Once And Future #29
All the pieces move into play for the final battle in Once And Future #29, by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Dan Mora, colorist Tamra Bonvillain, and letterer Ed Dukeshire. As far as penultimate issues go, this one is nearly unbeatable.
At the Grail Castle, Rose’s mother and Lancelot stand over Galahad’s grave and talk about a mother’s fear for her child, which segues nicely into the battle against Arthur. The Green Knight challenges the would-be, but he disembowels him on the way to Excalibur. However, Rose has survived, thanks to Mary stealing his magic scabbard. At Grail Castle, Rose’s mother tells Lancelot that Rose is adopted, which plays into her battle for a simple reason: Arthur was an orphan. Rose takes Excalibur and reveals her ultimate role in the story as an Arthur. Meanwhile, at Bath, Duncan and Gran destroy the Gorgon as Rose fights her battle, killing Arthur with Excalibur. Duncan and Gran make their way through the underworld and see Arthur, while on the battlefield, Merlin makes a deal with Mary: he can resurrect her son if Mary tells him how to stop Duncan and Gran. She does so, and the two leave, encountering the heroes and preparing to end their one chance to save the day.
Gillen is a master of pacing, and the beginning of the book is yet another example of that. Readers want to know what happened to Rose, but he delays that, drawing it out with a sequence that just seems like it’s there to talk about what happened to Rose, but it’s so much more. As it unfolds, it reveals another aspect of the story, and why Rose has been in the story for so long. Rose often seemed like a superfluous character throughout this book, so making her an Arthur shows that there was a plan all that time, and it was brilliant. It’s also such a crowd-pleasing moment when she transforms.
Beyond that, he keeps the movie moving forward. The true reason for Mary’s visit to her Arthur is revealed, and it’s a nice little moment. The scene between her and Merlin hits hard, as they are now bound by grief. Gillen does an excellent job of moving all the pieces around, getting them ready for the ending. Sometimes, issues like this are all set-up. This one fits the set-up in between some great action scenes, which allows the story to move along quicker than it otherwise would.
Mora and Bonvillain are brilliant, but that’s to be expected at this point. The reveal of Rose as an Arthur works so well because of their art. It’s a notable moment that looks phenomenal. The battle between her and Arthur likewise is gorgeous. However, this being Mora and Bonvillain, they hit the emotional moments amazingly as well. From Rose’s mother to Merlin and Mary, the character acting is perfect. There are few teams as exceptional as these two.
Once And Future #29 is an exciting penultimate issue. Gillen does an impressive job of setting up the last chapter while also giving readers some great action. Mora and Bonvillain bring it all to life, and Dukeshire’s letters capture the voices of everyone wonderfully. It’s sad this book is ending, but if the last issue is as good as this one, it will be an ending for the ages.
