Let's Talk About ONCE & FUTURE #9

Once & Future #9 is now out, and it’s making things more interesting. If you haven’t read the latest issue from writer Kieron Gillen and artist Dan Mora, you can purchase a physical copy from local comic shops or digital copies from retailers like comiXology.

Duncan and Bridgette have to take care of Beowulf, which is surely no easy task. Duncan flips the car and distracts the hero while Bridgette sets up a trap involving blessed explosives. It was not fun for them for sure, especially since Duncan almost lost an arm. We then have Elaine at an old bar communing with the undead Merlin. Merlin apparently is all about controlling and manipulating Arthur. Merlin also explains that while Beowulf may have died (I’m not fully convinced of that) there is more to the story. Bridgette is then seen at the old folks home where they’re watching Bake Off, and they all talk about her trip with Duncan and how Bridgette has mellowed even though she still threatens to break the other residents’ fingers once a week. Rose then sees that Grendel is at the old folks home.

Overall, this is more setup for the story, and as I mentioned, I’m not fully convinced that Beowulf is dead. I would not be surprised to see him return and then join forces with Duncan to defeat Merlin at some point. It feels like Gillen is shifting the main villain role away from Arthur to Merlin who will end up being the big bad while Arthur ends up being more of an evil general. It’s definitely an interesting approach and can work pretty well. I’m interested to see what other tales are brought to life in Once & Future.