Once And Future #4
Things go from bad to worse in Once And Future #4, by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Dan Mora, colorist Tamra Bonvillain, and letterer Ed Dukeshire. Gillen and company give readers an action-packed issue that sheds some light into places that might have best been left dark, including a secret from Gran and Duncan’s family.
Arthur knights Galahad and prepares to send him to fetch the Grail from Grail Castle, which is guarded by the Fisher King, which has been set up by his mother. This surprises Gran, who prepares to take the shot before Duncan stops her. This draws Arthur’s knights after them. They escape back to the real world to find Rose being questioned by two police. The knights arrive and make short work of the police, but Rose snuffs the candle connecting their passage to this world, and they disappear. Gran takes Rose and Duncan to the home of the Fisher King. Rose asks her how she knew where to go, but the sky turns red as Galahad and the knights prepare to cross over. Gran, Duncan, and Rose make their way into the house where they are met by the Fisher King with bullets. Secrets are revealed as things get closer to their destined ends.
One of the undercurrents that Gillen has been putting in this one is the power of stories. Gran keeps saying that Elaine “made a Galahad.” What this means is she raised him as close as she possibly could to the Galahad of legend. Doing this would make it easier for him to fulfill his destiny of finding the Grail. It also plays into revelations from later in the book. It’s an interesting way to talk about how much stories influence the lives of the people who experience them, while also giving this story a bit of magic to play with.
There’s some excellent exposition in this issue, but it doesn’t slow down the pace of the story. Things keep moving at the same breakneck speed of previous installments, and that feeling gets into the reader’s subconscious and informs the way the story is perceived. There’s a sense of inevitability to the events that the fast pace gives it, a sense of inexorable doom. It works so well for the story.
Dan Mora’s art is just as great as it’s been in previous issues. Arthur’s knights are more developed in this issue, and Galahad seems to be the perfect knight, looks-wise. Another strength of the art is his expression work. Selling what goes on in the comic, including the big surprise at the end.
Once And Future #4 is a perfectly paced book that keeps the action on a boil. While also giving some exposition that adds another layer to the whole thing. Gillen is using the book to say something about the way people interact with stories and how they can affect the real world. Mora’s art continues to impress. The issue ends on a great cliffhanger that will definitely keep readers clamoring for more.
