A new semester begins … and so do new problems. Someone’s going to have some fun!
Creative Staff:
Writer Pat Shand
Artwork David Lorenzo Riverio
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):
With the aftermath of last semester and summer break now over, the students try to settle back into a normal school life, or one that can be considered normal in school for the magically gifted. The repercussions of the Dark Horde, Violet and Bloody Bones are still felt, but with a change of faculty and a new student from Wonderland, Lance du Lac, perhaps they can try to forget what happened in the past and continue with the future. But this is Arcane Acre after all, so anything can, probably will happen.
As Skye reminiscences over how much has changed, the lessons continue as she tries to figure out what her visions mean and also do some research on Lance. They all remember what happened the last time they trusted someone from that twisted realm and they won’t make that same mistake again. But, as she tries to determine how much danger this stranger might bring, a few of her fellow students are getting acquainted with his generosity, but with dangerous consequences. They should have heeded the warning of Bloody Bones, for now the fun is beginning all over again.
In Summary:
With the start of a new story arc, Pat Shand has a great opportunity to create a new batch of problems for the students of Arcane Acre. He masterfully subdues the tragedies of the last issue by making Wiglaf the new class clown; you have got to love his wisecracking attitude, hopefully it will never grow old. But that does not last long when he introduces a new problem from Wonderland: Lance du Lac or if you are familiar with Arthurian legends, Lancelot. Hopefully, this new student won’t be the beginning of the end of the school if Shand follows the mythology of this knight! After all, he did seduce Guinevere and that in turn brought the fall of Camelot, or in this case, Arcane Acre. Who will be the unlucky maiden this time, Skye?
And speaking of which, I am loving how she is now taking up her mother’s mantle of battling the demons from the various realms; but that name, #theshadowgirl, seems a bit ominous. Hopefully, it will not be a signal of things to come. But, she was touched by Bloody Bones and his warning still rings true with all the visual cues whenever someone closes their eyes. This is beginning to become a marvelous prelude to what will surely become a new lead into a nightmarish tale.
Now with the change over to a new story line, we are presented with the artful stylings of David Lorenzo Riverio. His dark crisp lines bring a new perspective to the series, a whimsical quality at the start while they are joking around about the uniforms and then ominous as Lance is shown, then gradually growing darker as the evil starts to creeps in with memories of the past and the minions. You can feel the tension as one bad decision after another sparks the bonfire that we all can feel coming.
This is going to be a good arc for us … probably not so much for the students!
Grade: A
Rating: 17+
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: August 12th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
