Over Year-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf October 7, 14, and 28 (2020) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Die #14 (October 7):  This issue is by far the series' best issue, and I had already set that bar pretty fucking high.

It begins slowly, with a diversion.  Zamorna heads to the front to march on Eternal Prussia, and Isabelle exposits that the goal of this maneuver is to pull the Prussians from Glass Town and thus enable the Little Englanders to destroy the Forge.  Meanwhile, Angela, Chuck, and Matt arrive at Glass Town and are surprised to see the Steel Dragons leaving.  On the front, Augustus and Zamorna fight the Steel Dragons.  Augustus is hurt, and Zamorna instructs him to teleport to his mother to update her that the plan is working.

In Glass Town, Chuck continues to express concern that Matt is too upbeat for his powers to work fully, another sign that Chuck is the only one who fully understands the game's dynamic.  (I say that because every time he gets drunk and irresponsible his teammates criticize him despite the fact that he's doing it to maximize his luck.)  Angela, Chuck, and Matt arrive at the Forge to face its defenses as Augustus tells Ash that Little England's attack on Glass Town has begun.  (Angela, Chuck, and Matt barely dodged an incoming missile at one point.)  Isabelle notes what a good kid August is, and Ash asks what Isabelle sacrificed to the Mourner to carry him to term and if Ash owes her.  Isabelle responds that it isn't anything that she ever wanted so I wonder if it means that she can't have children?  Isabelle says that she hopes they leave behind something as good as Augustus this time.

Just as Ash thinks they've won, Mistress Woe comes calling.  She calls in all her debts and demands that Izzy passes on a message.  For reasons that become clear, Mistress Woe urges Isabelle to do it quickly.  With no real options, Isabelle asks Bear (the god on whose behalf she had previously destroyed poachers) to send his birds with a message for Matt.  In Glass Town, the team is overwhelmed, and Matt acknowledges that it's partially because he isn't sad enough.  On cue, the bird arrives and tells Matt that his father has died.  Matt explodes with grief, functionally destroying Glass Town.

Chuck helps Angela from the rubble, and Matt demands that she use the last of her Fair gold to transport him to Angria, saying their families need them.  Angela resists, since she was going to use the gold to speed hack the Forge.  But, Matt tells her that she knows what their responsibilities are, that they've known them for months.  She concurs and teleports him.  Chuck says that it was a bad decision, but Angela says that they have no good decisions:  it was just the one that ensured most of what she cared about happening.  Angela then heads to destroy the Forge while Matt arrives at the Knights' temple.  The maul of rage calls on him to put aside the sword of grief.  Instead, he takes both weapons since he's angry and sad:  one for Ash and one for Izzy.  The weapons tell him that it is forbidden, but Matt tells them to stop him in one of Hans' best panels in a series filled with excellent panels.

In other words, ho boy, trouble is coming.

Star Wars #7 (October 7):  Soule provides us the background that we've been missing regarding Zahra.  He reveals that terrorist killed her parents and she joined the Empire.  Later, she was one of three cadets jockeying to become Tarkin's protégé.  Soule makes it clear that Zahra viewed Tarkin as a father figure, so she's devastated when she fails an assassination mission because she mistakenly thought he figuratively, not literally, meant he wanted the target's head.  (As Tarkin later explains, a Tarkin looks a man in the eyes when he cuts his throat.)  It also turns out she took out a decoy, and she becomes obsessed with tracking down the real target.  When Tarkin has his adjutant tell Zahra to report to HR for reassignment, Zahra steals a shuttle to take out the target herself.  Notably, she steals the shuttle as the Death Star is under attack, departing minutes before it is destroyed.  In the present, the Fourth Fleet responds to the Seventh Fleet's SOS call, capturing Zahra's fleet - who tracked down the Seventh Fleet after its SOS call -- in a pincer movement.  But, it's clear that Zahra has something up her sleeves so we'll see how it goes.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #6 (October 14):  I mentioned in a previous review that Pak used the previous arc to remind us how Anakin's actions on Mustafar turned him into Vader.  Pak clearly wanted us to come to that conclusion, as this issue shows that the Emperor is worried that Vader didn't fully learn that lesson.  Hoping to turn Vader's pain into fear and his fear into anger once again, the Emperor strips Vader of his prosthetic limbs and leaves him on Mustafar.  To up the ante, he informs Vader that he cannot use the Force and sends an assassin -- who looks like a cross between Batman and Vader -- after him.  You almost feel sorry for him.

The Last God:  Songs of Lost Children #1 (October 28):  This issue is mostly a hit except for one obvious flaw.  It follows Cyanthe and her Aelvan handmaiden Nykeo ten years after the fellowship "defeated" Mol Uhltep.  

While Tyr is putting down a rebellion in Tchakatla Tuo, Cyanthe and Nykeo travel the countryside so Cyanthe (in disguise) can get a better sense of the rumors of discontent that she's been hearing.  She mostly finds complaints of bad harvests and fair taxes, all ordinary laments, so she decides to return to Tyrgolad.  Nykeo convinces her to stop at a nearby house so they don't travel the roads at a night, and a couple with numerous children offers to host them for the night.  One of the young boys wears a similar hat as a boy whom the pair saw on the road earlier that day.  When Cyanthe mentions it, the mother goes into hysterics.  After calming her, the father explains Artom, the boy who Cyanthe "saw," disappeared the previous season.  He acknowledges  Cyanthe's insistence that she saw the boy, telling her that she wouldn't be the first to see ghosts, given that they loose a few kids every year.  When she asks how many kids they have, the father tells her that they care for abandoned children.  He suspects many of them are nobles' children.  The boy with the hat asks if Cyanthe really saw Artom, and the father encourages him to forget it.

