By Jarred A. Luján — Once and Future is back! One of my favorite monthly comics makes its return with #7 this week. The first arc was incredible with an incredible mixture of amazing characters, scary monsters, intense action sequences, big twists, and some of the best art around. So, there’s a lot to live up to as we set out on a new arc for this book. Also, this has been an incredibly terrible month for, you know — everyone, so there couldn’t have been better timing for this to reappear. 

First and foremost, the heart of the book has been Bridgette and Duncan’s relationship. In the first arc, we saw how Bridgette’s secret life really took its toll on that relationship. Like many familial ties, things are messy, but not necessarily completely over. I really enjoy how organic that feels as we enter #7. It’s relatable, and that helps drive the reader to carry on with these two. 

Furthermore, Duncan has become a real star in his own right. Playing second fiddle to Bridgette until about halfway through the first arc, Duncan has now rightfully claimed the spotlight for me as a character. He’s funny, goofy, but his heart really shines in a lot of moments. His moral compass is consistently, and believably, in the right spot even if he screws up the execution from time to time. 

This is also one hell of a first issue to kick things off on. That’s one of the consistent things about Once and Future — it’s always aiming to blow the doors off. There’s a lot going on, with a lot of big ideas at play. Instead of being coddled inside the old mythos and stories Once and Future takes inspiration from, it carves its own place among them, generating new and exciting ideas from what is old.  

Every time I review this book, I bang on the art drum pretty hard. Listen, Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain just completely kill it every single outing. I think what Mora does super well is capture a special kind of intensity in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. The emotion reads really well, but then there’s the mace sequences. When glass is flying everywhere, that panel really just feels like it’s next level. I think that sounds like something I’m maybe hyper focused on, but it really stuck out as the book entered it’s action sequence. Bonvillain, again, is likely the best colorist around right now. I say it all the time, so here I am saying it again. 

Lastly, I think Ed Dukeshire probably has one of the hardest jobs in comics right now in that he has to letter over this artwork. Dukeshire does an incredible job of placements, of making sure that things aren’t getting blocked out while everything is still coming across well. The Galahad scene with the Siege Perilous where the scream extends beyond the dialogue box felt like it really got across the type of pain this was. I think small things like that really go an extra mile in getting across tone in a soundless medium. 

 Overall: The biggest compliment I can give Once and Future #7 is that in the midst of all the terror and uncertainty in the world right now, it was the best escapism I’ve had since this all began. 10/10

Once and Future #7
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Price: $3.99
Solicit: Although Bridgette and Duncan were able to escape the Otherworld, their adventure is only just beginning! As the chaos of Arthur's return reaches London, an artifact at the British Museum is stolen. But is it Arthur who's interested in the relic... or someone, or something, new?

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Jarred A. Luján makes comics, studies existential philosophy, and listens to hip-hop too loudly. For bad jokes and dog pictures, you can follow him on Twitter.