Betrayal and victory both come at a high price that one must be willing to pay, at any cost.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Pat Shand
Artwork: Luca Claretti
What They Say:
Sela and her mentor Shang, along with their former enemy Belinda, have opened a school for a select group of Highborn and Falseblood teens with enhanced abilities. Their goal is to guide the teens who may one day be humanity’s only hope against evil from other realms.
Content (please note that portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As the Dark Horde continues to assault Arcane Acre, Sela learns that the one ally she trusted to guide her is not who she appears. And now, she is involved in the Convergence to bring something worse than the Dark One into the world? But as all of this is happening outside, Violet must tend to the fallout of her Mad Hatter tirade inside the school, trying to redeem herself with little luck. Insanity drove her to the brink of madness and now those actions may have doomed herself and the faculty to a much darker future.
And the leader of that new world is named Bloody Bones. He has new plans for the school and its students, but first the old guard must step aside to make way for his reign. Of course, evil never plays nice this one is no exception. He will clear the way by his own hand, but tonight is not the time to conquer. He has waited for such a long time, he can wait a bit longer. Let them lick their wounds, gather their hope and see that no one can stand in his way.
In Summary:
Wow … that was not something I was expecting! The loss of one of the major evils in the Zenescope universe, only to be replaced by a new one? But Shand can’t get rid of The Dark One this easily; no one dies for long in comics, right? After all, even Bloody Bones asked Malec how long it has been since he slept. This has to be a hint for a future issue where his claw stretches from the grave, but not too soon. After all, this new ruler has just awoken and you can’t kill him off too quickly after spending so much time to set up his appearance!
But the best part of the issue was Belinda’s justice: all that she’s been through by Malec’s hand, how many centuries she has had to endure his manipulations that made her his puppet, now he has the gall to ask for mercy? We all knew how she would react when she had the chance for revenge, but who knew that it would be so visceral? However, at the same time, it was strangely satisfying to see his end reflected within her eye. The last thing he sees is his favourite pupil stabbing him in the chest, the stunned look in his eye, rather fitting.
Of course, Claretti’s artwork was over the top, especially the page with Bloody Bones’s first full appearance. I always thought that the Dark One was creepy, but he’s nothing compared to this guy! A mouth full of fangs and the glowing eyes … this is where nightmares are born. Especially loved the way the last page of the issue reinforced the need for Arcane Arce, but at the same time, it also had an ironic tinge of how it is now shrouded by darkness being the birthplace of a new evil.
Can’t wait to see how this team turns the page for a new story arc!
Grade: A
Rating: 17+
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: July 22nd, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