That night, Cyanthe dreams of the baby she lost.  A bloody Tyr asks if she also saw the Black Crown over the baby's head.  Cyanthe asks where the baby went, and we learn that it died in childbirth.  Cyanthe awakens to discover the boy left in the night and takes Nykeo with her to get to the bottom of the disappearances.  They stumble upon a nest full of small Aelvan and human bones and discover the boy's hat.  They then discover the boy, much to Cyanthe's relief.  He then grows numerous heads and eyes, revealing the monster.  We learn that it's a Gryndel, a monster who wears the form of its victims to lure in new victims.  The Gryndel escapes, and the pair follow it to the village.  A panicked Nykeo bursts into the room to discover the father with only one baby left, the one she had rocked the previous night after the father put the hysterical mother to bed.  Cyanthe puts together that the baby is Nykeo and Tyr's.  Moreover, given the blue eyes on the Gryndel, Cyanthe realizes that the "abandoned" children here were all Tyr's.  Cyanthe then fires an arrow, not at Nykeo but at the father who's actually the Gryndel.  It dies, and Cyanthe explains that Nykeo's son only survived because the monster was sated.  In the ending narration, we learn that Nykeo subsequently hid the baby in the North or in the slave cradles, likely confirming the child is Eyvindr.

Overall, this issue is stunning in how utterly devastating it is.  Kennedy Johnson pulls no punches in depicting various parents' confrontation with the profound grief of losing a child, so much so that I wanted to wake up my own children just to hug them.  The only flaw to me is that I'm not sure that I buy Nykeo risking bringing Cyanthe to the parents' house.  I guess she thought that they'd be there only briefly, so Cyanthe wouldn't have time to put two and two together.  But, it was still a risk that I'm not sure she needed to take.  That said, I'm also surprised that Cyanthe let the baby live, knowing what we know about the Black Crown, but that makes sense in terms of Cyanthe as a person.

Transformers '84:  Secrets and Lies #4 (October 28):  Furman gives up any attempt to tell a story in this issue.  It's just a series of barely connected moments that address various discrepancies that he's identified in the various tellings and re-tellings of the Transformers arrival on Earth.  His notes at the end of this issue address feedback from folks similarly obsessed with Transformers continuity, making it clear that anyone like me just looking for stories related to the original Transformers wasn't this series' target audience.  That said, I think I'm going to re-read the original U.S. series since I picked up a lot of the issues in comic and TPB format a few years ago and haven't had a chance to read them.  So I guess some good came from this series.

Undiscovered Country #9 (October 28):  This issue is oddly straightforward.  The team divides into three groups, all gaining valuable insight into what America has become.

Oddly, Charlotte and Daniel's interactions with their "parents" is the least illuminating.  We learn that they're simulacra created from Unity's enormous databank of articles, books, memories, pictures, and videos.  Whenever someone plugs into the system, the databank grows.  In hearing the explanation, Ace realizes the '43 surge - an enormous power spike in the Pacific Northwest that was so large even the outside world could detect it - happened due to the incredible amount of energy that Unity needs to run.  Charlotte and Daniel agree to go with their "parents" because, as founding members of Aurora, they might be able to give them the answers that they need about the cure.

Meanwhile, Jain assures Chang that he hasn't become part of Unity because the security and integration system "bit" him.  You have to become a member voluntarily.  Ace volunteers, and Jain grants him limited access to Unity, allowing him to use the "diamond desert" (i.e., the nano-material) to re-create his van.

Inside the Graves' home, Charlotte and Daniel learn that the Graves thought that the Sealing would produce a country-wide Unity within ten years.  Daniel tells the Graves that his "real" father contacted him with a message, but, when Daniel did what he asked, his father eventually told him that he made a mistake and compromised the plan, at which point the Destiny Man found Daniel.  Graves père informs them that they can play back the message for them and the one that Charlotte was also supposed to receive.

In a discussion with Chang and Janet, Jain explains why Aurora's vision wasn't realized.  She elaborates on what we saw last issue:  each zone would follows its own path but contribute to the overall experiment.  For example, Destiny was supposed to provide modified aquaculture in the form of highly production strains of fish and mollusks, Unity would provide the technological advancements, etc.  But, eventually, zones likes Destiny (as we heard last issue) were exploiting their resources for themselves and refusing to acknowledge "the center."  Before Unity's neural-linking project could unify everyone, the zones' conflicts became too entrenched and Aurora ordered the Second Sealing.  Jain is confident they can develop a cure for Sky, but Chang notes that it might be too late because they have to walk the Spiral.  Janet notes that it might not need to be that way.  Meanwhile, Ace and Valentina reach the end of the zone.  Ace tells Valentina more about the '43 surge and how, at the time, they theorized that it was the advent of a wonderful new technology.  

Just as Charlotte and Daniel begin to watch the video message from their father, the Destiny Man - who the security and integration system has pulled into some sort of pocket dimension, if you will -- manages to hack into Unity's Sam, who's been taunting him.  Suddenly, the hand stopping Ace and Valentina from leaving Unity disappears, and the video Charlotte and Daniel are watching suddenly just screams that they should run.

Also Read:  Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #6 (October 21)

Over Year-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf September 2, 16, and 23 (2020) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Die #13 (September 2):  Man, H.G. Wells likes to ramble.

