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 August 5, 12, 19, and 26 (2020) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars #5 (August 5):  I don't have too much to say about this issue other than the fact that Soule reminds us just how little Luke actually knows about the Force.  He tracks down Verla, the woman in his vision, and she's the one to tell him about Order 66.  It really adds fuel to the fire when it comes to Obi-Wan and Yoda leaving Luke totally unprepared for his path as Jedi as a result of their commitment to secrets and lies. 

Undiscovered Country #7 (August 5):  Snyder and Soule pull back the curtain on the events shortly after the Sealing but, in typical fashion, we wind up facing more questions than answers.

First, we learn that the United States split itself into 13 sovereign zones.  Every American could chose in which zone s/he wanted to live.  If you wanted little to no gun laws, regulation, or taxation, you moved to Zone Destiny.  If you wanted the opposite scheme, you moved to Zone Unity.  At the state of his meeting with the heads of the 13 zones, the president informs the group that 74 percent of Americans approve of this "enhanced sovereignty."

However, Sam Elgin and his fellow Aurora members - including the Drs. Graves - rain on this parade.  Sam opens a box to show a purple amphibian, the type of creature - though tamer - that we saw in Destiny.  Elgin informs the group that nearly 20 percent of the bioengineering happening in Destiny is outside Aurora's advice.  Representative Wyath - presumably the man we'll see become the Destiny Man - argues that they can pursue any strain they want to pursue as long as they meet their quota.  This comment establishes that Aurora was approving at least some bioengineering, though we don't yet know for what purpose.  

The president interrupts the argument, noting that Aurora was the one that shot the bullet that killed federalism.  Elgin agrees but seems now to realize that Aurora was too optimistic in the assumption that the 13 zones would work together as a single "equation."  He notes Zone Bounty is tasked with manning the nuclear pillars, but Aurora suspects it's siphoning off energy.  The president suggests they make a full report in six months at the next meeting after the "cyclotronic generators" are operational.  Elgin dissents, noting that, if the cyclotrons are abused in the same way as everything else, it could be catastrophic.  

In other words, it's pretty clear now that we're dealing with a story about hubris.  Aurora clearly thought that it could keep control over the project, but it got too unwieldy too quickly, which is particularly dangerous given the project itself is messing with nature and time (again, to unknown purposes).   In the back pages, we learn that, in the initial days after the Sealing, chaos erupts in America as most Americans were unaware of the government's plans.  Even if the president's later claim of high approval rates for the Sealing is true, it's clear that it takes a while to get everyone (or most everyone) on board.  

In another flashback, Elgin talks about the initial dream, and it's clear that it isn't anything like the nightmare that the United States has become.  How we got here is obviously going to be the most fascinating part of this story.  It also is clear that it isn't just hubris on Aurora's part.  Snyder and Soule are picking up a thread straight from current American politics, the whispered idea that we should just divide up the country.  Snyder and Soule seem clearly set on showing us how that's going to look.

In the present, the team enters Unity, encountering a bleached-white landscape of trees with blue and red lines running around them.  Tentacles attack the train, and the team barely escapes before it pulls the train down into the soil.  Daniel starts to get the team going just as a cyborg emerges from the trees' shadows.  It turns out it isn't a cyborg, though:  "it" removes its mask and it's Dr. Elgin asking the team to save America.

Just like Gillen did in this month's issue of "Die," Snyder and Soule get going in earnest on this new arc after a lackluster previous issue.  Janet and Chang are now actively seeking an exit once they get a chance, and Charlotte and Valentina commit to riding the figurative train to its final destination as they're tired of the half-measures they've been taking over the last few years.  At this point, it makes sense that people are starting to make decisions and take sides.  How much more information do you need at this point?

Dungeons & Dragons:  Infernal Tides #5 (August 12):  Despite my doubts, Zub manages to wrap up all the loose ends here.

Nerys joins the Bloodrovers as they enter the infernal war machines, which serves both their purposes:  she gets to undo the chains, and they get the soul coins.  An amnesiac Minsc lassos some sort of winged Nine Hells monster, and he and Nerys ride it to Elturel.  Krydle's attempt to use the talisman from last issue to free Elturel fails:  although he successfully uses it to get control over "Thavius Kreeg, High Overseer of Elturel" (who's actually Kreegor the Betrayer, a Zariel-worshipping devil in disguise), it turns out the contract is written on infernal parchment so only Zariel can destroy it.

