Ain't nothing like the Grail thing baby
Written by: Cullen Bunn
Art by: Mirko Colak
Publisher: Aftershock Comics
Reviewer: Andrew McAvoy
And now the end is near, and so we face the final curtain. Yes, as hard as it is to believe this is the closing installment of Bunn and Colak's masterly rendition of the Arthurian legends. Long before Game of Thrones this ancient story kept people entertained with its tales of dark intrigue. This series has done the tale of Arthur, Merlin and co. proud. Let's see how the final installment went down.
The depiction of Merlin in this book makes Machiavelli look like a decent sort. He is a complete bastard. Speaking of which the issue opens with Arthur deciding to leave his own bastard son alive. Yes, Modred survives Arthur's wrath and so the fate of the kingdom is sealed. Falling into disrepair and havoc, the Grail quest is launched as a means of restoring pride to the kingdom.
It is all part of Merlin's plan but finally the old goat's scheming backfires on him. Yes Guinevere has had enough and spears the old goat through the heart. Down with him. Yes, I have to confess that its nice to see Merlin writhe in agony but he still spits poison with his words. The end of the book sees Arthur fall to his fate, and his desire to return Excalibur to the resting place with the Lady in the Lake.
This book sure as hell tries to pack a mountain of Arthurian legend into the condensed format of the 5 issue mini-series. The story is told so well and so sparingly that it manages to pull it off. I say that though as someone who is fairly well versed in the legends. If I hadn't been I'm not entirely sure that I would have followed the plot in the abridged version represented in this whistle-stop tour. There was plenty of material here for this story to have been relayed in a longer form, and increasing the intricacy levels. Nonetheless a fine story, well told with art to take your breathe away leaves little scope for complaint in my eyes.
Score 7.8 out of 10
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