Wells eventually informs Ash that he believes some sort of intelligence - either the former Grandmaster or Die itself - harvested the "real" world's greatest authors' ideas to create each region.  Wells describes his horror at learning that the Schlieffen Plan convinced the Germans that they could win a Great War.  Wells create a game against war - a book entitled "Little Wars" - in the hope of convincing the Germans otherwise.  Instead, he found himself in Die, "a man of peace, trapped in a game of war."  In his conversations with the other Masters (like Brontë) he realized that they had similar experiences.  Wells says that he's the only Master resisting what he calls "the intelligence."  As Eternal Prussia is the "echo" of what his "Little Wars" was trying to oppose, he fought to keep Glass Town free to prevent Eternal Prussia from achieving its goal of capturing it.  Wells starts to walk Ash through how his stories influenced Die only to reveal he was stalling so his Invisible Men could capture Ash.

Elsewhere, the Fair inform Angela, Chuck, and Matt that they get three questions.  Angela suggests Molly should get a question, but the Fair note that she isn't a player "this time."  As Angela is asking what the Fair mean by this time, Matt stops her, reminding her not to waste her question.  The Fair tell Chuck that they're not going to cure him and Matt that nothing can cure him.  Angela asks the Fair if they're going to tell the team what it actually needs the Fair to tell it.  It turns out "the machine of Die" has been assembling itself for 200 years with the goal of combining the two worlds.  To Die, D20 represents a world, so two worlds means 20+20 or the year 2020.  (Yeah, I'm not sure I get it either.)  The Fair came to Die in 1990 to try to stop Die.  Instead, they created the time loop:  by opening the future to the present, they introduced the Fallen, victims from the "real" world who had yet to fall. 

The Fair inform the team that they were an attempt at a cure, to make it about the "real future."  (Again, I don't really get this part either.)  At any rate, Die sits at the end of the timeline and can reach back through it.  It inspires minds and sent two sets of artifacts into the real world.  In 1991 the six dice arrived.  The Fair used them to bring the team to Die as a "beta test for all humanity's fate."  (Again, it isn't clear how they were, but I assume we'll get there.)  Sol then created the twelve soldiers and sent them into 1826.  The Fair say that Sol then called for the team, setting into motion the events that created their dice:  the dice are currently being forged in Glass Town (presumably by Eternal Prussia) and once they're forged Die will reach full sentience.

In Angria, Wells is having the Invisible Men strangle Ash since it abides by his pledge not to spill blood.  (Clever.)  However, Ash tells him that the Great War happened.  Wells thinks that Eternal Prussia is his worst fear, but she tells him it's actually 1914-1918.  Wells didn't save the world, as he thought.  Most importantly, though, Die wanted Wells to create "Little Wars" so it would one day evolve into "Dungeons & Dragons," bringing the team to Die.  Wells is appalled when he realizes that he's been blind and disappears into time, ordering the Invisible Men to kill Ash.  Isabelle saves her, using Pyrrhus to burn the Invisible Men.  When Ash awakens, Isabelle berates her for once again keeping her outside the loop.  She had to beg the gods to let her know where Ash was, just like when they were 16 years old and Ash would disappear with Sol.  Ash apologizes, but Isabelle notes that they don't have time for apologies.  On the front, Aslan agrees to Ash's promise to abdicate if they can form an alliance to take out Eternal Prussia at Glass Town.

This issue continues Gillen really kicking this story into gear.  Both teams converging on Glass Town for different reasons feels organic, not like Gillen pulling the strings.  But, Ash realizing at the end that her euphoria over the truce is probably something Wells felt, Gillen's way of reminding us someone is pulling the strings.  Is it Gary Gygax?  Some future gamer?  We'll see, I guess.

Transformers '84:  Secret and Lies #3 (September 2):  This series has really devolved into Furman trying to link all the various iterations of the original continuity without any real concern about whether it's a good read.  It has become almost impossible to follow as Furman has begun introducing Japanese-only characters.  As much as I love Star Saber here, I really shouldn't have to read Furman's notes at the end of the issue to understand the story.  I'm hoping Furman uses this miniseries to accomplish his reckoning so we can get a subsequent miniseries that tells new stories set in the original continuity.

Star Wars #6 (September 16):  Pak has really done a spectacular job with Luke's story here, and this issue is a fitting end to it.  What began as Luke's quest to find his lightsaber - and then, when that failed - any lightsaber - turns into a meditation on the horror of Order 66.  

Artoo yet again saves Luke's life, stunning Verla into unconsciousness, freeing Luke from the water trap she activated at the end of last issue, and shocking him back to life.  When Verla awakens and realizes that Luke didn't kill her when she had a chance, she admits that he may be Vader's son, but he isn't Vader.  That said, she desperately tries to convince Luke that the Force sees the Jedi and the Sith as little more than tools in whatever cosmic game it's playing.  (I actually love the idea of the Force possibly have masters behind it, and I hope someone explores that one day.)  

Verla walks Luke through the horrors she faced as the Inquisitors and Vader chased her over decades simply because she had some meager talent in the Force.  Pak makes us see just as young Luke is here as he's convinced that it's his destiny to become a Jedi, despite Verla telling him that's exactly like the Force to use "destiny" to convince its tools to do its bidding.  When Luke makes it clear that he's not giving up his quest, Verla tells him to travel to a temple on Tempes.  She found a holocron and lightsaber there but left them there when she realized it was time to abandon the quest her dead master gave her.  

Undeterred, Luke travels to Tempes and is thrilled to find the holocron and lightsaber.  But, the ghost of one of the Inquisitors attacks him, informing him that he's murdered every prospective Jedi to enter the temple.  Luke defeats him - a hint at the power he wields - and returns to Leia and the Rebels as a sign of hope as they plan to launch Operation Starlight.  Meanwhile, Vader travels to Tempes to examine the sprung trap, denying the Inquisitor's request for death by reminding him that he's simply a tool.

