The turn
What started out as a spooky tale of the last days of Atlantis, turned to a political thriller pitting brother against brother. As issue #3 of Boom! Studios’ Fall of Cthulhu: Nemesis arrives, readers are once again treated to a spooky tale – this time with monsters.
This issue features the king coming to one conclusion; he must usurp his brother’s power and become the head priest of the god Vesh in order to solidify his power once and for all. With all the divine power behind him, there’s nothing that should be able to stop King Levin. At least in his way of thinking.
Unfortunately, his brother, the D’Harin, has other ideas, and the torture and supposed turning of the leader of the followers of Nyarlothotep should be enough to solidify his power with the people. It all plays out in grand scale as the heretics burn the Temple of Vesh, and when the guards attack, several of the followers turn into giant leach-like creatures. While this may seem like the grand showdown of the issue, the real tension comes when D’Harin appears and uses the former Nyarlothotep leader to bring down the his flock.
The way the issue ends, there could be a great battle between the siblings for the fate of Atlantis, but a final turn could show the old gods are more powerful than the new. Those wanting more action in this series, certainly get it thanks to the writing talents of Michael Alan Nelson. While the previous issue was heavy on the dialogue, this issue tones it down quite a bit and allows the reader to read the expressions of the characters to further the story.
Those expressions are conveyed by Todd Herman once again, and he pulls it off for the most part. There are a few times when the characters look simply drawn, but I’ll overlook that as one is still able to discern one character from another and their facial reactions carry the story more than anything.
So far, we’ve seen the story start in one direction, give us a swerve only to come back around to the way the story started in the beginning. It’s a little confusing, but I hopeful everything merges into a sensible and climatic conclusion next issue. One would expect that the rise of the followers of Nyarlothotep, and the twilight of Vesh will lead to a major confrontation, and that’s what I’m hoping for. I haven’t been disappointed with a Nelson title written for Boom! Studios yet, and I’m thinking the final payoff will be worth it next month.
Fall of Cthulhu: Nemesis #3 is not what I was expecting from a Fall of Cthulhu title, but I’m like this arc, and I like how the term Fall of Cthulhu can be something that can take place at any time period, and any location. Political intrigue, monsters of legendary proportion, plenty of the stabby stabby and fighty fighty, earn Fall of Cthulhu: Nemesis #3 4 out of 5 Stars.
