Jin is in the hands of a brutal mutant who is using him as a bargaining chip. Kaya is separated from her friends and has lost Jin’s trail. Is this the end of the road for them? Find out in Kaya #9 from Image Comics!
KAYA #9
Writer: Wes Craig
Artist: Wes Craig
Colorist: Jason Wordie
Letterer: AW’s Tom Napolitano
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 21, 2023
Previously in Kaya: the mutants, led by Prince Zewl, bring Jin to the Atrian robot, Lord Vox. They had a deal with him, and Zewl expects an Atrian army to help him regain his throne. Lord Vox tells them he will uphold his end of the deal, but only with money and weapons. Kaya and her party follow the mutants but are far behind them. The dangerous descent of a cliff brings them to water level and a boat, which is in decay. Jin realizes that Runt, the mutant in charge of him, is Zewl’s son, who tells him a usurper has taken the throne of their people. Flying creatures attack, and Jin takes the opportunity to pull Runt off balance. They tumble down a cliff and Jin escapes briefly before Zewl drags him back. He takes Jin to Vox and throws Runt off the edge of the cliff.
NOTHING GOES AS PLANNED
Kaya #9 opens with Zewl demanding to know why Vox wants Jin so badly. To drive home his point, he thrusts the young boy into the water, almost drowning him. Jin, hoping he has some magic, wishes to grow gills. Vox only tells him that if Jin dies, he will not get paid at all. Finally, Zewl changes his tactics and asks Jin to tell him. Jin confesses that he is the Golden One and that he is destined to destroy the empire. There is a moment of stunned silence and then they laugh at him. Vox steps in to explain that they only want a human to study before they go extinct. Zewl does not believe him. He insists that Vox now help him first. If he refuses, both Jin and Vox will be thrown into the poisonous water.
Kaya, minus her metal arm, is in the clutches of one of the flying beasts. She regains consciousness and struggles to get free, finally biting the creature which drops her. She survives the plummet to the ground below, but now realizes that she has completely lost Jin’s trail. She lashes out in frustration before praying to the gods she does not believe in to help her save him. She has always been the pillar of strength in this book; now we get to see her at her most vulnerable, especially since she no longer has her metal arm.
Seth, Nepta, and Muska find the ruined boat and quickly realize it is an ambush. The battle with the mutants is fierce. With Seth wielding Kaya’s arm, they make some progress. Then a small group of Magrons shows up. They decide to flee, but Nepta is badly wounded. Seth carries him. Nepta tells him he must find Jin. Nepta’s family will take him in. He also reminds Seth that he has sworn an oath to his sister. Their people must join together to keep from being destroyed. Muska also decides he will return to being Zothan again. Seth leaves him behind and sets out to find Kaya and Jin.
DESPERATE BATTLES
A few pages into Kaya #9, when Kaya is alone in the Poison Lands, we get our first glimpse of her vulnerability. After she gets free from the flying creatures and falls to the ground, panels in succession draw back from her until we finally see how small and how alone she is in this hostile environment. Trees, vines, and weird fungi tower above her. She has no way to get her bearings much less to find where Jin and the mutants are headed. She has sacrificed her life for her brother’s cause and never expected it to end like this.
Lord Vox has moved through the pages of the previous issues with the absolute certainty and arrogance of someone who knows he is on the winning side. Has he finally made a mistake? He is so used to people being terrified by his presence that he underestimates the brute force and crude tactics that Zewl brings to the table. Sheer strength has always worked for him, and to hold Jin underwater until he nearly drowns takes little effort. When he turns on Vox, we see a little bit of trepidation cross the robot’s otherwise impassive face.
BOTTOM LINE: STARTING TO LOSE HOPE
Kaya #9 captures some of the darkest moments yet for many of the characters. As a group, they could work together. But now they are being divided again and again. Do they each have the strength to be able to work through what Fate has in store for them?
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Kaya #9
Kaya has survived but is separated from her friends and can no longer follow Jin’s trail!
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Writing9
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Art9
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Coloring9
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.