The Otherworld is now the present world as Arthur returns. Are Gran and the residents of her Home all doomed, or is there a way to resist? Find out in Once & Future #19 from BOOM! Studios.
ONCE & FUTURE #19
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Editor: Dafna Pleban
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 25, 2021
Previously in Once & Future: Galahad takes the Grail, and is chased by a dragon carrying Rose, Duncan, and Gran. The dragon breathes fire on Galahad. Elaine threatens to kill Merlin and Arthur unless they save him. Merlin turns the dragon away, but the Grail fades out of existence. Bridgette realizes this will skew the world. They leave the dragon, grab Hempleworth and James, and flee to the real world. Hempleworth reports to the Prime Minister that things have stabilized. Then James steps in to contradict him. Hempleworth is taken away, the PM makes a television announcement about an ancient, monstrous evil, and the Otherworld and the real world become one in England.
A BRAVE NEW WORLD
It’s a new arc and a new world in Once & Future #19. Gran and Duncan go to the weapons cache, but the woods are not quite the same as they used to be. Now fairies (don’t say the word out loud!) dwell, and Gran and Duncan want to avoid them at all costs. They grab what they can carry as stealthily as possible, but on their way back, Duncan trips over a root. That doesn’t attract anything fae, but Duncan says the “f” word, and they appear, flying after them like a swarm of irate bees.
In the distance, Rose shouts out, calling the fairies bastards. It distracts them from Duncan and Gran, but Rose still has the car which she drives away. She comes flying back, slowing down just long enough for them to jump in before tearing away. Gran hands Duncan a horseshoe, which he uses to great effect against the fairies. It is a fun opening that sets the scene well.
Back at the Home, they distribute the weapons. Since the Otherworld melded with our world, they have no lights, no heat, and no drugs. One of the residents wonders when things will get back to normal. Gran fairly blows up explaining that this is now the new normal, and there is no going back now.
Arthur makes his way through, presumably, London, killing Saxons as he goes. He and Merlin reach the locked door of a bunker. Survivors still live behind the door, but Merlin asserts that the doors will no longer open. But, he says, Britain needs its King. Arthur wants his knights and wonders where Nimue is. Then Galahad comes charging back with the news that there is a rival King!
Duncan and Gran talk. All her life, her goal has been to prevent exactly this from happening. Duncan asks what is going on in the rest of the world. As far as Gran knows, the truth will simply be hidden, and the collapse of Britain will look entirely different from outside. As far as their world now goes, there is nothing beyond the British Isles, so there is nowhere to flee to. But Duncan doesn’t just want to sit here and wait for them to die. And that gives Gran the idea to bring everyone they can to her family home. It’s just a farmhouse, Duncan counters. Then he thinks for a moment. In the Otherworld, it is the Grail Castle. It has some space.
THE OTHERWORLD PERMEATES EVERYTHING
I like that Once & Future #19 opens in a familiar area, so we get the full sense of how things are the same and yet very different. The Otherworld has connected, so every panel is fully of the interesting colors and contrasts, toned down just enough so we aren’t overwhelmed by psychedelic combinations. I also think the fairies fit the themes in the book quite well. They’re tiny, so from a distance they look like fireflies, so Duncan and Gran’s terror looks overwrought. But then we see them close up, and they are horrifying.
It is the scene of the Home that shows us how serious the stakes are. The windows are boarded up since the last attack that happened here. Jack, the staff member, is clearly concerned for the elderly people who are ostensibly his responsibility. He says they have no lights and no heat, and we observe everyone wearing jackets, hats, or anything else warm. The vibrant color tends toward blue and purple, so we feel the darkness and chill. Thanks to James and the PM, this new world is very bleak.
BOTTOM LINE: A CAPTIVATING TAKE
Once & Future #19 continues to horrify, surprise, and delight. The consequences have been foreshadowed and with the worldbuilding, the challenges make sense. Throwing a new foe into the works is an unexpected twist that makes me eager to find out more.
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Once and Future #19
King Arthur returns to Britain leaving a huge swath of bodies in his wake.
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By day, she’s a mild-mannered bureaucrat and Ms. Know-It-All. By night, she’s a dance teacher and RPG player (although admittedly not on the same nights). On the weekends, she may be found judging Magic, playing Guild Wars 2 (badly), or following other creative pursuits. Holy Lack of Copious Free Time, Batman! While she’s always wished she had teleportation as her superpower, she suspects that super-speed would be much more practical because then she’d have time to finish up those steampunk costumes she’s also working on.