Darkness has a new hand to play and Sela seems to have the deck stacked against her. Can she even hope to win?
Creative Staff:
Writers: Joe Brusha
Artwork: Sami Kivela
What They Say:
The four realms have fallen and an Age of Darkness has arrived. The Dark Queen begins her reign after merging the realms with Earth. The survivors must band together in order to defeat her and restore order. But with several Realm Knights dead and the Grimm Universe thrown into chaos, can Sela and her remaining team stand against the Dark Queen and her army?
Content (please note that portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Sela and her allies have forced a stalemate against the Dark Queen, but at what cost? Shang was the latest to fall and now as the ragtag army lick their wounds, something wicked this way comes? Spectres created by dark magic thin their ranks, purging what confidence they once had into cowardice. Those friends who were just standing now lay smoldering beneath their feet. When will the horror end?
When all seems lost, Rachel steps forward to cleanse the taint, but she cannot stand for long without support; Sela helps in her foolish venture, only to watch as another of her companions pays for this war. Her lifeless body only feeds the misery … so much death and for what reward? How many more graves will need to be dug? When will the price outweigh the victory?
As loathing and distrust gnaw away at the survivors, a new complication comes into play, the Dark Queen has sent a messenger – Cindy. She has not come negotiate for her master’s terms are absolute: If they wish for peace, destroy their weapons and surrender Earth’s Guardian and her followers, dead or alive. Simple for the sheep to understand for none hesitate to answer as a hail of bullets confirm whom they now follow.
Darkness falls as the wolf chases her prey. The Queen’s enforcer will not allow them surrender for she savours the suffering of a defeated foe. And why should she as Sela has given up, willing to allow death end to the conflict; but, someone else has other ideas. A horned form brings hope, but why does he want their help to destroy his wife?
In Summary:
With only two more issues to go, it seems that the Dark Queen is always two steps ahead of Sela! They managed to put a dent in her plans and now she comes back with phantoms that can rip a man to shreds. How are they supposed to defeat someone with this kind of power especially when her allies are being defeated about once an issue? First Shang and now Rachel … before the big fight, who’s going to be left?
An underdog story is always a good tearjerker, but how much more can Brusha put our heroine through before she cracks? Malec coming in at the last second may have helped, but he’s called the Dark One for a reason – he doesn’t play nice with others unless he’s got something planned in the future. And with Sela on the verge of collapse, unless he can bring back the dead, why continue to fight? Hope for Humanity? They seem to have already chosen a side, and it’s not hers.
Even with Kivela’s gripping artwork tearing away at our heart strings, drawing us into the story, it does not seem that this saga end well for Sela. With one defeat after another, how can she even hope to conquer this darkness? Or will she give in and surrender? Guess we’ll have to wait until next month to find out!
Grade: B+
Rating: 17+
Released By: Zenescope via ComiXology
Release Date: June 24th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
