If the end is set … then why fight?
Creative Staff:
Writer: Dawn P. Marquez
Artwork: Allan Otero
Colors: Erick Arciniega, Marco Lesko & Jorge Cortes
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
What They Say:
The Order of Tarot’s plan comes to fruition, transforming Mary into her new persona.
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
Mary and Talisman have been lured into the depths under New Layfayette Cemetery, but now they face what they feared the most – a trap. Voodoo and the High Priestess have set the stage while the Page of Swords laid out the trail for the pair to follow, all in hope to save innocents. It is only now do they see the wider scope of the Order of Tarot’s plan and the need to sacrifice for a greater cause. The ritual has been prepared, so it is now time for the girl once known as Mary to depart to fulfill her purpose as the Queen of Pentacles, but the King is not so inclined. As the sinister duo lead her deeper into the underworld, Judgment will teach her reluctant partner what it is to go against their fates, even it means to discipline him thoroughly. While is tattoos may be of help, with each usage, Dupart can feel himself becoming lost in the darkness and it will catch up to him eventually.
After a fruitless chase, the cloaked harbinger easily captures the unwilling man and drags him back in time to witness the final ceremony. The High Priestess explains that both the Queen and King’s power are a conduit to the spirit world, and so they are not evil. It was the Baron’s reluctance to force her to accept which caused so much pain, but now that Medina is under their control, there is no more need to hide the truth. The place has been dedicated, pentacle etched upon the ground and all that remains is for the offering to be made ready. She now has no other choice, her will has been corroded into nothingness and Mary has lost all resistance to what comes next – destiny. So much death has surrounded her and now it is only fitting that she herself embrace what she was always meant to be – the one known as Mystere.
In Summary:
Ever since this journey began within the pages of Grimm Fairy Tales Genesis: Heroes Rising, readers knew it would come full circle, and writer Dawn P. Marquez finally brings to light the meaning behind that story – Mary Medina is no more, now there is only Mystere. The Order of Tarot have their Queen of Pentacles after a long escapade of manipulating the poor girl and sacrificing seven innocents, so many deaths for the power of one. However with Talisman still resistant to their control, there still may be a chance, but of course, we all know what will happen. While this trip has been overly elaborate upon a winding road to an expected result, there may still be a surprise to develop in the finale, but I would not be that hopeful. Marquez took five issues to expound upon a convoluted plot which I would have liked more if she concentrated themes into concise moments. Now we have one issue left, and the events of the ceremony feel like they have been shoehorned into the melodrama, all in an effort to set the stage for the culmination of the narrative. Though the emotional build up was insightful, it could have been introduced at any time and a gradual buildup would have been more effective instead of forcing it all on one page; the choice which Marquez has taken weakens the grandeur of what should have been a heartbreaking moment, reducing it to something which sounds like it was said in passing, in a moment of hollow sincerity before Mary leaves this barren world.
Even within this conventional approach of exposing Mary to the truth of the Tarot, it is the hauntingly chilling artwork of Allan Otero which brings forth the delicious hostility of the Order’s intentions. You can visibly see Medina’s doubts slowly melt away as the Baron and High Priestess expose her to their directed cruelty, all to steer her toward an inevitable fallacy – she is Mystere. However, throughout these beautifully twisted panels of morose truths, it is the wickedly effective colors of Erick Arciniega, Marco Lesko and Jorge Cortes which communicate the malice of these pages. From the very beginning, the darkness of their objective is made amazingly clear as we witness the animosity given form through their manipulation of the environment, building upon the shadows with a sickening teal, as we descend into the depths of the underworld. Although the mounting tension of the narrative was moving, it was spoiled by the transition to another colorist’s palette, sufficiently watering down any drama by changing the amount of light added to each scene; this shift breaks down the emotional impact, even within the same event, until ultimately giving us a mixed message throughout the same scene. To go from a brooding depression to something akin to optimistic hope during the final ritual might have sounded like a good idea in the planning stage, but once it was executed on page, it ruins the visual effect of what should have been a malignant ending.
From the beginning of Grimm Fairy Tales: Day of the Dead, the premise sounded like a promising idea, but somewhere along the way, the message was lost in translation. And now that we have reached the pinnacle of the story, it seems the deeper we venture into the narrative, the more irrelevant ideas wander into what could have been a moving tale. Mary Medina has been a someone shunned for her abilities, and now that the Order of Tarot has her on their side, there is no telling what will happen next … but we have a promising notion of might happen – I just hope it is sincerely proven wrong.
Grade: B
Rating: T (for Teens)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: June 07, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