Again, this issue is just so packed with action and emotion I found myself surprised every time I turned a page and it wasn't the last one.  Verla's warnings to Luke hint at the bitter man that he'll become, living alone on a desolate planet just like she does.  For now, though, he continues to be a symbol of hope for the Rebels at a time when they desperately need one.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #5 (September 16):  If "Star Wars" #6 is about the horrors of Order 66, this issue is about how Anakin's actions on Mustafa set his fate.  

Vader finds himself unable to open Padmé's tomb as he remembers choking her, and it's Zed-6-7 (his inquisitor droid) who uses a med implant in her corpse to lead them to a Rebel base on Polis Massa.  Vader learns the truth:  Obi-Wan took a dying Padmé there to try to save her life.  Their investigation is put on hold as the Amidalans arrive, and Vader springs his trap, eliminating them entirely.  In the broken remains of the Rebel base, Zed-6-7 discovers a midwife droid whose memory banks are still functional.  Vader watches Padmé's last moments, as she insists to Obi-Wan that there's still good in Anakin.  Enraged when Zed-6-7 mentions how important Obi-Wan was to Padmé - with the flashbacks reminding us that he told Padmé she was lying when she said that she loved him - Vader destroys Zed-6-7 (another great droid lost) and returns to the Emperor.

The rare moment of weakness that we see in Vader at Padmé's tomb - one of the few moments that I recall in any of these series where he has any noticeable reaction to his memories - is the sign that Anakin is still in there somewhere.  After next issue though, as Vader will face the Emperor's punishment for his weakness, it's clear that Anakin will disappear even further in Vader's psyche.

The Last God #9 (September 23):  When I asked a friend if I should read "Game of Thrones," he told me that he wasn't sure if he'd decide to do so again if he had the chance, since the better the person you are the worse the things you suffer.  "The Last God" is definitely treading that territory.

In the past, the fellowship battles a Starro-esque monster as they make their way through the Abyssal Realms.  When a scavenger bird arrives, Tyr ignores Jorunn's warning that they're clever and falls into a trap...literally.  Stepping on a piece of canvas covering up a hole, he falls through it, barely managing to get his axe on the ledge before falling into the bird's nest full of hatchlings ready to feed.  Cyanthe not only doesn't help him but removes his axe; he's saved only when Haakon grabs him.  Cyanthe reveals that she knows that he tried to have sex with Veikko and, when he begins to claim Veikko is lying, she warns him that he has no one to blame but himself.

In the present, Shyf struggles to hold off the "Dwarrow wraiths," as the introduction calls them.  Cyanthe asks Kolba for help, and he wryly notes that, had they asked the Djorruk for help 30 years earlier, they could've led them through the Abyssal Realm.  Now, he refuses to help her.  Outside, Jorrun manages to grab Eyvindr.  Before he can use Ruarc's blade, Jorrun severs his arm.  I'll admit I was stunned - stunned - at this part.  Eyvindr definitely had the hero tag going for him here, and in most books it would mean that he'd escape relatively unscathed.  But, again, we're in "Games of Thrones" territory now.  Eyvindr grabs the blade with his magic - careful not to touch it for long - and jams it into Jorrun.

Inside the cavern, Shyf informs Cyanthe she can't sense Eyvindr or Valko anymore.  Cyanthe approaches Kolba who informs us that all the Djorruk opened their eyes at the same moment when the Abyssal Realm was full of beauty and wonder.  It underscores the point that he was making earlier, that the fellowship immediately trusted the powerful because they though that they'd be the most useful.  Now, Kolba notes that the Abyssal Realm may never be beautiful again, but it may be quiet after all the Dwarrows and Djorruk die.  He asks her if she's sorry she won't see the Black Stair.  Here, Cyanthe turns the tables on him:  she informs him that she's Mol Uhltep's vessel, so she never intended to climb the Stair.  She tells him that, when they met Mol Uhltep, they committed a sin even greater than the one that they did with the Djorruk and were all suitably cursed.  She expressed hope that Evindyr, Shyf, and Valko will succeed where the fellowship failed, since they're free of poison and weakness.  Taking on board Cyanthe's promise to kill herself once she's led the team to the Black Stair, he opens a door through the rock, telling her that he understands that she was punished and that he won't ask her to die for his sake.

Close to the surface, Tyr approaches Cyanthe, and she taunts him, telling him that he isn't the "big man" anymore with Grey and Haakon.  He again tries to blame Veikko, but Cyanthe tells him that she saw him try to assault Veikko.  She then confirms what I suspected:  she used the Soul Ember to speak with her father, who cursed her for a whore, cursed her for letting him die, and cursed her for bedding his murderer.  Haakon interrupts the conversation, and Tyr leaves.  Cyanthe asks why he's with them, since they're all so broken and false.  Haakon tells her that to live is to be broken; it's what makes us strong.  (I need to remember that sentiment myself in the future.)  He tells Cyanthe that her heart guides them, something the Fey see in her.  Haakon pledges not to abandon the Djorruk, to save them after they climb the Stair.  But, Kennedy Johnson reminds us his pledge doesn't come to pass, as Skol see Haakon's dead body - with a wound in the back - in the Bloodglass.

In the present, Valko carries Eyvindr's body up the mountain, chased by Dwarrow wraiths a little less terrifying than Jorunn.  He uses his magic to destroy them and arrives on a plateau.  After spending the last two or three issues trying to teach Eyvindr magic, Valko tells him that he has to do it now to save his life.  As Eyvindr tries, he just tells him that he feels death coming as a noise reverberates through the mountain.  Days later, the remaining team exists the Abyssal Realm.  Cyanthe informs Shyf that they're about two days from the Fellspyre.  They then hear the same noise the guys did.  Djorruk comments that "one" hasn't been this far south in a certain amount of time.  Before they can flee to the caverns, a black dragon appears!

