King Arthur is dead. Long live… Well, that’s the question, isn’t it? He died without children, so who will ascend to the throne?

Of course, Morgana wants nothing to do with any of that political nonsense, and her team of mercenaries wants even less to do with it. By rights, her secret son, Mordred, has a claim to the throne, but for him to try to take it would cause civil war.

Only now it seems there’s another war on the horizon, as well. Sir Bedivere, Arthur’s trusted advisor and friend, believes that the once-hated Morgana and her once-feared magic are the kingdom’s only hope of victory. If only he knew that she no longer has that magic…

In this issue, we get to learn a bit more of the backstory of Morgana and Mordred and the kingdom before she left it. We also learn about Sir Godric, the mysterious knight who somehow knows Mordred’s real parentage, even though it’s a secret from the rest of the kingdom. (Creator Madeleine Holly-Rosing has mercifully chosen to eschew the incest plotline from the original Arthurian legend.)

This comic has a little bit of everything. There’s action and adventure. There’s fantasy and magic. There’s political intrigue. There’s even a bit of real history—a hallmark of Holly-Rosing’s works and one of the things that makes them so much fun to read. For my money, one of the best parts of this issue is the backmatter, wherein she delves into who the people are whose attack Morgana must defend against, and what their place was in the historical record—complete with a bunch of cited sources.

The whole comic is a lot of fun. I’m loving the story, and I’m excited to see what comes next. If you like swords and sorcery, the Arthurian legend, or just cool adventure stories, you’ll want to check out Morgana Pendragon.

Creative Team: Madeleine Holly-Rosing (writer/creator), Alden Kaye (art), Warnia Sahadewa (colors), Troy Peteri (letters), Rio Burton (cover art), David Avallone (editor), Dave Lentz (production design)
Publisher: Queen of Mercia, LLC
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