The Price of Love
Love is a wonderful thing. But sometimes, it comes at a cost. One need only read Romeo and Juliet to learn that. However, the cost is not always measured in life or death. Sometimes…it is measured in years. That was the cost that our hero Zara, the Magehound, was willing to pay rather than reveal the location of the woman she loved. A sentence of ten-thousand years locked away in her bottle. Only fate and the destruction of her fellow Djinns had commuted that sentence.
They needed her to find a rogue Djinn. One that had disrupted the balance that preserved life as they knew it. Along with the Phoenix Bennu, who was her aid and parole officer, Zara was to locate and capture the Djinn known as Abyss. To do this, she was following any disturbance in the balance caused by random wishes. For whatever the wish, there is a price to pay for its answer.
A Wish Gone Awry
This had lead her to a once noble Shinobi. As the village Daimyo, he had made the mistake of making a wish without foreseeing its consequences. This had resulted in the massive death and destruction that had lead Zara to him. But now, as he has realized what he has done, he only wants one thing: for her to kill him. But, Zara could not grant his request. Djinn were not allowed to kill mortals. She knew that he was under the power of whoever had granted his wish. But he had to be stopped. And that was the job of a Magehound.
The Warriors Wish
In seconds she had taken his eyes and his hands. While, it didn’t give her any solace for doing so, it did bring out the source of the Shinobi’s powers. A spider like creature of enormous proportions. An S.O.U.S. (Spiders of Unusual Size…thanks Princess Bride). While it was disappointed that Zara had interfered with its plans, it hoped that it would be rewarded by Lord Abyss for disposing of the Hound. Good luck with that. However, knowing that the spider fed off of the Shinobi’s Wish Power. Zara needed to know what it was the warrior had wished for.
His legacy was to be the village’s protector, like his father before him. But lately, he had been having dreams of the entire village bathed in blood. In his dreams, he had failed them. But when the opportunity of a wish that would make him a great blade master came, he accepted it. He thought it would help him prevent his bloody dream from coming to past. He was wrong. Instead, he became the vehicle that brought the vision to reality. Using the now power filled blade.
The Warriors Sacrifice
Zara surmised it was the blade that was imbued with the dark magic from the creature. Every life taken by the sword fed the beast power. It would need to be destroyed. So Zara confronted the creature while Bennu and Daimyo sought out the blade to destroy it. The creature entangled Zara in its webbing, preparing to earn the reward it knew that Lord Abyss would grant it. Meanwhile Bennu attempted to destroy the sword using his power, but it was protected by the dark magic.
However, the sword and Daimyo were one. If the sword could not be destroyed, then Daimyo would use it to destroy himself. For every wish, there is a price. His would be paid in full as he braced the sword against a rock and drove himself upon it. The resulting backlash stunned the creature allowing Zara to open the Djinn vessel and have Bennu gather the creature into it. It was trapped in the bottle.
The Hunt Continues
Afterwards, they buried the noble Daimyo who had willingly paid for his mistake with his life. As she knelt by the grave, Bennu reminded Zara that their victory today was not without some luck. If they had the Sorceress to assist them, this task would be much easier. Bennu once again asked Zara for the location of the Sorceress. As if Zara would suddenly relent to that request. No matter, because Zara could sense another disturbance. The results of another wish being granted by one of Abyss minions. The hunt continues…
Thoughts
Part of what makes for a good story is for there to be reason to care for the characters plights. Because while non-stop action is desirable, it can be mind numbing after a while without knowing the motivations behind their actions. This was touched upon in Djinn Hunter #1, but explored more deeply in Issue #2. Writer Jay Sandlin supplied both Zara and Daimyo with emotional glimpses into their stories and gave readers the opportunity to see them as more that just adversaries. This was handled extremely well and supplies emotional context going forward. Its nice to see Jay continuing to develop his depth as a storyteller and expanding his craft. Zara is a bad ass with emotional gravitas…NICE!
Fabrizio Cosentino continues his mastery over this story pulling triple duty as Artist, Colorist and Letterer. Not to mention cover duty. Fabrizio just be showing off now. But when you got it, flaunt it. And Fabrizio does just that in this series. Blackbox Comics Djinn Hunter #2 can be found where all great comics are sold.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