As we approach the Stair, I realize now that we're still short a pretty important fellowship member in the present:  without Haakon and the Fey, how exactly does Cyanthe think the team with defeat Mol Uhltep?  I don't see why she'd lead them to their doom on his behalf, but I also don't see how they're going to defeat him.

Undiscovered Country #8 (September 23):  This issue is surprisingly straight-forward.  

Sam implies that he exists in each of the 13 zones and encourages the team not to ask questions beyond that.  He confirms that "walking the Spiral" means that they're going to need to get through all 13 zones before they get to Aurora.  A frustrated Chang seems not to understand that Destiny isn't Unity, assuming that they're going to have to engage in some elaborate game involving American lore to move to the next zone.  When he suggests they're going to have to steal Davy Crockett coonskin hat and use it to unlock a secret door hidden in Abraham Lincoln's asshole, Sam responds that Davy Crockett is in Possibility not Unity.  Chang throws up his hands and starts walking into the forest when Unity's snake-like "automated security and integration system" attacks him.  Daniel tries to help, but he's also wounded.  Sam eventually calls off the system, and they all head to Unity City in a car Sam creates whole-cloth.

In the past, we see the Graves sending off Charlotte and Daniel.  Sam reminds them that they made a deal:  Aurora would watch over the kids in the outside world (an interesting twist), and the Graves would help the Sealing happen in 72 hours.

As the team marvels at the advanced Unity City, Valentina asks Sam how it's all possible.  Sam reveals to Valentina that time in Unity is only running three times as fast as opposed to five times as fast in Destiny.  As such, he's hopeful if they can find a zone that runs at the same time they can go home.  But, it means 100 years have passed since the Sealing, so it explains how they managed to build such a technological marvel of the Pacific Northwest.  Although relatively cagey about how exactly Unity works, he does explain that essentially everything is connected to each other via "psycho-active nano-material," explaining how he created the car.

Sam introduces them to Dr. Naira Jain, the "first among equals" in Unity.  Chang and Janet immediately try to negotiate with her, but she demurs, telling them that they need to rest.  She then shows them to a replica of the Graves' house.  Charlotte and Daniel are taken aback, even more so when replicas of their parents greet them.  Jain tells the two horrified Graves children that it's her "little gift" to them, which is as creepy as it sounds.  Meanwhile, the Destiny Man arrives in Unity, proclaiming it "his land."  

Unity definitely has an edge that it's trying to hide.  After the "security and integration system" attacks Chang and Daniel, Sam comments that it's "always looking for new meat," which doesn't sound super-Utopian to me.  In the "backmatter," as Kieron Gillen calls it, Snyder and Soule introduce two new narratives.  First, a message-board post by a young Ace contemplates that America has sealed itself from the world because it's planning something:  the America he knows wants to be in control of everything.  Here, the time issues begin to make sense, as Destiny and Unity alone show us the new capabilities America would have when it emerged.  Second, the history of the post-Sealing days mentions that no one specifically says what the plan for Alaska is.  I've been wondering that, since this history makes it clear that Hawai'i is cut loose.  How do you travel the Spiral to Alaska?  Vamos a ver.

Also Read:  Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #5 (September 23)

Almost Two-Year-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf July 8, 15, and 22 (2020) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Dungeons & Dragons:  Infernal Tides #4 (July 8):  Unfortunately, this issue is just as confusing as last issue.  The devils who were initially going to make Krydle surrender his soul in exchange for sparing Shandie's life are replaced by a different devil who makes Krydle surrender his soul in exchange for saving Elturel.  This devil works for a devil named Bel whose goal is regaining dominion over Avernus from Zariel.  Bel's plan, such as it is, is to embarrass Zariel by using Krydle to ruin her plans to bring Eltural into Avernus and...at some point maybe defeat her in a few millennia?  It's unclear.  Meanwhile, Minsc and Nerys engage the Bloodrovers but wind up falling into the River Styx, which robs Minsc of his memory.  I have no idea how Krydle is going to save Elturel in one issue.  I'm guessing that it's just going to end in a lot of hand-waving magic.  [Sigh.]

Transformers '84:  Secrets and Lies #1 (July 15):  Furman's main challenge here - as he acknowledges in his notes at the issue's end - is trying to integrate all the various G1 continuities into a coherent narrative.  In this series, he seems focused on unifying the stories told in the UK and U.S. versions of the "Transformers" comic and then unifying those stories with the ones told in the original TV series.  Unsurprisingly, this effort occasionally trips up the narrative, as you have moments where you're like, 'Wait, the 'Dynobots' were on Cybertron right before the Ark launched?  How did that work?"  In his notes, Furman promises that he's getting there, which makes it a little easier to wade through the seeming discrepancies.  But, it makes this issue feel more like an academic exercise in establishing a clear timeline than a fun comic to read.  With some of those issues now addressed, I'm hoping the series picks up next issue.  (Also, I need to mention pet peeve #1 as at no point does Starscream punch Megatron.)

Die #12 (July 22):  I hoped Gillen would right the ship here, and I'm happy to say that he does.  Both teams now have a clearer sense of the threats that they're facing and at least rudimentary plans on how to address them.

Gillen addresses last issue's cliffhanger right off the bat, confirming that Molly is Angela's daughter from the "real" world.  But, she's older than the Molly Angela left, sending Angela into a panic that time is passing more quickly in Die than in the real world.  Molly is somehow also Fallen, so Angela tries to sacrifice herself to return Molly to life.  Matt stops her, noting that they need an actual plan.

