Mamo #3: Admiral Ackbar Would Be Proud [Review]

In Mamo #3, Orla manages to say those 3 words that would have Admiral Ackbar grinning like a madman. Well, mad-fish-thing. You get the idea.

Sas Milledge (The Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Graphic Novel) remains the writer and artist behind Mamo. Thus, she remains so for this 3rd issue. Sas Milledge is also responsible for the main cover art. Trung Lê Nguyễn (The Magic Fish) did the sole variant cover. Oh, and finally, BOOM! Studios remains the publisher for this comic book series, as they were for the 2 previous issues.

Mamo #3 went on sale on September 8, 2021. You can purchase print copies at your local comic book store for that sweet paper feel. Or if you’re fine with the digital version, you can download it from content providers like ComiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Kindle.

Warning: spoilers for Mamo #3 below. If you want to read this magical tale of witches and fae mischief for yourself, stop here, and come back once the fae let you leave.

Mamo #3: Plot Summary

The plot of Mamo #3 picks up where we last left off, with Orla and Jo helping some rock-like trolls rebuild their cairn home after some ignorant workers knocked it over to make way for a road. Fortunately, the trolls are just peachy with their new cairn, and agree to stop throwing themselves at passing travelers. So with that done, our magical duo move on to their new foe: sheep.

Specifically: sheep that have been gathered in a circle around something for days, and are covered in black moths. Unfortunately, the sheep bite and snap at anyone trying to see what they’re gathered around. Fortunately, bracelets of braided nettle stems calm the sheep down and finally allow Orla and Jo to access…what appears to be a human femur bone. Yep, they’ve found another of Mamo’s bones. They bury it, thus the sheep “un-creepify” and all go back to normal. Problem solved.

However, Orla and Jo realize that this is a horribly inefficient way to find Mamo’s bones. Thus, Jo calls on an old friend of hers: a currawong. For the record, currawongs are 3 species of medium-sized passerine birds native to Australia, which firmly places the setting of Mamo in Australia, but I digress. Just think of them as Australian crows. Anyhow, Jo’s currawong friend turns out to be a man-sized currawong with a cool hat and transformation powers. He owes Jo a debt for saving his life from a trap back when Jo was a little girl, so he agrees to get his flock to help find those Mamo bones.

Said currawong though, also reveals that he and his flock were the ones who scattered Mamo’s bones in the first place. Apparently, Mamo had made a deal with the currawongs that if they did that, she would let them have first pick of her carcass. It seems witches must be yummy, because they’d agreed to it. Only, now they realize that the whole thing was a trick, and they’re paying the price for it along with everyone else in Haresden. So yeah, they’re more than willing to help Orla and Jo bury those bones, since they themselves are under magical contract not to touch them.

So Orla and Jo do so. In a short time, they find that there’s only 1 bone left, and problem solved. Except…Jo noticed a strange pattern to the bone locations on the map. The X marks encircle the entire town of Haresden. That’s when Orla realizes what’s happening, and utters the famous phrase: “It’s a trap.”. Turns out, Mamo has a faery ring going on in this town. What does this mean? Well, we’ll find that out in Mamo #4.

Mamo #3: The Good

I said this twice, and I’ll say it again: the story of Mamo is the best thing about it, and it’s no different for the 3rd issue. Sas Milledge managed to write a story that reads like the love child of Kiki’s Delivery Service and The Ancient Magus’ Bride. Considering how much I love them, that’s high praise from me. I mean, seriously, there’s the whole Trung Lê Nguyễn drawing Orla’s kitty familiar as Jiji. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kiki’s Delivery Service was one of Sas Milledge’s inspirations for this comic book series.

Sas Milledge’s artwork is also a big draw for Mamo. There’s an almost manga-like quality to her art that makes it very pleasing to the eye. Well, my eye, at least. Even if you don’t like the manga-like art, you can at least appreciate the watercolor-like backgrounds and scenery.

A cast of likable characters firmly rounds out Mamo. Orla and Jo, especially, have some serious yuri potential going on between them. Given how Sas Milledge is depicting their relationship, it seems she’s going that route as well. So that’s a big double thumbs-up from me.

Mamo #3: The Bad

I honestly struggle to find anything bad to say about Mamo #3. Or even the entire comic book as a whole so far. I guess my only complaint was that I wish this was a manga. But hey, if this gets popular enough, maybe Sas Milledge can get a manga adaptation for this. Well, I can dream, at least.

Conclusion

Mamo #3 continues the magical tale of Orla and Jo from the previous 2 issues as they try to make a dead witch actually dead. They’re actually pretty close to finishing too. Now if only Orla hadn’t noticed something, and uttered that famous line from Admiral Ackbar. It’s never a good thing when anyone says “It’s a trap!”. We’ll just have to see what that trap is in the next issue from BOOM! Studios.

Source: BOOM! Studios