When Zariel arrives, Krydle successfully goads her into attacking him and manages to get the parchment in front of her attack, destroying the pact.  Aubree reminds an enraged Zariel that she was once "the Companion of Light," and the pain of the memory drives away Zariel.  Elturel returns to its place on the Prime Material Plane, Aubree becomes a paladin of Torm and knight of the Hellriders, and Minsc seems to be regaining his memory.   But, the issue ends with Krydle contemplating the infernal script on his forearm, so we'll see where the story goes.

All in all, this series was my least favorite of the Baldur's Gate heroes' adventures.  Given how high concept it was, we needed at least another issue dedicated to the actual conflict with Zariel, either by adding an issue or scaling back the time the heroes spent looking for answers in the initial few issues.  With the team returning to Baldur's Gate, I'm hoping we get a more normal set of adventures so we can focus a little more on the characters themselves and how these last few weeks have affected them.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #4 (August 19):  Sacks reveals that the scene that shocked Lash at the start of this series and goaded her into killing the Mourner's Wail heir is, in fact, a shocking one:  he was trying to murder his pregnant lover, the Unbroken Clan heir.  She tells Lash that they intended to escape together since their families wouldn't accept their child, but her boyfriend balked at losing everything for his girlfriend and unborn child.  Later, we learn that Lash has raised the child and sent a message to Valance because she needs someone to make sure the child reaches adulthood since, if she does, she'll end the two syndicates' war.  (Lash is dying of a disease, explaining why she left hiding now.)  T'ongor's sister accepts Lash's reasoning and pledges to return to her wife...before Boba Fett kills her.

The Last God #8 (August 26):  Holy shit, this issue is fucking intense.  Kennedy Johnson is really stepping on the gas as we approach the end of this first volume.  It reminds me of the first two issues, where every time you turned the page something insane happened.  You can tell Kennedy Johnson has been building to this moment throughout the series, keeping the Dwarrows a mystery so that they're all the more terrifying when we encounter them.  It's notable that both fellowship encounter them in this issue as they each prepare to climb the Black Stair.

In the past, the fellowship makes its way through a desolate mountain only to encounter a man frantically running in their direction.  (Kennedy Johnson doesn't tell us what a man is doing in this area, so I wonder if we'll return to him.). He's killed by a flying hammer and the fellowship comes face-to-face with Dwarrows.  It's the first time we meet them:  they're not exactly dwarves, as I though they'd be.  They're more like short ice giants, if you will.  Speaking their language, Skol tries to ask them where the Black Stair is, but the pack's leader orders his fellows to attack.  The fellowship makes short work of them, and the Dwarrows stop short when Skol uses magic, "like the Djorruk do."  The leader informs them that they can't cross the Karkarok Mountains above-ground and agrees to lead them into the Abyssal Realm.

In the present, Cyanthe warns her companions that the Dwarrows are murderers and rapists.  Valko notes that Jorunn was one of the fellowship, but Cyanthe denies that, saying they only said he was to secure loyalty from the Abyssal Realm.  (In an example of pet peeve #2, we're first told about Jorunn on the introduction page.)  Although he climbed the Stair with them, he was more into glory-hounding.  With a final warning, the team enters the Abyssal Realm.

Returning to the past, the fellowship encounters a spectacular city, with a lava-filled, living tree-creature at its center; even Veikko is impressed.  Skol informs her that Mol Kalakto built the place.  She asks the pack's leader what the tree is, and he informs her that it's the demon Norduuk, who the God of the Forge chained.  When she breaks free, the surface land will fall into the Abyssal Realm, the surface waters will quench the Godforge's fire, and Norduuk will rule the darkness.  As they make their way through the Realm, Cyanthe encounters diminutive rock creatures with glowing eyes, one of whom begs her to save them.  She's terrified when the Dwarrows capture them, but Skol wars her to keep quiet, since they need the Dwarrows' help to get through the labyrinthine Abyssal Realm.  

The pack's leader -- who we now learn is Jorunn - brings them to the king, his father.  The king agrees to help the fellowship by giving them Jorunn as a guide if they give them magic and the "fair-haired girl."  Skol notes that's a non-starter, since Grey would eat them all, but gives them two gifts:  the culling sieve, which will allow them to consume a creature's soul and life energy including magic if the creature has some; and a blade that Ruarc created that the wielder's own life fuels to kill his enemies.  Later, at Cyanthe's urging, Skol asks Jorunn about the creatures.  He informs them that they're the Djorruk:  living statues whose magical-crafting gifts the Dwarrows want.  Cyanthe loses her shit at this point, noting that they saved people form the Flowering Dead, but they're abandoning the Djorruk who asked for help.  Tyr tries to calm her down, but, when he calls her "love," she tells him not to call her that and not to touch her.  She pulls a knife on the team, telling them that they're no heroes, they're just "dancing to the songs people sing" about them.