In Angria, Ash, Izzie, and Zamorna learn that Little England not only knows that the companions destroyed Glass Town but also that Angria is run via the Dictators, something I guess Angria didn't realize that Little England knew.  Little England's ambassador refuses to make a deal with Angria so long as Ash is on the throne given her role in altering the Great Game (i.e., the truce between Little England and Eternal Prussia so long as Glass Town stood) due to Glass Town's destruction.  Ash assumes that they learned everything through spies but fears that Zamorna somehow got around the Voice to leak the information.  It appears that Little England is composed of three parts:  the norther part is "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardorbe" and the central...or middle...part is "Lord of the Rings."  Ash, Izzie, and Zamorna realize that they'll face the realm's southern part, which Zamorna says has a "touch of the future" in it.  (This part makes sense later.)  

At this point, Izzie has paid off almost all her debts to the gods thanks to ruling Angria, which gives her the power to make their wishes reality.  She's still in debt to Mistress Woe, however, who's clearly waiting to call in the debt at the most inconvenient time.  Although Izzie might have largely achieved the goal that she articulated for herself last issue, Ash gets farther from it when Augustus announces that he's going to the front lines.  He realizes that he's his mother's only stake in the world, so he needs to up the ante to stop the war.

Returning to Angela, Chuck, and Matt, they are now trying to sort out the time weirdness.  Matt notes that Brontë's story from a few issues ago about the 12 pretty toy soldiers had time weirdness.  Hearing about the soldiers, Dour informs them that Sol carved 12 toy soldiers from the Dreaming Lands' 12 greatest oaks and painted them red with the high priests' blood.  Matt realizes that means Sol gave the wooden soldiers to the Brontës, confirming that time is totally fucked.  (Matt had previously been focused on the fact that the Fallen existed in Die before the companions arrived despite them allegedly being the first ones there.)  They all decide that Molly is actually safest as a Fallen since no one can hurt her and decide to see the Fair, who Angela hopes can stop Die from happening and possibly heal Chuck.  The problem is that the nearest Fair are in the Grandmaster's Realm.  As Angela says, "let's go to fucking Mordor."

As the war gets going in Angria, the False Friend confirms for Izzy that the Little Englanders actually aren't spying.  With no traitors to find, the triumvirate is adrift.  Zamorna warns Ash to take action soon, because everyone knows that she's the reason that the war is ongoing.  It makes Ash realize that the reason that it's "impossible" for peace to happen because she's on the throne is because it's against the Little England's rules.  Remembering Brontë told her that some Masters are more involved than others, Ash asks to meet Little England's Master, who we learn is H.G. Wells.  Dun-dun-DUN!  I'll admit that I thought Tolkien was Little England's Master, so I'm intrigued to see where we go here.

The Last God #7 (July 22):  As with everything in this series, this issue could've been titled, "Secrets and Lies!  Secrets and Lies!"

Kennedy Johnson allows Cyanthe to drop her defenses in this issue.  It's a welcome development, not only because it begins to answer some of the remaining questions at the heart of this story - namely, the mystery surrounding Haakon - but also because we spent so much of this series so far with such unlikable characters.  With Skol and Veikko dead, Cyanthe is alone burdened by her past, and she begins to shed some of that burden here at the urging of her younger companions.

Most importantly, she tells us about Haakon.  We learn that the fellowship rose to fame because Haakon not only joined the party but also enchanted its weapons with Fey magic.  (Upon learning that the same god birthed the Fey and Mol Uhltep at the Pinnacle, Skol surmised that the Fey's magic could destroy the Flowering Dead.)  Cyanthe talks about that period warmly, recalling the fellowship having adventures and giving the people hope, becoming their champions.  Evyndir asks what changed, and Cyanthe simply answers, "We found the House of Ruarc."

In the past, we learn that the Fey have led the companions to the House of Ruarc, a foreboding "house" set in an enormous thorn-covered tree.  As Flowering Dead attack the team, we see how different the party is now, with each fellowship member's weapon glowing a unique color signifying its Fey magic.  After defeating the Dead, Veikko notes the Dead seemed different.  Haakon and Skol recognize one of the corpses as carrying armor with Ruarc's crest.  Haakon isn't surprised that the Dead lead back to a "soulless man," though Skol is thrilled at the prospect of learning more about one of the architects of the Guild Eldritch, the man who discovered how men could wield magic like the Aelves.  Skol informs us the Guild still can't replicate some of his devices, and she discovers two such devices that seem to seal the fate to which present-day Cyanthe alluded:  a Soul Ember, which allows the user to speak to the dead, and the Bloodglass, which shows one's future.  Haakon urges Skol not to touch the Bloodglass, warning that he's previously seen the device and the price of its use is too high.  

Reading Ruarc's journal, Veikko discovers that the Black Stair is near a cave civilization and a living dragon that the Dwarrows worshipped.  Skol exults at the prospect of becoming legends, and Haakon reminds her that the goal when they approached him for help was to learn the source of the Flowering Dead.  Haakon tries to convince everyone to camp outside with him, but they refuse.  Later that night, a drunk Tyr is making an ass of himself.  He makes it clear that he lusts after Veikko and pledges to free the Aelves when he overthrows the "dickless weakling" King Engfurth and becomes king of Olvargolad.  Veikko goes to relieve herself and Tyr follows after rebuffing Cyanthe's advances.  Veikko attacks Tyr when he offers himself to her, all as Cyanthe tearfully watches.  He returns to have sex with Cyanthe as Skol asks the Bloodglass what happens at the Black Stair, showing an insecurity about the future that we haven't previously seen.

