Review by Ian Keogh
The absorption of the British Isles by Otherworld has resurrected many myths and legends beyond the Arthutian ones beginning Once & Future. Their presentation has shown how the rough edges are eroded from stories until a palatable version emerges, and then that version is modified over time. How many versions of Superman have there been in the 21st century alone? To end Monarchies in the U.K., Brigette, Duncan and Rose met a Robin Hood revived in his original form. He has arrows, but he’s no comforting handsome figure, instead something more foreboding and feral. As the stories shift, so does the perception of the cast, and several are in flux as we rejoin them.
It plays into the usurping of expectations that characterise Once & Future. The original supposition of Arthur being the dominant threat is long passed, and he has more than enough on his plate to worry about his primary inclination of making Britain great again. It’s because Bridgette McGuire’s plot is to have threats occupied with so many other threats it lets her work against them in relative peace.
Once again, the art is stunning. Dan Mora’s imagination lets him visualise ways of drawing things no other artist can match. You can be seduced by the detail or fall into the beauty of the landscape, with the colours provided by Tamra Bonvillain adding so much, and Mora’s obvious about how the people are. Bridgette is rarely seen directly face on, the honesty shining from her eyes, for example, but others are. He’s an artist without a weakness, and when considering that, while Mora didn’t quite maintain a monthly rate for the serialised issues, you’d be hard pressed to find another artist who’d produce thirty chapters of this quality in just over three years.
Bridgette towers above what are effectively gods, and there’s a nice scene in which she blows up a version of Winston Churchill commenting how satisfactory it was. For someone so knowing, she’s completely oblivious to how little removed she is from the bastard Britain required during its hour of need during World War II. She’s a fantastic character, complicated and compelling enough to return.
The primary consideration for any final volume is whether the conclusion lives up to what’s come before. Once & Future does, settling accounts cheerfully, violently and tearfully, with a moral code applied ensuring everyone gets what they deserve. It’s great, and as before, with a series so good if money’s not an issue, why not head straight for the second oversized Deluxe Edition?
