What I Bought 5/29/2019 - Part 3

I'm spending most of today on the road. South-central Illinois is not a visually interesting place to drive through. For today, we're looking at just one book, the final issue of a mini-series.

Coda #12, by Simon Spurrier (writer), Matias Bergara (artist/color artist), Michael Doig (color artist), Jim Campbell (letterer) - Pictured, that book my dad's dog tore up two weeks ago.

So the next big clash between good and evil, or world conqueror evil and everyday petty evil, is on. Hum had a failsafe in case the Murkrone hexed him, and it works. His plan to finally kill the ylf, and rob her of her magic fuel supply, does not. The ylf is harder to kill than Deadpool, and even more suicidal.

This works out, though, as the ylf provides the fuel for the one hope the other side has of defeating the Murkrone. And one of Hum's (rare) random acts of kindness actually comes back to help him out at the end. Or at least doesn't harm him, which is the best you can hope for sometimes. The day is saved, and now the survivors have to decide what to do. Hum is optimistic. I would be too, if I was walking around with a horseshoe the size of the one he apparently has stashed somewhere.

I'm actually surprised how much of a hopeful note the story ended on. If it isn't "happily ever after", it's only because the characters acknowledge happily ever after takes work to achieve. The wicked are destroyed, those who seek peace are granted it, and Serka can't quit her stupid bard. That last bit feels a little questionable, but I guess she figures he's learned his lesson and understands her a little better.

And she can always kick his ass if he tries anything like that again.

I like Bergara's design for Nag's final transformation. Wings are the obvious direction to go for a flying horse, and he went a different way, but one that still makes for an interesting image. The purple vomit from the mutant scorpion was just lovely. The two pages of narrow triangle panels as the Murkrone reaches her end, and Serka tries to rescue Hum. They make for panels that read very quickly, give that impression that they're happening almost concurrently. Bergara and Doig color Hum's panels in reds initially, shifting more towards yellow as he begins to fall. Serka's panels start in purple (or lavender maybe), and then shift to green. And eventually the two threads meet, and the green wins out, Serka's attempt succeeds.

Overall, I really liked this series. It had a lot of wit, and strange things in it. I love the expressiveness of the art and the colors. You could argue whether things tie up too neatly at the end, but Serka makes the point that the last page is taking place about 20 minutes after the battle ended. It's hard to say how things will turn out in the long run.