Wynd’s magical heritage has sprouted literal wings. He helps his new friends on their journey, but what new enemies are waiting for them all on the sidelines? Find out in Wynd #6 from BOOM! Studios.
WYND #6
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Michael Dialynas
Letterer: Andworld Design
Editor: Eric Harburn
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 5, 2021
Previously in Wynd: He, Oakley, Prince Yorik, and Thorn are thrown together as they flee Pipetown while the Bandaged Man tracks them. When they reach Southport, he is already there with his troops. Lady Gwendolyn can fly them out to her ship, but only one at a time. Wynd gets the soldiers to chase him as a distraction. He comes face to face with the Bandaged Man, who is a Vampire, and who is trying to get Yorik back. He also intends to burn down the Faeriewood. Yorik tries to attack the Bandaged Man, and Thorn steps in. The troops threaten Yorik, and the Bandaged Man threatens to kill Thorn. The abandoned Wynd calls upon the Sprytles for help and transforms into a winged person. As Thorn is pushed off a cliff, Wynd rescues him and together, they get Yorik to join them and they escape to the ship.
GETTING IN OVER THEIR HEADS
Wynd #6 is the beginning of a new arc, and it opens with a prologue that finally shows us Wynd’s origin. Molly and her husband Roderick were guards in Pipetown, and she finds Wynd, as a baby, abandoned. She is expecting her own child but is more than willing to take him in despite his pointy ears and obvious magic blood. He grips a feather which makes sense to us now. Molly does not see the three, winged creatures who watch her leave with him in her arms.
In the castle in Pipetown, King Yossar prepares for a meeting with Basil’s help, as he is not at all well. Basil asks him for an official order, which the King grants. This is the order to open the river gate, a gate which has not been opened in at least a century. A couple of metal clad ships with red sails come through into the city. Titus sees all this from a jail cell. One of his cellmates happens to be Thorn’s father.
The ships dock and several guards, all wrapped in bandages, step out as an honor guard. One stands by with a large umbrella as an unbandaged female Vampire, General Zedra, walks up to where the King is waiting to meet her. He warns her she is not welcome; she replies that they don’t want to be here. Yet something has made them tentative allies. The King’s brother, the Duke, has allies in Faerie. Yorik is to be taken to them. The Vampires see this potential alliance as something that would upset the current balance of power.
Zedra wants to kill everyone, but she is willing to save the Prince and bring him home. In return she wants engineers who can bring her the technology to build a Pipetown of her own. She has spies at work and has her ships in place. Before she leaves, the King tells her to scare Yorik, even if it is to the point of killing his friends. He wants Yorik to learn that magical folk are vicious, and Zedra is more than happy to agree to this. The Queen sees this from afar and knows what he is up to. She begs Basil to get word to the Duke.
Meanwhile, the young people are still at sea and Wynd is flying Yorik around, a Yorik who demands to be put down immediately, despite having asked Wynd to take him flying. Oakley and Thorn watch through binoculars, highly amused. Wynd finally talks Yorik into at least opening his eyes where he has a stunning view of the Duke’s ship. They see someone waving. It is Yorik’s cousin. Yorik demands to be taken back to their own ship and in the struggle, slips and falls into the ocean instead. Remember that, despite his moments of growth, Yorik is still self-centered, vain, and quick to blame others.
He is pulled aboard his cousin’s ship. His cousin is big, strong, charming, and excited to see him. Next to him, Yorik looks like he feels the exact opposite. The cousin has an assistant, Teek, who is sketching their meeting for pamphlets. It is as though this is their version of social media. Yorik’s cousin takes him below decks to dry off and change.
Wynd returns to his ship to get Oakley and Thorn. As he prepares to land, he glimpses a couple winged creatures sitting on a yardarm. When he blinks, they’re gone. He lands, and Oakley has a little heart-to-heart with him about how the royals are the royals, and they’re just normal folks. Little do any of them know that General Zedra is in the vicinity.
NEW ENEMIES AND NEW FRIENDS
The art of Wynd #6 is solid. The world is flavorful, and it is interesting as we see more new pieces of it. We only recently learned that the Bandaged Man is a Vampire. Now we see the Vampires as a force to be reckoned with. Their ships are striking, not only because they are dark and their sails are red. A closer look shows them to have red glass windows. They’re otherwise fully plated and the door is heavy and thick. The red and black color scheme continues through the guards’ uniforms and General Zedra herself. I like her hair which is half shaved close to her skull. There’s a nice mix of modern with the fantasy.
At least the young people have a little bit of peace. The four of them have finally learned to get along, although we still see their various personality traits showing through. Their expressions are delightful. I think Yorik gets the best range. He is trying to be brave and live up to his own standards, but life is not easy when things don’t go his way and he gets embarrassed. He retreats into himself, feeling alone and lashing out. He doesn’t see that, beneath their amusement, the people around him and even his cousin have genuine affection for him.
BOTTOM LINE: ADVENTURE, ROMANCE, AND FRIENDSHIP
Wynd #6 is a whopping forty-four pages, so there is a lot of story here. The stakes are becoming more complicated, and it is interesting to see several young people about to be thrown into politics they are not yet even aware of.
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Wynd #6
Price Yorik prepares to meet the Duke but has no idea of his father’s latest allies.
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Colorin8
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.