It’s been two years since Tracy Deonn’s second Legendborn book, Bloodmarked, came out but OATHBOUND was worth the wait. In the aftermath of being almost possessed by Arthur’s spirit, Bree — a black teenager, linked to Arthur by blood (his slaveowning descendant raped her ancestor) flees the Order of the Table and strikes up a deal with Erebus, sorcerer of the order and secretly a demon. He’ll use her and train her both, but the cost is partial memory erasure — she no longer recognizes anyone in her life.
And what of the two boys Bree’s possibly into? Selwyn’s demonic side is eating him alive. Nick, the descendant of Lancelot who thought he was the Scion of Arthur, is out looking for them both. Inevitably Bree and Nick wind up meeting; unfortunately it’s undercover at a demonic collector who’s offering an artifact Erebus needs. Can they help each other get out alive?
This was a bit too sprawling — Selwyn’s scenes (more his mother’s scenes) were mostly “remember I’m a character in this!” — but overall it was another excellent volume. I know Tracy but my admiration for her work is neither bought nor paid for.
COLORIZATION: One Hundred Years of Black films in a White World by Wil Haygood looks at the great and not so great moments of black filmmaking and acting (looking back from 2021 when this came out): Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Oscar Michaux, Stormy Weather, Friday Foster, John Singleton, Spike Lee … And also the racial history happening in the real world as these movies were coming out. And the constant frustration by black moviegoers, creators and actors that no amount of money seems to convince Hollywood making black-centric movies is a winning strategy.
This wasn’t as good a read as I expected, partly because I know a lot of what Haygood has to say (which is absolutely not his fault). Partly because I’d have liked less politics and black history and more on the movies — there’s much more material worthy of coverage that doesn’t get any (nothing about The Color Purple, for instance). The conclusion, like The Black Guy Dies First, is surprisingly upbeat that the dam has finally cracked.
AQUAMAN: Amnesty by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Viktor Bogdanovic faded from my memory almost as soon as I’d read it. Primarily that’s because it’s a post-New 52 reboot that spends most of its pages establishing what is and isn’t in continuity and filling in an amnesiac Aquaman on his secret origin.
OMNI: The Doctor Is In by Devin Grayson and Alitha E. Martinez is the first (I think) in the new Ignition! universe: protagonist Cecilia, always bright, now discovers she’s super-intelligent because she’s somehow been ignited (equivalent to the jumpstart in the Ultraverse, I’m guessing, though that may mean diddly squat to you). With her heightened intelligence comes the certainty that more ignited are on the way and the governments of the world may not respond well … Too much set-up for me, and not that different from Heroes or the CWverse on TV.
Jeff Lemire’s FISHFLIES has a panicked petty crook kill a boy, hideout in a grain silo, befriend the abused daughter of the farmer and then turn into a giant bug. Switching from crime drama to a riff on Metamorphosis is an odd choice but overall this worked for me, though it didn’t work hugely.
Comics cover by Brian Bolland. All rights to images remain with current holders.