In the present, the Abyssal Realm is dark and grey.  In the ruins, Evindyr finds Ruarc's (now not-glowing) knife and, against Valko's wishes, keeps it.  Cyanthe assumes the Flowering Dead have killed the Dwarrows, but she stumbles upon a partially broken Djorruk.  It turns out he's the statue she first met.  His name is Kolba and asks that they leave the Djorruk alone.  When Cyanthe asks if the Dead destroyed the Abyssal Realm, he tells her that she did.  The Dwarrows used the knife to enslave and kill the Djorruk ("as you knew they would," he adds).  But, wanting more power, they tried the knife on Norduuk, changing them.  The team is then attacked by a lava monster who's apparently Jorunn, underlining Kolba's point.

In other words, the title of this issue should be, "As if things couldn't get more depressing..."  Kennedy Johnson is making it clear why Cyanthe is so bitter as he shows us the weight that she's been carrying with her all these years. 

Also Read:  Star Wars:  Darth Vader #4 (August 12); Transformers '84:  Secrets and Lies #2 (August 19)

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)

Almost Two-Year-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf June 10 and 24 (2020) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Undiscovered Country #6 (June 10):  As with everything related to this series, it's hard to tell which development here will ultimately be the most important.  

After Pavel frees himself, he sends Uncle Sam's blimp-shuttle to rescue the heroes instead of him, electing to free as many Wall prisoners as he can before the Destiny Man's guards overcome him.  It seems a suicide mission - Pavel relishes the chance to return to his days as a soldier, saving people - but Pavel has survived before when we thought he was lost so we'll see.

Daniel proves that he wasn't the Destiny Man's lackey when he convinces the Destiny Man to hold up his end of their bargain - providing Daniel with a dose of the cure for Sky - and then detonates his former submarine.  (It was packed full of explosives he intended to use to kill himself if someone caught him during his first incursion into America.)  The explosion destroys the rest of Destiny Man's rolling city, which the Destiny Man had already reduced in size to activate "booster" mode.  In so doing, he had been able to get ahead of Sam and the team as they headed to the Wall's Ninth Star (the New Hampshire Star) on the train that Sam materialized last issue.  

(This part initially confused me, because last issue Sam said that the keyhole wasn't in the Wall.  But, I guess the gate itself is in the Wall; it was just the keyhole that wasn't.  The keyhole also gave us the train, which maybe you need to get in the gate?  It's a little unclear.)

After one of the Destiny Man's followers assassinates Sam, Daniel manages to get the team into the Wall as the Destiny Man's followers and the Silent Majority devotees fight each other, only to have Aurora gun them all down.  Inside the Wall, Charlotte, Chou, and Janet vote to use the helicopter Aurora provides them to leave.  However, Valentina injects Charlotte with the cure, changing her vote as they need to stay to get more of it.  They now begin walking the Spiral, unaware Aurora has decided to give the Destiny Man the chance to do so, too.

I'll admit that I enjoyed this issue less than previous ones given the fact that it's just too crazy.  At some point, the issue devolves into the two factions' soldiers just shouting Americana phrases, like "Live free or die!"  Snyder implies that the next zone - Unity - will be more of a technological wonder, and I welcome that change of pace.  I'm also hoping we get a little more insight into how America got this way, since, after six issues, we still don't have a lot along those lines.

Die #11 (June 24):  I don't have too much to say about this issue because we don't particularly learn anything new.  As Gillen says in the "backmatter" (as he calls it), the first arc was about building the blocks but this one is about tumbling them.  

Although the party stands reconfigured, neither side particularly understands what their goals are.  The most interesting development, which I don't think that I realized last issue, is that Ash is unable to use the Voice because she's currently using it to bind Zamorna to her.  When she approaches Sol, he expects Ash to use it on him, but she surprises him when she tells him that she's simply seeking out her friend.  

Later, Ash and Isabelle discuss what their goals are - paying Izzy's debts to the gods, making Angria safe for Augustus and the Dictators, and cleaning up the mess that they made in Glasstown.  They agree that they'll leave after that, though Hans makes it clear that Ash is considering what Sol told her when she went to see him, that she has the power to take on the Grandmaster like he did.  Their discussion is interrupted when an aide informs Ash that Little England is on the verge of invading Angria for disturbing the Great Game.  

