These wizards and their schemes do not account for the likes of us.
Or maybe they do.That would make it worse.
Keep reading for a review of Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans’ Die #3.
I’m definitely still enjoying Stephanie Hans’ art this issue. She’s going for a more stylized look in this series, as opposed to the slightly more detailed panels you might remember from Angela: Asgard’s Assassin. This book is darker (the artwork I mean, though boy howdy the story is darker too) and the panels have a more brushed look to them, with a lot of silhouettes, figures in the fog, and faces in shadow, or off-panel, or half-hidden by a lock of hair. There’s also tons dynamic motion, gorgeous colors, some amazing battles, and truly heartbreaking expressions, like the look on Ash’s face when she realizes who she’s talking to.
We don’t see much of the rest of the party this issue: Neo’s screwed up and is apologizing and over-compensating, the Fool is mostly absent, the Grief Knight has one spectacular scene, and the Godbinder…can I just say how much I love the Godbinder? Her talent (skill? calling? specialty?) is so cool, I will never get tired of seeing what new deity is dropping by to offer their services in return for her owing them a “favor.” (I can’t wait to see what kind of cost Angela has to pay. You just know it’s going to be awful.)
But Ash was the focus this issue, as she narrowly escapes getting blown up, talks with some soldiers, and then meets someone higher up the food chain.
I think most people will realize who it is pretty quickly, but if you don’t, just pay attention to the little things they say, there’s some twisted versions of familiar lines here and there. If you read Kieron Gillen’s notes at the end, you can see he’s working through some issues he has with a figure he still loves and respects.
I’m not completely sure how the rules of this world work just yet, so I’m wondering: did The Grandmaster create the world of Die, or find it? And if he created it, did he put this specific person there on purpose, or do they just sort of come with the territory? (Going from Gillen’s notes at the end, this is just one realm of many, but how much control does Sol have?) Is this the only time we’ll see this specific person, or do they have a larger part to play in the series?
I kind of hope this is the only time we’ll see them, because you couldn’t ask for a better exit scene than the one they got. Honestly, that was my favorite panel of the whole series so far (and that’s saying something.)
