Written by: Joe Brusha
Drawn by: Alisson Rodrigues and Roberto Viacava
Published by: Zenescope Entertainment Inc
This is, at its core, an origin story.
It tells the heartbreaking tale of how a noble, virtuous knight, Morrigan, became Death incarnate, a ruthless, soulless harvester of spirits.
Our narrator is a hirsute dwarf who has come to the protagonist’s—Sela’s—aid. Bolder is his name, and he weaves myriad threads of sorrow and betrayal into a narrative tapestry so bold, so affecting, that it all but reduces Sela to tears.
Bolder, as the reader learns toward the end of the story, is in fact the brother of Blagg, the vile, scheming miscreant whose treachery and physical assault leave Morrigan deformed and his beloved dead. And it is Blagg’s terrible actions that lead Morrigan to, in a sense, make a deal with the devil.
What is so fascinating about Morrigan’s transformation is that in relinquishing his human form, he rejects also the things that make him human—love, compassion, understanding, reason. As Death, he is violence personified, a powerful being capable of exacting his revenge, but incapable of enjoying the fruits of the exaction.
I find this story compelling because it gives further depth to the roots of mystery and intrigue that seem to grow licentious in, on, and around Myst (the mythical world in which the tale is told) and its inhabitants. Sela, the unfortunate, unwilling victim of assaults both physical and psychological, must feel as if she were an especially naïve creature, unable to make sense of the grave consequences of her every step.
The writing and artwork—respectively done by Joe Brusha and a collaboration of Alisson Rodrigues and Roberto Viacama—are expectedly exceptional. Sprites are thoughtfully rendered, their dialog and exposition engaging and well worded. The physical settings for action and remembrance of things past is at once inviting but ominous, colorful but darkly foreboding.
Fans of the series will perhaps not fully appreciate how well drawn and written this book is, simply because publisher Zenescope has spoiled them with top-notch production after top-notch production.
New readers, however, will surely celebrate the visual and textual achievements of Brusha et al., and I have no doubt that anyone who reads this issue will want to read those that preceded it, as well as those that follow.
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