad discuss their next moves. Meanwhile, at the Grail Castle, Lancelot chases down Gran and Duncan, trying to find out what happened to "Guinevere". Gran uses a smoke grenade to help them escape, and they stumble upon a sleeping dragon. Elaine holds the soldiers at bay at Rose's apartment as Hempleworth explains to Rose his role in everything and why he and the soldiers have been watching her, Duncan, and Gran. Duncan and Gran almost get past the dragon before Lancelot comes barging in. Upstairs, Elaine, desperate for a way out, asks Merlin for help and gets a tub of boiling water, a way to get to Grail Castle. As she passes through, her scream signals Lancelot, who leaves Duncan and Gran. Hempleworth and his soldiers follow Elaine to Grail Castle as Merlin sends Galahad to get Elaine. Lancelot finds Elaine and demands to know who she really is as Duncan and Gran bust in… and Hempleworth and his soldiers… and Galahad.
Gillen is a master of pacing, and this issue is another example of that. There are multiple plot lines going on in this story- Gran and Duncan trying to escape Lancelot, Merlin doing whatever he's doing with Arthur and Galahad, Rose dealing with Hempleworth, and Elaine trying to escape Hempleworth. Gillen cuts between each one, condensing the action into short bursts that keep things lively. It's a trick he's used to his advantage throughout Once And Future, and it always works. At two separate times in this book, he drops some exposition on readers, but each time it doesn't feel like things are slowing down because the next cut is coming. The exposition works to build anticipation till the next cut, filling readers in and getting them ready for the next scene change.
The two bits of exposition are pretty interesting as well. Hempleworth is the person Rose is always calling for help. Apparently, Gran's family has been working with whoever ruled Britain since before the Normans set foot in England, and in the present, it's Hempleworth's job to keep them supplied with what they need and keep them in line, something that's getting a bit hard in recent days. It's also revealed that one of Hempleworth's soldiers is working for the Prime Minister to undermine Hempleworth (the PM is in shadow's, but he has a line about "having enough with experts" that sounds very Tory, so he's probably Boris Johnson). Meanwhile, Gran explains to Duncan that this isn't the first Arthur that's had to be put down, and while she's been killing monsters for a long time, this time is very different from those other times- the stories are getting messed up, and she's not sure where this one is going. There's a dread to this little exchange because of just how cocksure Gran has been throughout the book.
Dan Mora does his usual excellent job. Arthur sitting on the Siege Perilous is a great visual. Lancelot looks amazing. The sleeping dragon is wonderful, and the changes wrought on Galahad by the Siege Perilous have reached the next level. Mora's makes all the crazy stuff in this issue look perfect. His character acting sells the mundane stuff as well, making everything look fabulous.
Once And Future #16 is a fast-paced ride that moves all the pieces on the board where they need to go in an exciting manner. It's a testament to Gillen's skill that he's able to juggle four different plotlines in one issue, and each one feels like it has the exact right amount of time to breath. He twines them all together, building up to a four-way confrontation. Dan Mora continues to impress with his art, showing why he's one of the best artists working today. Once And Future #16 builds anticipation for what comes next in a wonderful fashion.
