Once & Future Pen & Ink #1 Review

 

Writer: Kieron Gillen

Artist: Dan Mora

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Commentary: Dan Mora & Kieron Gillen

Cover Artists: Dan Mora & Andrew K Currey

Designer: Grace Park

Editors: Amanda LaFranco, Jon Moisan & Matt Gagnon

Special Thanks: Tamra Bonvillain

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $6.99

Release Date: August 28, 2024

 

Archeologist Alan James proudly displays the results of his excavations inside a field tent in Cornwall. In his jubilation, Alan neglected to ask his guest her name. Nor did she say what university she represented. Then, three men enter the tent, and one carries a gun. Why such interest in a 6^th-century scabbard? And how might the artifact revive Great Britain’s fortunes? Let’s strap on our plate armor, climb onto our horses, charge into Once & Future Pen & Ink #1, and find out!

 

Story

As Britain’s fortunes wane, temperatures rise. At least, so says the news anchor of the evening news, mentioning that this is Britain's hottest summer on record. The other residents of the care home in Somerset want to watch The Great British Bake Off, but after learning of Alan's murder, Bridgette insists on hearing more. A nurse, overhearing Bridgette threaten her fellow residents with violence, suggests that she get an early night, as her grandson is visiting her tomorrow. Bridgette smiles and requests an evening walk before bed.

 

In a posh Bristol restaurant, Duncan is having a date from Hell. Sadly, this isn't unusual for him. He may be a respected history scholar and rugby player, but he gets nervous around women. Across the table, Rose glares at him after an attempt at pouring wine ends in disaster. Duncan offers to pay for the dry cleaning, but then he learns that his grandmother has wandered off and needs him to pick her up.

 

In Once & Future Pen & Ink #1, Duncan arrives at an isolated place in the woods. As he walks through the trees, he spies his grandmother using a crowbar to open a buried storage chamber. Like John Wick, Duncan helps her remove the lid from a buried cache of weapons. Some of the knives, swords, and guns look historic. Others look like they belong in fantasy novels. As Bridgette speaks offhandedly about killing vampires, Duncan is mystified. His grandmother always dismissed the supernatural as nonsense. But then, as Bridgette says, plenty of things that are real are nonsense.

 

Kieron Gillen’s story about secret histories and the truth behind England’s mythical heroes sparkles with humor and wit. Duncan has always been in awe of his grandmother, and their adventure in the woods demonstrates Bridgette’s tough-as-nails perspective. She planned for this day but hoped it would never come. Duncan thought he knew everything about his grandmother. What Duncan discovers this night rocks his understanding of the woman who raised him. Yet he cannot deny the evidence of his eyes. In Once & Future Pen & Ink #1, Duncan remains as flustered around his grandmother as with Rose. Yet when danger threatens, the history scholar rises to the challenge, even in the face of supernatural nonsense.

 

Art

Even though he unearthed his finds, when the hefty, bearded archeologist lifts the fabric, his eyes light up, and his mouth drops open. The woman with Emma Peel's poise and attire betrays little emotion as she stares at the decorated scabbard, pots, and knives. Her companions wear a cross pin on their black shirts or jackets. They regard the archeologist with grim expressions.

 

While the other residents watch the TV or chat with each other, Bridgette stares out the window as she rolls a cigarette paper filled with tobacco. Her grim expression doesn’t change as she hears the news anchor mention the murder and theft on the TV behind her. Duncan betrays shock while Rose regards him with a deadly glare. Duncan’s phone captures his expression on the dark screen beneath the white letters Gran’s Home. After pressing the phone to his ear, Duncan rises. Rose’s eyebrows rise, and her features soften in Once & Future Pen & Ink #1. Later, when Duncan gazes down at a box filled with swords, rifles, a box of silver bullets, and a bazooka-like weapon that Bridgette once used to hunt vampires, his jaw drops, and his eyes bulge.

 

Dan Mora etches facial features and fabric movement with short lines. He inks shadows and uses white to show highlights. Mora may not employ fifty shades of gray to color skin tone, clothing, and interior and outdoor features, but he imbues scenes with the reality of our world. Closeups without backgrounds are rare in this thirty-page story packed with panels and highly detailed art.

 

Ed Dukeshire fills dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with large, black uppercase letters that embolden for inflection, swell for raised voices, and rarely shrink. While no sound effects accompany gunfire or a frantic chase through the woods, Duncan's phone conjures dancing music notes. The small, lower-case commentary at the bottom of each page highlights the techniques Dan Mora sought to master, how panels establish characters, and how page layout influences story pace. The lively interplay between author and artist highlights the cultural differences that prompted Kieron Gillen to make his scripts more detailed and enhance the series’ themes with a subplot. 

 

Final Thoughts

When true believers steal and murder to fulfill an ancient prophesy, a university professor who thinks he knows everything and his retired vampire-killing grandmother join forces to stop them in Once & Future Pen & Ink #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To see the beast Duncan battles in Once & Future Pen & Ink #1 see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.