Meanwhile, Angela, Chuck, and Matt have dispatched a group of Fallen to acquire Fair so Angela can expand her stealth shield and they can cross the border.  But, everything changes when Angela comes face to face with Molly, who appears to be her daughter.  If we hadn't just gone through a similar child-related reveal with Ash, I might be shocked.  Instead, it feels like a bad omen that we're repeating tropes already.

Also Read:  Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #3 (June 24)

Almost Two-Year-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf May 20 (2020) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Dungeons & Dragons:  Infernal Tides #3 (May 20):  It seems weird that we're only getting to the "tides" part of a series called "Infernal Tides" in the third issue when it sounds like this series is supposed to end with the next issue.  But hopefully Zub will give enough infernal piracy to compensate!  

As we saw at the end of last issue, the gang arrives in Elturel in time for an infernal invasion.  I use "infernal" instead of "demonic" or "devilish" because, well, it's...complicated.  I'm pretty deep in DnD, and even I admit that I got lost in the hairsplitting that is chaotic demons fighting lawful devils in the eternal Blood War.  Zariel's devilish troops are dragging Elturel into the Nine Hells for reasons that aren't particularly clear to me but, you know, devils.  

The first stop on the Nine Hells tour is Avernus, the Hells' upper tier and the Blood War's primary battle ground (since it's where the River Styx dumps the demons coming from the Abyss).  As far as I can tell, we don't see any demons here, though the devils are giving the gang enough trouble.  A group called the Bloodrovers plan to steal the soul coins that are powering the war machines that Zariel's troops are using to pull Elturel down into Avernus.  (Again, I'm surprised this crowd didn't appear earlier given the mini-series title.)  

In Elturel, the Hell Knight Haruman leads the charge, and we're reminded (told?) that he's the devil who kidnapped (or maybe murdered?) Aubree's father.  I have no real memory of that, but that's probably my fault for allowing so much time to elapse between reading the first issue and the last two issues.  At any rate, a gleeful Minsc engages him, but they wind up tumbling into Avernus with Nerys who tried to help.  Meanwhile, Shandie's instance on following a voice calling for help results in her getting trapped by a group of...demons, I want to say...who demand Kyrdle's soul in exchange for her freedom.

As you can probably tell, I had to re-read this issue a few times to track what the plot, and even then I found it relying almost a little too much on DnD lore, like soul coins and which infernal realms belongs to which devils, etc.  I hope, to quote Minsc, we return to more straight-forward butt-kicking next issue.

Almost Two-Year-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf March 18 and 25 (2020) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, here we go!

Dragon Age:  Blue Wraith #3 (March 18):  For how uneven this mini-series has been, this issue wraps up the story rather nicely.  

At Nenealeus' estate, Fenris, Francesca, and Vaea defeat the Qunari but the Viddasala manages to escape.  Fenris wants to question the slaves, which Francesca fears means torture.  She tries to block him from doing so, telling him that the slaves have been through enough already.  Fenris tells the slaves that they're all free and asks if they know where Nenealeus was going.  One of the kids tells him that the caravan is heading for Tenebris, but he doesn't know where they're meeting with Nenealeus.  Autumn then picks up the Viddasala's trail.  Meanwhile, Marius and Tessa realize that the exploding human from last issue was some sort of experiment.   

Nenealeus and Cedric realize that the Qunari are on their tail in addition to the heroes.  Cedric hopes their Qunari problem will take care of their pursuer problem, but Nenealeus doesn't want to rely on that.  He recruits more human bombs, promising freedom for the families of the slaves who agree.  The Qunari stumble upon Ser Aaron's team just as Fenris' team finds them.  Unfortunately for the now-unified team, Nenealeus' human bombs start coming after them, too.  Fenris catches the caravan, and Shirallas informs him that the humans explode because they can't handle the power.  Meanwhile, Calix convinces the team to retreat, correctly realizing that the human bombs will take out the Qunari.

Later, Francesca frees her father, who attacks her.  Francesca discovers that her father and brother were part of Nenealeus' scheme as her father screams at her that it was his chance to restore the Venatori and their family name.  Impressed by Francesca's heart at the mansion, Fenris intervenes, telling Magister Invidus that he's only alive because of Francesca.  The two battle, but Francesca uses her magic to save Fenris, killing her father.  Vaea comforts her as she cries.  

