Published On: 2022-07-06 by Boom Studios
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Catch-up on Last Issue
Last issue, Duncan, Gran, and Rose found Excalibur buried in a stone in Hyde Park. Realizing what it meant, Gran (Bridgette) is determined to keep any of the Arthurs from pulling the sword from the stone. Read our full review of Once and Future #26.
In This Issue of Once and Future #27
Robin Hood refuses to help defend the sword, Excalibur. That leaves Duncan, Gran and Rose to stop three armies all by themselves. Just before the battle, help arrives in the form of a frenemy with an army of his own. The self-aware Merlin accompanies the original King Arthur into battle. It feels like there’s still something up his magical sleeve. Just as the mechanical Arthur pulls the sword, Bridgette pulls another trick out of her book saving the day.
What Else Happens in this Comic?
I didn’t expect this particular b-story to end as it did. Mary’s original plan was to bring back the monsters from the stories and give her son, Galahad, a life of adventure. Things didn’t go as expected. Galahad continued to lose and with each loss became more hideous and pathetic. Merlin got involved, and things went sideways for Mary. Mary never lost faith in her son and turned things around in the end. It was the perfect ending for Galahad’s story.
The Comic's Themes
Faith plays heavily into this issue. Mary has faith in her son (despite uncountable failed attempts at retrieving the Grail). Lancelot realizes what’s missing is his son’s faith in himself and gives it to Galahad. Faith in its literal sense is used to give team Bridgette a break from the onslaught of the Arthurs.
Live the King Arthur
How's Once and Future #27's Writing?
The Dialogue
In the Christmas Even scene, did you notice that there are three Merlins, but all three of them are giving King Arthur the same speech? Each Merlin uses identical words that travel between Merlin speech bubbles. Merlin’s always had a plan. Is this an indicator of things to come? Does Merlin win regardless of who pulls the sword?
Comic Art Review
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- Oncefuture 027 Cover A Main
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- Oncefuture 027 Cover C Variant Undressed
On the Cover
We have an alternate cover by Evan Cagle illustrating Mary and Bridgette. Spectacular.
The Comic Panel by Panel
Dan Mora primarily uses five and six panel page layouts to keep the story moving and even. Periodically, we get a borderless panel that gives special emphasis to that story beat.
Tamara uses color in a variety of ways. First we have color and shadows as determined by light sources like lanterns. Second, we have mood lighting like what we see with the greens and purples of the Grail Castle, the fires of the Hyde Park battle or the blues of our closing scene with Bridgette and Mary.
Ed rounds out the art team by masterfully placing speech balloons and sound effects throughout the story. Interestingly, the most magical characters — Merlin and Robin Hood, use colored word balloons. All the humans or near humans regular white balloons. Each Merlin even has a differently colored word balloon.
World Building
- Grail Castle, Otherworld
- Hyde Park, London
Live the King Arthur
Live the King Arthur
Who's In This Issue of Once and Future #27
- Mary's son, Galahad
- Lancelot
- Rose
- Bridgette
- Duncan
- Robin Hood
- Merry Men
- Kings Arthur (3)
- Hempleworth
- Rose's mom
The Big Question for Next Issue
We made it to Christmas. Will Bridgette's big plan save the world?
Read the King Arthur
Well... figured it's worth a try, right?
Who Will Like Once and Future #27?
Fans of this series will enjoy Once and Future #27. It brings back characters from previous issues, resolves the Galahad story, and pushes us toward the finale.
I Need More Content like Once and Future #27
Check out the triple-wide cover by Dan Mora. The covers for Once and Future #28 through Once and Future #30 join to make one giant poster. See the full artwork on Dan’s Twitter account.
What was I missing?
There has been so much story packed into the last twenty-seven issues that I’m finding it difficult to remember each of the plot threads. It is an easy thing to fix — reread the earlier volumes. It’d be nice is Boom Studios had a more comprehensive website for Once and Future.
Should You Buy This Comic Book?
The march toward the series finale in October has begun. It's going to be a big one. Either the team pulls off an almost impossible mission or the world is turned into a nightmare permanently. Buy this issue to prep yourself for the end.