Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: Waking Albion
Written by: Dylan Horrocks
Penciled by: Richard Case
Inked by: Steve Bird
Colored by: Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh
Lettered by: John Costanza
Editor: Steve Bunche
Publisher: DC Comics – Vertigo
A lot of series last to long, some end far to soon. HUNTER: THE AGE OF MAGIC seems to be ending at the right time. While books like IMPULSE and YOUNG JUSTICE were forced to condense too much into the final issues, Dylan Horrocks seems to have had just enough time to finish his storyline. I don’t know if it was by design on Horrocks part, or due to some modicum of luck, but it appears like there won’t be many dangling threads that will remain unanswered.
Plotlines that aren’t tied up in a book are one of the most annoying things for a fan of a series. At least IMPULSE got a somewhat rushed finish; being a fan of THE WARLORD let it be known that important threads were never tied up, and we’re talking fifteen years later! At least the readers of H:TAOM won’t be put in that position!
Horrocks has packed as much as 22 pages can hold into this issue. While most of the issue is exposition explaining the mass racially motivated riots spreading throughout England, we also get some wonderful swordplay with faeries, Nazi skinheads, and the Walker’s, allies of Tim. I’ve been impressed by the way he’s wrapped most of the important threads up in this issue.
While much of the conflict between Tim and his enemies the Lotus and the Triskelle have been touched upon. There are still some tensions between Tim and his allies, especially some of his female companions. Dylan Horrocks is showing me once again the strength of his writing. Instead of saving the last issue for a knock down drag out, it appears like we’ll get a character driven piece that will propel Tim into the oblivion all cancelled characters go to.
This was a really hard review to write. Not being the last issue of the series, I don’t want to dwell on the finality that’s to come, and it’s hard to translate just how much I’ve enjoyed this book. So much has happened throughout the course of this series, that I have a hard time keeping up. Since I never read BOOKS OF MAGIC, the previous series that followed Tim’s adventures, some of the minutiae are lost to me. Yet, I’ve enjoyed each issue and Dylan Horrocks is becoming a personal favorite writer. If you aren’t reading BATGIRL, check it out as Dylan has done some great stuff with his first two issues.
