With her soul in the living world and her body in the underworld, Sera must try to reunite her two halves. Will Sera and the Royal Stars be able to escape the underworld and fend off the Stars of Draco? Find out in Sera and the Royal Stars #5 by Vault Comics!

SERA AND THE ROYAL STARS #5

Writer: Jon Tsuei
Artist: Audrey Mok
Colorist: Raul Angulo
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Vault Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 11th, 2019

Previously in Sera and the Royal Stars: Taking a queue from mythology, Sera and the Royal Stars talks about fallen constellations that must be returned to the sky. Sera is currently trying to return herself and three Royal Stars back to the world of the living. To accomplish this, a bold plan is enacted of sleeping so her mind and soul can wonder the living world. Will Sera’s soul be able to fight Eltanin and save the Royal Stars or is this a foolhardy plan?

FOR THE GREATER GOOD

Sera’s heart has always housed something and in this battle with Eltanin, Sera’s true power is revealed. Her heart is the cage for the Royal Star, Regulus. Letting free this constellation, she begins to engage with her foe with newfound fury! Meanwhile, the Scorpion and the Fish Royal Stars are fighting against Rastaban while the Old Bull keeps Sera’s body safe. However, Old Bull encounters a Daeva and is struggling to shield against its attacks. To combat these foes, our heroes end up pitting both against each other and buying precious time.

Meanwhile, Sera is still losing the fight with Eltanin and is knocked out. In her unconsciousness, she has a memory of her mother that gives her the confidence to fight back. Getting an attack off on Eltanin, she quickly runs off to open the bridge to save the Royal Stars. Eltanin chooses to save her brother instead of engaging Sera and her companions and thus buys our protagonist a moment. Sera makes a bold decision to return home to save her family and find her mother rather than complete her destiny.

FAMILY OR THE WORLD

I wanted to open my opinion section by commenting on the use of colors. Every page is stunning visually and the choice of the color palette has a strong effect on the tone. The orange, purple, and pinks of the underworld off put us slightly and shows us that it is unnatural. The color of the fire during the fight gives us a sense of danger. The slightly off green when Sera leaves the party creates a sense of uncertainty and disunity. Every scene seems expertly colored to represent certain emotions that is needed for the story.

This issue was filled with a lot of action but this was not the main interest for me. I was instead struck by was the ending and Sera’s decision to leave the Royal Stars. Our protagonist is turning her back from her quest! While this trope isn’t something unheard of; I was struck that she opted to do so for family. Being a father of a two year old daughter and Sera wants to return home to save her father. I understand that this theme I picked up on wasn’t the main focus. The writing doesn’t emphasis this idea except to foreshadow the next book but I am attached to this idea. I recently dealt with the California fires and my main priority was making sure my immediate family was safe before I even batted an eye to another person who may or may not have been in danger.

BOTTOM LINE: ACTION PACKED

This series is filled with lovable characters and a clever storyline. The story has a huge mythological influence with a modern twist on it and a very strong female protagonist. I felt the issue felt didn’t progress those characters very much and instead focused on this fight. I like action sequences but this combat went a little long. At the end of the day, I just latched onto something that wasn’t meant to be the main focus of the story and therefore what was supposed to be featured didn’t captivate me. That doesn’t mean the creative team didn’t do a great job with the story, it just wasn’t what I wanted. 4 out of 5 stars for Sera and the Royal Stars #5 by Vault!

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