That night, Calix tells Ser Aaron that he's not built for this life.  Francesca lets him keep the trinket of hers that he has (I assume from an earlier series), telling him to go to Fort Viridan and use it to set up a life.  Calix pledges to be their man in Fort Viridan, which Tessa says they'll need one day.  He also sadly lets Autumn stay with the team as they head to Tenebris.  Fenris agrees to stay with them as well, to prevent Shirallas from getting in the sarcophagus.

Seriously, I wasn't a fan of this series after the first two issues, but DeFilippis and Weir really nail the landing here.  It was smart to narrow down the character roster by sending away Calix, particularly since he probably really will contribute more to the team as a local agent than active player.  I feel like we also finally resolved some loose threads, given the story more focus as we go forward.

Star Wars #4 (March 18):  Given the dire straits in which the gang found itself last time, Soule warps up this story really quickly.  

In trying to use the Force to find his lightsaber, Luke winds up touching minds with Leia and realizing that she's in carbonite.  Seeing a vision of Yoda telling him that he won't need his weapons, Luke realizes that he doesn't need a lightsaber (particularly one that his father owned) to be a Jedi.  Meanwhile, Lobot helps Lando escape the Stormtroopers, and they run into Luke who convinces Lando to help him find Leia by...not telling him that they're going to find Leia.  (Smart kid.)  Instead, he suggests they go to the biggest hangar (where he knows Leia is) to escape, and Lando agrees since it's the best place to find a ship.  

After Luke reveals his plan, Lando is aghast at the brazenness of it, particularly when Luke adds that he wants to recover his X-Wing.  But, Lando also mentions that carbonite freezing isn't that difficult to undo, given that it's used for cargo.  Luke uses the Force to free all the prisoners, including Leia, and they make short work of some Stormtroopers after Luke uses the Force to swipe the guns.

On board their ship, Lando admits to Leia that he went on the mission not only to save Lobot but also to ruin Cloud City for the Empire, which he did by poisoning the tibanna gas.  He notes that it'll take a long time to process out the impurities, so the Empire will likely leave.  I thought that Lando was going to say that he did it for his former citizens, but he tells Leia that he did it so the Empire knows that you pay a price when you rob from him.  But, when one of the prisoners whom Luke freed hugs Lando, telling him that he's a hero for returning to help them, Lando has a moment where he realizes maybe, just maybe, this hero bit isn't so terrible.  Luke then departs to try to find the woman in his vision, having Artoo triangulate the location of the planet that he describes from his dreams.

As I said, I was surprised this arc wrapped up so quickly, but Soule made it feel pretty organic.   That said, it isn't like the team's problems have magically disappeared...

Undiscovered Country #5 (March 18):  At this point in the story, we have three separate groups, which eventually splinter even further into four groups by the end.

First, we learn more about Pavel this issue.  He apparently became a hero in both the empires for his role in taking down the world's last remaining terrorist group, the Gray Zeroes.  He did so by simply staying alive for two years in captivity:  his biosignature allowed the two empires to find him and take out the Zeros' last stronghold.  He was the only member of his squad to survive, and their deaths haunt him:  he has lockpicks installed in his teeth and his heel so he's never helpless again.  At some point after the empires free him, he becomes a drunk.  Returning to the present, Pavel uses the picks to escape the Wall, coughing up the one in his tooth to take off his mask.  Snyder and Soule are at their grossest here in describing how awful the Wall is.  The Destiny Man's agents use spears to poke the star-like creatures on top of the Wall, prompting them to defecate scalding liquid on anyone who stops looking up (and, presumably, stops contemplating the futility of their escape).

Meanwhile, Ace leads the team to the parking garage that we saw last issue, and they break free on shark-pulling speeders.  Buzz, Valentina's drone, locates Pavel and they head straight for him.  But, the Destiny Man's agents are in hot pursuit, and the Destiny Man - after changing to a new set of neon horns - tells his henchman that they'll lead them to Aurora and the door. 