In the present, the team walks through Haegerte, the village of Dwarrow who worshipped the dragon, whose remains the party passed on the way to the village.  As Evyndir asks for Cyanthe to continue her story about the House of Ruarc, she walks through the decimated village, tearfully recalling a little girl who made them all laugh.  Evyndir, showing similar growth as Cyanthe, promises to her that they're not her companions, that they're not who her companions became in the House of Ruarc.  Encouraged by Evyndir's promise that they won't betray her, she finally names the ursulon that's been following them since the Pinnacle "Shadow."  In the past, Cyanthe rises as everyone else sleeps and uses the Soul Ember to contact her father.

To make the connections clearer, Kennedy Johnson uses the supplemental material at the end of the book to underline Ruarc's role in the Flowering Dead's creation.  A Pinnacle acolyte requests access to Grandmaster Romm's material after realizing that a children's rhyme implies Ruarc's role.  It talks about how Romm's men killed Ruarc only for his body to sprout the Flowering Dead and kill them.  Ruard had been the hero of the Riverman's Southern conquest but, after Alevan captivity, murdered his king and disappeared into the Riverlands.  The acolyte notes rumors that the Guild's earliest research came directly from Ruarc's teachings.  In the diary of one of the soldiers the murdered Riverman king's son sent to find Ruarc, we learn that Ruarc was the one to discover he could feed magic the flesh of the races who naturally wield magic.  Yeah, it's grim.

Also Read:  Star Wars:  Darth Vader #3 (July 29)

Not-Even-Remotely New Comics!: The August 21 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Guardians of the Galaxy #8:  I cried basically this entire issue.  First, Rocket reveals that he was originally bred as a support animal for patients on an asylum planet.  But, the robots left to care for the patients evolved him and his brethren to take their place after they also left.  Alone, it's a heartbreaking story as we see poor Rocket torn from his kind owner.  He later lies to Groot and Moondragon that he doesn't miss being "soft."  But, we also then learn that everyone is mad with Rocket because he left to die without saying good-bye, desperate for them not to see him weak.  As if all these revelation aren't emotional enough, Groot really amps up the feels when he tells Rocket that he doesn't belong just to himself and that he doesn't get to control how he says good-bye.  (Did I mention that Gamora was protecting Rocket so that one of his enemies didn't kill him before he died?  Sniff.)  I even teared up a bit when Cosmo showed his belly to Lockjaw in honor of meeting him and, paraphrasing Aragorn, Lockjaw told Cosmo that he shows his belly to no dog.  (To quote Peter, space dogs, man.)  It's issues like this one that remind me why I didn't cancel this series, as Cates just really keeps delivering on the feels that come with this family.

Powers of X #3:  In the previous issue that displayed the timeline of Moira's life, lives #9 and #10 had dotted lines, not showing how they ended.  I originally figured that it might mean that those lives were somehow running concurrently, but it turns out Hickman just didn't want to spoil the surprise.

In X2, the X-Men use the device they stole to find the file that tells them when Nimrod went on line.  While the Cardinal, Rasputin, and Xorn sacrifice themselves to distract Nimrod and his troops, Apocalypse, Krakoa, and Wolverine go after the file.  (It turns out the figure that I thought was Groot last issue is a combination of Krakoa and Cypher, which obviously makes more sense.  Also, Apocalypse wasn't trying to send Nimrod after humanity, as I thought last issue; he's trying to wipe Nimrod from history.)  While Apocalypse sacrifices himself to buy them more time, Krakoa returns Logan to Asteroid K.  He then feeds the information to Moira and kills her, ending life #9 and sending her into life #10 with this knowledge.  (Charles' comment to Magneto that they were engaged in a long plan makes much more sense now.)

This timeline seems now to come to an end.  Assuming it didn't cease to exist once Moira died (an ongoing question for me), Rasputin opens up Xorn's helmet and exposes the singularity there, presumably descending this world into a black hole.  (That said, if either the timeline or the X2 Earth end, how is Nimrod still alive -- albeit in a reduced form -- in X3?)  Before ending it (presumably), Hickman made this timeline as scary as possible.  At one point, the Church of the Ascendancy injects what I can only assume is some form of the techno-organic virus into a child.  The Church's tenets are that you have to see your humanity as your fallen self, aware of the perfection (i.e., the machine part) inside you and how far your humanity misses that ideal.  Better to serve in Heaven than rule in Hell, after all, as the bishop quotes.  This part makes it clear that the "Man-Machine Supremacy" is really just the machine supremacy, with humanity completely subjugated.  Until this final gambit, we learn that the X-Men were still trying to get humanity to join them in revolting against the machines.  We also learn more about the lineages, like how the Cardinals were made from Ajax (thanks again, internet!), Jean Grey, and Nightcrawler.

At this point, I think the only loose end related to X2 (beyond this question of what Moira does to the timelines she leaves) is from one of the interstitial pages, where it looks like the Cardinal, Clyobel, Percival, and Rasputin provided genetic material for Mother, or Akkaba.  I wonder when we'll return to that interesting prompt...

Star Wars:  Tie Fighter #5:  This series was really, really solid.

First, characters actually died, and not just in the final issue.  It injected the sort of stakes into the story that you don't often see in superhero comics, where you know dead characters are really just temporarily dead.  Second, the action scenes were exciting.  Antonio does a really great job in depicting the battle against the Rebel base here, making it easy to follow which character is doing what, a notable skill that not every artist working on "Star Wars" comics has shown.  But, Houser also shines as the misfit toys finally come together as a team, with Jeela letting down her tough exterior to admit this team is the only one where she's really belonged and Bansu supporting a usually overconfident Rac after he mistakenly cripples a X-Wing in a way that sends it into a Tie Fighter bomber.

