Review by Ian Keogh
Once & Future doesn’t begin with independent and stubborn pensioner Bridgette McGuire, but her forceful personality is stamped all over this opening volume. Her grandson Duncan is a complete contrast, smart, but naive, and all of sudden he’s thrust into a world where legends and mythical creatures are real, and his Gran is revealed in a completely different light.
What actually starts the volume is the theft of a scabbard and an accompanying murder, Bridgette recognising the significance when the story makes the TV news. It seems someone wants to bring King Arthur back.
Kieron Gillen has either made good use of his English degree or he’s researched long and deep into Arthurian legend, and the King Arthur he pulls together is true to the times he’s supposed to have lived in. His view of what’s English, for instance, discounts any Saxon blood, as he fought off the Saxons back in the day. It’s a brief satirical point, amid a first rate fantasy story, while running in the background is commentary on the telling of stories, so a constant accompaniment is Gillen, via Bridgette, debunking the literal interpretation of legends, which of course vastly increases his narrative possibilities. The elusive nature of prophecy is discussed, particularly the one about King Arthur returning to England in its darkest hour. Could it be that Arthur causes that darkest hour?
With a world of beauty and mysticism to create, Dan Mora’s art is phenomenal and complex, but the immediate impression is the impact of colourist Tamra Bonvillain whose shades of green dominate. It’s Mora’s design that gives Once & Future solidity, though, and in keeping with Gillen’s themes it bears little resemblance to the comforting heroic legends of Camelot. Arthur is a half-formed, rage-filled, cloaked creature speaking to darkness, and the final page features a fearful interpretation of Merlin. In between ordinary humans look distinctly out of place. The only minor flaw to Mora’s art is a character looking far too young to be the parent of an adult son.
The theme of this opening volume is another literary standby, the coming of age story. Much about his ancestry and possible purpose has been concealed from Duncan, and he’s never been aware how much his life has been shaped as he’s bumbled through it. Now, though, when confronted with unreality he could crumble or step up to the plate. A third primary character Rose is less developed. She’s first seen as Dan’s blind date, but adjusts too easily to a supporting role when all becomes weird. However, her participation grows as Once & Future continues as this is the opening volume of five, and there’s a long way to go.
Gillen, Mora and Bonvillain between them have produced a fast moving, visually stimulating and original take on Arthurian legend capturing attention from the start. It’s a triumph.
That being the case, instead of heading straight to Old English in paperback, if you can afford it, why not consider the first three volumes combined in oversized hardcover as the first Deluxe Edition?