Elsewhere, Daniel and Lottie are in their own crazy vehicle.  Daniel tries to convince Lottie that their father spoke with him, explaining that he said that the key not only to curing Sky but fixing the world was at the center of America.  Daniel devoted himself to a "vocation" that would get him there.  Lottie accuses Daniel of immediately throwing in his lot with a tyrannical maniac, which is a pretty fucking shocking show of naivety given what she's already seen in America.  Daniel tells her that the Destiny Man was there when he arrived where their father told him to go.  The Destiny Man tortured Daniel and then put him in touch with his father, who looked terrible and told him that things had changed and the "deal" was the only possible option.  Daniel tells Lottie that it's a bad deal, but he's aiming higher.  Before he can elaborate, Sam arrives in the Space Shuttle Atlantis tied to two blimps.  (Yup.)  Daniel tells Lottie to trust his plan, but she dismisses him as a selfish asshole set on a revenge narrative.  (I'm definitely Team Daniel here.)  Daniel calls bullshit, noting that her whole martyr complex gave her a reason to ignore their family and avoid looking at the uncomfortable things.  She then crashes the car, steals the Golden Spike, and flees to Sam.  

When Lottie says the rest of the team isn't with her, Sam tells her that she needs to use the shuttle to get them.  Sam then admits the keyhole isn't at the Wall, where the Destiny Man thinks it is.  He says that he set the coordinates himself the last time he saw her parents as he plunges the Spike into a mountainside.  She asks if he's really Sam Elgin, and he cryptically says, "We all are."  He tells her that she'll have to wait for that story (of course).  They now have to pass from the "introductory place" to the next zone as a train appears in the mountainside opening.

In terms of where we're heading, perhaps the most important piece of information is on the timeline at the back, where we now learn that a "gravitational lensing" experiment 18 months before the Sealing allowed scientist to age a patch of farmland in a matter of minutes.  It reminds us that the team is really on a clock here.

The Last God #6 (March 25):  In retrospect, I should've guessed that Kennedy Johnson was going to replace the original companions with their children the moment that Valko reappeared at the Pinnacle in issue #4.  But, I didn't, so this issue was a fucking trip.

In the past, Cyanthe whistles a tune that Tyr tells her Torma used to sing as a child.  She tells him that her father taught it to her.  Tyr can barely hide his incredulity when Cyanthe tells him that her father was a kind man who would've liked him.  As she mentions that he appears to her in dreams, the group comes upon a group of truly savage looking Aelva.  It's clear that the Aelva aren't one united group when the leader - who wears a skin-stitched mask with rings hanging from leather straps - asks Veikko if "Tchakatl whores [were] no longer taught that the Habokuk tribe rules east of Tchaatla Kuelo."  Well, OK, then.  Veikko offers gems in tribute and asks if the Habokuk leader knows of a place "where light and sound imitate the living."  After a beat, he directs her south but warns her that "a servant of the dead" dwells near there as well.  He also tells her not to pass that way again.  In a great example of pet peeve #2, I only realize that Veikko means a place where the fey live because the introductory page told me that Skol concluded that the fey can help them after the conversation with the Book of Ages.

In the present, all hell has broken loose.  Veikko tries to convince Valko to escape as they fight the Flowering Dead outside the Pinnacle.  Valko tells her that he won't listen to her given her betrayal.  Veikko then delivers the speech that sums up adulthood.  She explains that the companions all thought that they would build something better:  an end to slavery, their people restored, and harmony among the races.  But they failed.  She tells him that being a Ferryman King in their time means "to sacrifice pieces of oneself until nothing remains[,] to be betrayed by one's comrades and to accept our own powerlessness to seek justice."  She tells him that she takes only what victories she can as they continue to battle.  Meanwhile, Shyf is surprised Eyvindr helps her after calling her a monster, but he notes that the "old woman" said that they needed her.

Inside the Pinnacle, Skol is engaged in a self-centered ramble that makes all these events about her, about some plan she imagined that Mol Uhltep put into play to rob her of all she's built.  In an another example of pet peeve #2, the introductory page informs us that Skol used a binding spell on Cyanthe, who's struggling against it as Skol begins to open a portal to another world.  It's telling that Skol's ready to escape once she concludes that she can't get Shyf to the Black Stair, believing the planet doomed.  Before she can enter, Cyanthe fires an arrow through her neck in a moment that's really shocking when it happens.  Cyanthe tells her that her and Tyr's flaws were that they never respected anyone's strength but their own.  Skol asks if her father still haunts her dreams and calls her a whore.  Announcing "this is for Grey," Cyanthe cuts off Skol's head and splits it down the middle.  She then hilariously turns to the ursulon and asks what his name is.

