Honour and Curse #11

Honour and Curse #11

Mad Cave Studios 2019

Written by Mark London

Illustrated by Nicolás Salamanca

Coloured by Tekino

Lettered by Miguel Angel Zapata

Yua confronts Master Yazuro about her father's death and Akemi decides to make peace between the Iga and the Koga. Sawa's killer is finally revealed, paving the way for the explosive finale of the second arc.

This story is one of my favourites because it focuses on a culture and a tie that is so foreign to the Western World and it’s told so beautifully. Over the first and this second arc we’ve seen Genshi come to terms with the creature that resides inside him as he learns to harness the power it gives him while Lady Akemi has come to hate the man she once loved blaming him for her fathers death. It has truly been one of the closest stories to a night time soap opera as we’ve seen in comics. With lies, intrigue, deception, misdirection and all out action it’s continues to be one heck of a thrillride issue after issue. Plus just the fact that honour means something to these characters in ways that are harder to comprehend in today’s world and reminds us that a man’s word is his bond is something that we should still be living by today.

I love the way that this is being told. How we see the story & plot development through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented perfectly. Learning lessons the hard way and overcoming pride and hubris isn’t easy but to see it portrayed in the characters the way we do makes the character development utterly magnificent. How we see the dialogue, the character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter continue to shape who they are and who they are becoming. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story alongside the twist & turns along the way pulls us into this in some really magical ways.

I am very much enjoying the way that we see this being structured as well as how we see the layers within the story continue to grow, evolve and strengthen. It’s the way these layers are seen throughout the story that give it depth and complexity and make us want to be a part of this world. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is perfectly achieved.

The interiors here are a nicely done. The creativity and imagination in what we see is special and the tengu is meant to have this awesome and fearful visage. I do wish we’d see more backgrounds being utilised, especially with Fanuk changing as that could’ve been a tad more claustrophobic in my humble opinion. How we see the linework, its varying weights and techniques in being utilised to create the detail work is nice ot see. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a solid eye for storytelling. The colour work is nicely rendered as well. The gradation effects are beautifully rendered and how we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is great to see.

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This is one of those weeping Eastern epics that takes the fantasy of a sword & sorcery genre to new heights. Mark is writing a spectacularly intelligent story with a cast of diverse characters, warring tribes and trying to come into a new era of friendship and peace that’s in jeopardy thanks to the chaotic nature of Fanuk and his Tengu. There is this inherent excitement and intrigue in what we see and a tension to it that makes you wonder if Genshi took too long in trying to reign in his own Tengu or if they can work together in a way that will save the woman he loves and the kingdom as a whole.