But, all that pales in comparison to the unexpected closing sequence, as Shadow Wing's victory fizzles upon news that the Emperor has been killed with the Death Star.  It's the first time that I've ever seen that moment from the Imperial side.  The cadets start to panic about the Empire's future and their leaders try to reassure them, noting that the command structure remains.  I may have held my breath the entire time, so surprising this entire sequence was.

That said, I'm not sure what the B story is supposed to tell us.  In a flashback, Teso joins Jeela at the target range.  She assumes that he wants to take her off the team because she's often not a good fit, and he reminds her that they're not clones -- they're humans with faults.  It's a great moment, particularly given Teso's "reputation" -- it's a reminder that he's a leader who's had to make tough decisions.  But, he tells her that he's there to talk about another aspect of the mission, but Houser doesn't tell us what that is.  I feel like maybe I just missed it in this issue, but it might be alluding to a side mission in a series to come, which I would totally support.

All in all, it was a great series, giving us a pretty unique perspective on the Star Wars Universe, which is a feat at this point.  I'm definitely going to pick up "Alphabet Squadron."

Transformers '84 #0:  This issue is more in line with what I hoped the relaunched "Transformers" series would be.  We learn that Optimus Prime launched the Ark as a way to lure Megatron to his doom.  He brought his best warriors along with him (to their presumed doom) so that Megatron wouldn't suspect anything.  I mean, whoa.  Heavy is the head that wears the crown.  Meanwhile, the B story involves a team looking for an ark.  In the original cartoon series, Optimus' Ark crashed landed millions of years before 1984, and the B story is set in Medieval Earth, so I assume it's the Ark that they're trying to locate.  But, Prime made Counterpunch promise not to allow anyone to look for them, to ensure that Megatron never troubled Cybertron again, so something is afoot, clearly.  Again, overall, I'd say this series so far holds more promise than the relaunched one, in terms of getting to spend time with the characters that I love.

The Weatherman, Vol. 2 #3:  We get a lot of information here.  But it isn't just some sort of expositive data dump; LeHeup constantly reminds us of the very real human stakes behind each revelation along the way.

The revelations come because the team stumbles upon Dr. Argus as he's picking up a supply drop.  We learn that the biophagus isn't a virus:  it's a "single-cell organism that flash-feeds on animal DNA."  The zombies whom we saw in the previous two issues aren't people:  they're constructs that the biophagus created.  It started as a mist when it first arrived on Earth, but it can take on the shape of any animal that it consumes.  On Earth, it takes the form of people to lure more people into its clutches.  Argus and Dr. Nyseth were working on a weapon that attacks the biophagus' "neuropressin" pheromone, which allows it to communicate with itself telepathically.  It turns out Argus wasn't exposing lottery victims to the virus last issue to create a cure; he's trying to turn his former lab assistant into a biophagus-human hybrid so he can serve as the delivery mechanism for the weapon.  Also, Dr. Argus dug Nyseth's grave because she died two weeks ago of a brain aneurysm.  Ruh-roh.

Argus then informs the team that Ian's memory drive might be at Syngen Station, where Nyseth first worked when she came to Earth.  But it's (of course) one of the most highly protected facilities in the world, because it was the center of biophagus research.  As such, Cross has to kidnap Argus to enter it, because he's the only one with access.  However, Nathan encourages her to let Argus continue trying to "cure" the biophagus, giving Argus time to hit a SOS button.  Cross is forced to reveal to Nathan that Jenner has the other sample (of biophagus, I think).  As such, they don't have time:  they have to get Ian's drive to learn what the Sword of God is planning.  (I'm guessing that Jenner is going to release the biophagus on Mars?)  Argus' rescue team arrives at the lab but the team manages to escape.

Oh, also?  The victims who "won" the lottery from issue #1?  It turns out they're the piles of bodies that we also saw in issue #1.  Kestrel is feeding the "winners" to the biophagus to keep it controlled; it's the only way that they've been able to survive.  (I was wondering how or why they piled up the bodies so high.  Like everything with this series, the answer is grimmer than I thought.)  But the revelations don't stop there.  It turns out Pickles (Pace's bear) is a "brain-damaged" construct; he was exposed to radiation and somehow forgot his biophagus connection, bonding onto Pace instead.  We also learn from Argus that Nyseth didn't really die of a brain aneurysm, as he later confides to Cross.  After Nyseth was chosen in the lottery, Kestrel exempted her to continue her research, but a mob killed her anyway.  We also learn that the Marshal was friends and partners with Ian Black before he joined Jenner's crew.  It's all...a lot.

As revelation-heavy as this issue was, though, it didn't just read as exposition.  In moments when it came close to that, LeHeup quickly made sure to focus on the emotions driving these characters.  For example, in a flashback, we see that Garren confronted Cross over her lack of a plan to get off Earth.  They kiss, but they have to stop when they arrive on Earth.  Cross remembers this moment as she weeps over Garren's loss.  Ugh.  It was a punch right in the feels, man.  Did I mention the Martian president has to decide whether to let a terrorist strike continue so they can kidnap one of Jenner's Inner Circle without him realizing they captured the agent?  LeHeup just really knows how to make a bad situation worse.

(I edited the texts of my "The Weatherman" reviews in November 2024 as I occasionally called Cross "Amy" instead of Amanda and the Marshal as "Cowboy" or just "Marshal.")

Also Read:  Marvel's Spider-Man:  City at War #6