Outside, Dead-Tyr throws down the gauntlet to Veikko to see who was the better warrior, and Veikko delivers an unbelievable performance in seemingly defeating him.  But, in a move I don't fully understand, Tyr uses the twinning spell against her, implanting a branch in her hand where she had stabbed herself with a knife in issue #4.  Veikko asks Valko to forgive her, saying that she was unworthy of him.  She beseeches him to be more than she was and warns him to stay away from the Black Stair.  She then becomes a Flowering Dead.  Federici is amazing in depicting Veikko's horrific fate  here, as Dead-Veikko loses her lower face to thorns.  Shyf teleports Eyvindr and Valko - as well as Cyanthe and the usulon - onto a nearby hillside, and they all watch the Pinnacle burn.  Eyvindr tells Valko to rise, but Valko tells him to begone.  Eyvindr then notes that Valko "pissed and moaned" in Tyrgolad about not getting to go to the Stair but he know wants to "lay down and die" when no one is left to go.  Eyvindr rallies the troops, asking Cyanthe if she'll join them.  She pulls back the corruption in her eyes and face - corruption that the rest of them don't see - and agrees.

In the past, as the companions arrive at the fey's gate, the Flowering Dead attack, seemingly killing Grey and Tyr.  A glowing figure destroys them, asking who dares to bring the dead into "Eshua."  The figure's glow fades and explains that the fey are as children and don't interfere in the realm of men.  We learn that it's Haakon, the fey's guardian.  He informs the team that they have to deal with him.  I'm sure that'll go well.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #2 (March 25):  Whew, Sacks manages to cram in a lot of narrative here while still throwing a lot of action and gunfire our way.

In the past, Nakano Lash, T'ongor, and T'onga are meeting with a black-market tech supplier named Jhorstek in a bar on Eriadu.  The barkeep is tossing a boy from a bar because he swiped some rations from an Imperial speeder and has Stormtroopers on his tail.  The bar denizens, including Valance, turn a deaf ear to the kid's cries as the Stormtroopers arrive.  Lash prepares to help the kid, over Jhorstek and T'ongor's objections, but Valance beats her to the punch.  

Sacks makes it clear that we're in an era where Valance is bitter about his fate.  He's screaming about how the Empire made him barley human as he takes out the Stormtroopers, though the reinforcements manage to put him down.  Lash and her team save him because, as she tells Valance before he loses consciousness, she was that boy and no one saved her.  She then has Jhorstek fix him, putting it on her tab.  It seems clear that Sacks is going to be telling a story here about how Lash helps Valance deal with his anger, hence why she becomes his mentor.

In the present, Valance has found Jhorstek's dead body and, thus, a cold trail in his search for Lash.  He hacks into the security system and discovers to his chagrin that it was Boba Fett who beat him to the punch.  Although there's no audio, Valance manages to read Jhorstek's lips in his reflection on Boba Fett's helmet, revealing the word "Galmerah."  Valance picks up a tail as he heads there, and we see that Bossk is already on Galmerah, the Graveyard Planet.  Valance finds Lash's parents' grave and, when touching it, coordinates.  Bossk arrives just in time to open fire, pledging to steal the coordinates from Valance's droid.

Meanwhile, at the Fortress of the Mourner's Wail on Dotharian, Tong'a makes her way through a series of guards until she catches the attention of Lord Khamdek.  He's impressed, and she pledges to kill Lash for the death of his son and her brother.  He responds that Lash appeared near Kessel and made contact with the Unbroken Clan, proof in his mind of a conspiracy to kill his son, the Mourner's Wail's only heir.  (Khamdek describes his loss as a worse blow than any the Unbroken Clan has struck in a century of war.)  In other words, I think we have more gunfire coming our way.

I'm Back...Again

Just as I started blogging again, we moved across country.  It's taken a while to get settled, but I'm happy to say that I'm reading comics again.  I continued along the path I charted before my last break, focusing on the series I really liked, mostly Image and Marvel's Star Wars series.  I've managed to get current on these series, and I've got over a month's worth of posts to prove it!  While I make my way through those posts, I'm diving into my backlogged superhero comics.  As I get current, I'l list the up-to-date series on the blog's side scroll.  Onwards and upwards!

Over-a-Year Old-Comics: The Top-Shelf March 11 (2020) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #1:  As the editor says in his letter at the end of the issue, intragalactic bounty hunters are at the top of the list of awesomeness that Star Wars gave us.  Sacks takes that premise and runs with it here, and I'm stoked to see where we go.

