Writer: Tom King
Artist: Bilquis Evely
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artists: Bilquis Evely and Matheus Lopes; Gabriel
Hernández Walta
Publisher: Mike Richardson
Editors: Daniel Chabon, Chuck Howitt-Lease & Misha Gehr
Designer: Hannah Noble
Digital Art Technician: Adam Pruett
Publisher: Dark Horse
Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 25, 2024
Barnabas refuses to take Helen back to the Other Land. Her
grandfather declares her a failure as a soldier. Barnabas charges Lilith to
redouble her efforts to prepare Helen for society. Why does Barnabas want Helen
off his estate, married, and out of his life forever? Let’s grab our battle
axes, leap into Helen Of Wyndhorn #5, and see!
Story
After her recovery, Helen drowns her horrors in alcohol and
sleeps with Lilith each evening. Her thoughts return to before she began
adventuring with her grandfather. Lilith shudders when Helen reveals her
longing for her father. As Helen grew up, C.K. Cole was Helen’s world. Yet the
author abandoned Helen when he hung himself.
In Helen Of Wyndhorn #5, Helen tries to return to the Other
Land. Her grandfather refuses to take her, avoids her, and refuses access to
his armory. Helen remembers that C.K. Cole drank so much because he was
frightened. As Lilith holds her pupil in her arms, Helen admits that the same
fears that assailed her father again trouble her.
When Tom King alludes to one of pulp-era author Robert E
Howard's stories, a comparison between C.K. Cole's character of Othan becomes
unavoidable. But while Helen's father based his fictional hero upon Barnabas,
Conan The Barbarian eventually matured and never blamed others for his
failures. The Cimmerian accepted responsibility for a family and a nation. Unlike
Howard’s hero, Barnabas pushes everyone away. Every time Barnabas returns home,
he cannot wait to return to the Other Land. There, Barnabas doesn't face the
necessity of building or sustaining anything. Barnabas can go on quests, kill as
many people, gods, and monsters as he pleases, and return home when he grows
bored.
Helen Of Wyndhorn #5 provides intriguing commentary on a
collector’s relationship with his collection. Perhaps he also hints at the meaning
underlying the name of Helen's governess. But Lilith Appleton would shrug off
such paltry concerns. All that matters to her is her charge. Helen is an
unfinished jigsaw, and Lilith won't rest until she finds the missing piece and
completes the puzzle. Not because Lilith wants to behold a pretty picture but
because she wishes to make Helen whole.
Art
The indomitable Othan battles Sarra as lightning flashes
through the sky. Bilquis Evely portrays a woman standing amid boxes and a
collection rivaling that of Thomas Rogers. Helen beats her fists upon the
armory doors and glares at an unperturbed Joseph. That evening, Lilith combs
Helen's hair with her fingers, and her pupil falls asleep on her lap. The next
day, Lilith runs through tall grasses to catch Helen at the edge of the woods.
The shadows behind the tangled branches evoke Mirkwood, while the rays of
sunlight streaking down suggest the boundary between our world and Faerie.
Matheus Lopes brightens the framing story in Helen Of
Wyndhorn #5 with purple, magenta, and orange, while brown, tan, and beige
surround subdued red and green clothing. Ivory frames daylight scenes inside
the manor, while black borders invade night scenes featuring brown, beige, and
green. Yellow, blue, and vibrant green reveal the beauty of the Wyndhorn
estate, while black returns during an encounter with the toothy crone. Yet
black fails to rule the night as Helen stands beneath a starry turquoise sky,
gazing at traces of pink near the leafy green trees.
Large uppercase black letters inhabit white and ivory
dialogue balloons, while the toothy crone casts ivory letters into green
balloons. Lilith's narration is a lowercase black script on pink parchment.
Words grow bold for emphasis, swell for volume, and shrink for lowered voices,
while Clayton Cowles enhances a tragic battle and a scene of unthinking cruelty
with sound effects. Thanks to Dark Horse Comics for providing a copy for
review.
Final Thoughts
Joseph is Barnabas’ butler. Joseph also cleans the manor
house, prepares meals, trains warriors, and administers Otherworldly remedies. But
when Helen reverts to her self-destructive ways, Joseph fails to intervene. So,
a new hero arises to protect Helen in Helen Of Wyndhorn #5. Or perhaps she has
been the hero of Tom King’s story all along.
Rating 9.4/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.