A satisfying conclusion.
Creative Staff:
Story: John Tsuei
Art: Audrey Mok
Colors: Raul Angulo
Letterer: Jim Campbell
What They Say:
Sera, her family and the Royal Stars take the fight to Eltanin and Rastaban in a final showdown. What price must be paid to finally free the Royal Stars and restore the seasons?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Sera and the Royal Stars draws to a close with this installment and it works well to wrap things up while leaving us an opening to explore more should they someday. John Tsuei has definitely had a lot of fun with this series and seeing all the ties that bind the character together draw as they do here works well to cement it as a finale, building up the action but also infusing it with enough character material. Audrey Mok has been a great artist on this run and delivered some fantastic character designs and made sure that the settings, even if they’re just mountains or countryside, all feel well-realized and not just minimal fare. The end result is a series where you got a great feel for the world itself.
The first half of the book moves everything quickly into the action front as Eltanin and Rastaban are set to complete the spell. That has Sera and her team ready to go all-in as they’d be overwhelmed otherwise but even with a partially complete summoning the whole thing is damn close. What ends up happening is that even with all the intensity and power behind them, the summoning of the two-headed dragon is going to give them a run for their money. The back and forth fight, with Antares stepping up to protect Sera at one point and the others all holding their own as best as they can, unfolds well and it’s a great use of the page count. The whole thing is a lot of pages overall but it’s hard to complain because this was designed to be an action finale and it’s playing out that way with great payoff, right down to the killing blow that puts an end to things, at least for now.
The result of that puts things into a better place overall as the elimination of the threat at least means that all those that they care for and love will be safe from this threat. The surviving will likely be back some day but until then, there’s a good sense of relief that comes and a welcome epilogue. I like that the Royal Stars get their time to say proper goodbyes and that real meaning has come between them during all of this. We’ve spent a good bit of time with most of them over the run so it works well for the sendoff, and that they’re ready to serve again. But the best material comes from the family aspect as it whittles down to that core, and they talk about the home they can’t go to and why, and how their journey now has to take them forward instead of trying to get back to a past that can’t be made into the present again. It ends with plenty of possibilities and that does leave me hopeful that the team will take up this property again someday.
In Summary:
Though I didn’t catch every issue in this series I ended up with a large chunk of this run and just loved it. It’s not world-changing or something radically new but it’s an expertly crafted work by some great talents that knew exactly how to do everything right with it. It may feel formulaic to some but the execution and exploration of it all, the trappings, the dialogue, and the action help to elevate it to something more. It’s definitely worth picking up the two trades for outright and enjoying the right as it’s almost addictive in how it plays out. Very easily recommended for readers young and old alike.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: Vault Comics
Release Date: December 16th, 2020
MSRP: $3.99
