Jin is kidnapped and Kaya is determined to go after him. But if Jin is not really magical, why is he being hunted and who wants him now? Find out in Kaya #7 from Image Comics!

KAYA #7

Writer: Wes Craig
Artist: Wes Craig
Colorist: Jason Wordie
Letterer: AW’s Tom Napolitano
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 26. 2023

Previously in Kaya: Kaya gets her share of money for helping kill the Magron. Finally, she and her brother Jin have enough money for their journey. Seth meets Nula, his bride-to-be. Zothan talks to the shaman, Bulba, about renouncing his name and claim to the crown to become Muska, who died in the battle with the Magron. This is a painful process, but Zothan goes through with it. During the wedding ceremony, Jin decides to tell Kaya he had known about Seth’s betrothal but did not tell her. Kaya’s temper gets the better of her. To cool off, she leaves the area. Jin follows, and their quarrel continues until Jin is kidnapped by mutants!

A NEW, LESS HOSPITABLE CORNER OF THE WORLD

Kaya #7 is a new arc, and it opens with a glimpse of Kahaka when the robots of the Atrian Empire destroyed it. They had come for the Golden One, and when Jin was not given to them, they took it out on everyone. Jin remembers a woman who defied the robots and told him that he could save them. She was killed, but he lived. And he understood that he truly was someone special.

Nepta leads Kaya, Seth, and Muska through underground tunnels to where the mutants went. Kaya’s worry drives her to the limits of her strength to break down anything blocking their path. Seth urges her to slow down, but she turns her anger on him. Nepta urges them to hurry, and dark tentacles start to gather in the waters around them. Muska tries to be brave and face them down, but at the last minute runs on ahead of the others. Kaya brings up the rear. As she climbs out into the Poison-Lands, a handful of tentacles reaches for her. Nepta slices them off.

Kaya does not apologize to Seth but does explain that she has to find Jin. He knows her well enough to understand. She may not believe in magic, but she has made her brother the center of her life. Her mission is to get him to where prophecy says he needs to be.

Jin, in chains, is dragged through desolate lands by a group of mutants. He remembers stories his mother used to tell, stories about bad children being taken away by the monsters. He keeps going by whispering that Kaya will save him. Compared to the mutants, Jin is small. He does not move as fast as they would like. To them, he rapidly becomes an annoyance, but one they wish to keep alive for some reason.

Muska introduces himself to Nepta, who recognizes the name. What he knows, though, is the former owner of the name. But even being recognized by proxy makes the new Muska proud, at least until Kaya reminds him that she knows who he still is inside. She also urges Nepta to return home, but he takes the new pact between their peoples seriously and he wants to make sure Seth gets back in one piece. Meanwhile, Seth is unable to find any tracks. Then they realize that footprints in the soil get absorbed quickly. The Poison-Lands are hostile. Then Muska claims he can follow Jin and his captors by scent.

Jin says something kind to the mutant responsible for dragging him along. He tells the little boy to shut up. Jin resents that he does not know him or respect him as someone important. He is the Golden One, after all. He is magical. Everyone had told him this and he believes it. Everyone, that is, except Kaya who told him that there was no magic. He looks up and sees, of all things, the robot that destroyed their home.

A DARK BEGINNING

The art of Kaya #7 does a masterful job of bringing us into the Poison-Lands, a new area of the world for us readers. When we catch up with Kaya, the panels are mostly black, as unlit tunnels would be. As the action starts, we zoom in on the fight. From a close range, we can make out who is there and what they’re doing. Even where the tunnels broaden out, it feels close and claustrophobic beneath the city. Darkness closes in one last time before everyone pops out. Finally, we get the first long establishing shot of the issue, and it is a wonder to take in. Noxious green liquid oozes down the mountains into festering ponds below. Strange tentacled creatures float through the air. Crumbling buildings are shadows in the distance. Are they cooling towers from nuclear power plants? Just how toxic is it here?

Without Kaya at his side, Jin takes a more central role in the story. While he has grown up some and is not the privileged brat we first met, we are reminded that he is very young. He thought that an itinerant life with Kaya was difficult and now he realizes how much worse it can be. We see from his body language that he is exhausted. All that powers him are the two convictions he has that he holds most dear – that he is special, and that Kaya will save him as she dependably always has. It is difficult to watch as he slowly begins to understand that there is a chance that neither of these convictions will come true.

BOTTOM LINE: OLD FRIENDSHIPS, NEW CONFLICTS

Kaya #7 is tense and exciting. Not only is this shaping up to be a more dangerous adventure, but all the main characters have had experiences that leave them with doubts. The world is also more dystopian than we first suspected, and I like seeing more of the Atrian Empire and that the powerful enemy is made up of robots.

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Kaya #7

80%

80%

Tense and Exciting

• Writing

  8
• Art

  8
• Coloring

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