"Then:"  Valance is part of a crew, which also includes Boba Fett and Bosk, that his mentor Nakano Lash leads.  Someone named Khamus, scion of the Mourner's Wail syndicate -- the "deadliest crime syndicate in the sector" according to Boba Fett, so that's saying something -- has hired them to invade a citadel on Corellia so she can assassinate a member of the Unbroken Clan, which would apparently break some sort of truce.  Lash and the other bounty hunter on the squad, T'ongor, enter the citdel with Khamus.  But, Lash is appalled that Khamus wants to kill the target (presumably a child) and kills her instead.  T'ongor radios Boba Fett and Valance to flee.  Valance struggles to act as he can't believe Lash would betray him in this way.

"Now:"  Valance's droid informs him that a bounty has been put on Lash who has apparently emerged from hiding.  T'onga - T'ongor's sister - leaves behind her girlfriend when she learns of the bounty, seeking revenge for her brother's death.  (I assume he died when Nash turned tables, but we'll see.)  At a cantina on Burnin Konn, Bossk is bitching about the fact that Boba Fett managed to get Solo when Black Krrsantan and Dr. Aphra appear.  Before Aphra can leave, Bossk tries to kill "BK."  Aphra trades him Lash's location instead since she needs BK for a mission.  Most importantly, Boba Fett is transporting Han to Jabba when he gets wind of the bounty on Lash, revealing why he hasn't appeared before Jabba on Tatooine yet in the main title.

In other words, holy crap, these guys are going to go through a lot of lasers when they inevitably crash into each other.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #2:  This issue is pretty straightforward.  Vader quickly realizes that "Padmé" is Sabé, one of the Queen's Shadows.  She confirms that she and her team were the ones who broke into Padmé's apartments in Coruscant in an attempt to find out Padmé's fate.  Vader tells Sabé that he's searching for the people who "stole her away" before she died, and Sabé agrees to help him.  She reveals that they were unable to decode the security footage so hid it on Naboo, where they now head.  Pak's definitely building to something here, which is exciting to watch.

Star Wars:  The Rise of Kylo Ren #4:  Jesus unprintable Christ, as Ebling Mis from "Foundation and Empire" would say.  I wasn't expecting much from this mini-series.  I was mostly just enjoying that Soule was giving us a solid look into Ben's past and doing better at it than most movie tie-ins.  But, this issue explodes with energy about halfway through it.

We begin on the "Minemoon of Mimban," where the Knights are interrogating a group of miners who they're holding hostage.  They're seeking the Mindsplitter, a stone that the miners discovered years ago and see as priceless relic.  The Knights plan on selling it.  Ben uses a version of the Jedi mind-trick that Snoke taught him to read one of the miner's minds, informing Ren that the stone is in a sealed chamber three levels below them.  Ren orders the Knights to kill the hostages anyway, to Ben's horror.  The Knights arrive at the Mindsplitter's location, and Ben balks when Ren orders him to join the Knights in killing the remaining miners.  Just as Ren's saying that he doubts Ben's resolve, Tai and Voe arrive.  Voe goes to save the miners while Tai hopes to use his connection to Ben - which he used to find him - to save him.

During their duel, Tai begs Ben to return to the light, noting every path has two directions despite Ben's insistence that he's too far along said path.  Ben whines -- not incorrectly, though -- that Luke and Snoke only see him as a legacy, not as a person.  But, Tai argues that he could still make a difference:  if he spent his life helping people, it would only matter that those people were helped, legacy or no legacy.  Before Ben can choose what to do, Ren uses the Force to snap Tai's neck.  He then attacks Ben, noting he's been fighting his descent into the shadow every step of the way.  

As they battle, Ren says his power comes in being nothing special, so he can be whatever he wants.  Ben retorts that other people think that he's special, but he doesn't so he can also do whatever he wants.  Ben then tells Ren that he realizes what Ren was essentially begging him to do earlier and kills him as his good death.  Showing he's chosen his path now, Ben then kills Voe after asking her, rhetorically, why she would want to live since she can't be a Jedi (assuming Luke is dead and thus can't train her).  The Knigths then bow to Ren.  We later see him turning his kyber crystal red and crafting his iconic lightsaber.

All in all, this issue really makes this mini-series a must-read for Star Wars fans.  It felt right to me that Ben could only fully summon his anger at Ren, someone else who had expectations of him that he couldn't meet.  It also makes sense that he could also accept killing Voe given how furious he was at her for dismissing him as a murderer, seeing him as something other than a person like all the people who only saw him as Han and Leia's son.  The fact that he couldn't kill Tai is a callback to "Star Wars:  The Force Awakens," as it's this struggle with killing someone he loves that leads to the iconic moment with his father on Starkiller Base.  It's rare that someone so seamless creates a prequel story that fits in the story that we know is coming, but Soule really delivers here.