This title continues to impress me and is amongst my favorite titles to read. We get Arthurian is a whole new light as well as a humor that continues to make me laugh. Once and Future 2 takes us to the King himself!
Cover 2 Cover
I love this cover! It features good ol’ granny wielding a sword, ready to fight. Meanwhile, the blade itself reflects the horde charging at her. While the pages inside showcase Granny’s wit, this cover also demonstrates her ability to dig in and fight back.
Once and Future 2 – Straight To the Source
In Once and Future 2 we pick up right where we left off. Duncan drives Granny to a location she keeps secret from Duncan. Oh yeah, the gun is STILL pointed at the back of Duncan’s head! In typical, classic Granny form, when Duncan complains about the gun, Granny responds:
Oh! Don’t whine! I can tell you’re fascinated. This gun is just our way of making you feel like its all out of your control.”
Granny from the back seat with a gun
Once they reach their destination, they descend a spiral stairwell, never a good omen, and again Granny throws her advice out to Duncan:
“Don’t stare at the unearthly demon ladies. It’s rude.”
Granyy’s advice
Duncan and Granny reach the bottom of the stairwell. Granny lowers her gun and gives Duncan one with the crash course on using them (Safety off, point, dead. Nothing to it), and they investigate the same marauders who killed the archaeologist in the last issue. They give the scabbard back to a corpse and there we have it – the resurrected Arthur himself!
Oh What A King!
In most of our Arthurian legends, Arthur is the great king who defeats evil and creates the perfect kingdom of Camelot. Once and Future 2 seems to take a different path. Upon sensing their foreign blood Arthur executes all the marauders, viciously, save the girl who possesses Celtic blood. Arthur then raises the dead as the beginning of his new knights.
This Arthur seems cold, heartless, and quick to act. His new knights being dead reanimated instead of the living also points to a less than congenial king. Also note as the panels progress, Arthur’s skeleton gains body mass, muscle and skin. A regenerating bad guy never goes down easily.
I can’t wait until the next issue to see what advice Granny gives Duncan to help them fight their way out of this new mess. Their gonna need it!
