Once And Future #13

Duncan, Rose, and Gran get a lead on Elaine and more than they bargained for in Once And Future #13, by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Dan Mora, colorist Tamra Bonvillain, and letterer Ed Dukeshire. This issue starts slow but builds up to a lovely ending, one that comes out of left field.

At the nursing home, Gran has a visit from some magpies, a sign of ill omen, and calls up Duncan. He tells her that he'll have Rose do a reading, and they'll come to see her the next day. Duncan and Rose go on a date, but someone is watching them from the shadow. The next day, Duncan and Rose see Gran. She tells them about the omen and that maybe they should start looking for Elaine. Rose lets them know that she found this something that morning, at a pub called The Lancelot Arms. They go there and find a bunch of British skinheads, people Elaine used to work with who are not at all happy about Elaine disappearing with some of their friends. They start to beat on Duncan and threaten Gran and Rose. Outside, someone kills the lookout they posted before the fight started and then comes into the pub- Gawain, the Green Knight.

Gillen does a great job with pacing in this issue. He starts everything out slow- Gran sitting outside when magpies arrive. There's an old rhyme about how a group of magpies can tell the future by how many there are- so Gran shoots them until she gets the omen she wants… then one kills the other and leaves her with sorrow as her future. From there, he builds it back up again with Duncan and Rose and a bit character building- Duncan doesn't want to tell Gran he and Rose are involved and doesn't really want Rose to get too involved with things in general, trying to play the brave knight.

Throughout the series, Rose's use has been a bit lackluster, and this issue also serves to bring her into things other than a passive presence, and that's a good thing. While the book has Gran as its strong female character, Rose has barely got any page time. This issue showcases her personality better than any of the other chapters in the book- she needles Duncan about how he's trying to hide their relationship and wants to take a more active role in things. It almost feels like Gillen is doing a little meta-commentary on his own writing here. Once they get to the pub, he ramps the pace up before ending the whole thing with Gawain's arrival.

There's not a lot of action for Dan Mora to go crazy on in this issue, but after the last few issues, that's okay. His character acting rules the day in this issue. His linework can be very simple, but he's able to get across precisely what's happening on the page perfectly and really capture the emotional tenor of each scene.

Once And Future #13 is a great example of a perfectly paced comic. It builds and builds till the end, giving readers a wonderful cliffhanger to keep them coming back. Gillen fits in some fun character work and even a new subplot- who is watching Duncan and Rose? Mora didn't get a gonzo action scene this issue, but he got to show off his character acting chops, and it worked perfectly. This book continues to impress.

Grade: A