Last Time
As we last left the MageHound, Zara and her guide and parole officer Bennu the Phoenix had captured the mantle of power from a former great warrior. He had sacrificed all to repay for the wish he had made. But the hunt continued and now, they found themselves in a once quaint village, just in time for a wedding. The guest list was full of re-aninmated corpses. The wish of some misguided fool who didn’t realize the age old rule. For every wish, there is a price.
The Living Dead
In this case, it was a multitude of the re-animated dead, looking to satiate their need for living flesh. Zara jumped into their midst, using her knowledge to take them down by beheading them. The fight eventually leading them into the church and the wedding. Meanwhile, Bennu searched for the source of the power. Still chastising Zara for not revealing the Sorceress’ location. She could have helped to end this problem. Zara turned a deaf ear on his comments. She would never reveal Samira’s location to them. Besides she was too busy with undead and unhappy wedding guests. Although, the constantly ringing bells made it difficult to hear anything anyways.
Crashing a Wedding
It was the groom of this un-natural wedding who objected the most to Zara’s interference. His love had returned to him. True she could use some skin cream…and perhaps a maximum face lift…but she had come back to him. And he only saw the beautiful girl he loved. Love is not only blind, but odor challenged as well. As Zara continued to dispatch the endless procession of the dead, Bennu realized the source of the Djinn magic: the church bells. She told him to destroy the bells as she attempted to ward off the Mother of the Groom. Apparently, she wanted her son married no matter WHAT the bride looked like. Of course, they apparently went to the same undead beauty shop, so who was she to judge.
A Careless Wish
Bennu aimed his power at the Bells, cracking them, and revealing the monster within. This didn’t stop the groom’s persistence that his marriage continue. It was HIS wish that had unleashed this unliving blight. Just because he had lost his bride to deaths unkind embrace. He had been coerced into wishing for ALL the dead to rise again. (Just proves, Kids…be very specific when you make a wish. “Careless wishes that bring back the dead, are Careless words that cannot be unsaid”) Regardless, the foolish groom climbed up to the creature where his “beautiful bride” was entangled, kissing her. Ewww…or Awwww, depending on your point of view.
A Sacrifice
This didn’t change the fact that the bells needed to be totally destroyed. Zara flew toward the bells not realizing the creature was aiming at her from the ground. Bennu, realizing the situation, flew in front of Zara taking the brunt of the acid like substance he shot at her. His feathers and skin melted away leaving him just enough time to tell her to finish the hunt. Given that respite, Zara blasted an intense flame at the bells, blasting them and the roof of the church. The mantle of power was gathered into her bottle, sealing it in as she had done with the previous one.
Rebirth
Zara had completed another task, but at what cost? Bennu had been killed. True, she had always called him a Council Stooge. She knew he was just there as her parole officer. But she never wanted him to sacrifice himself for her. But much to her surprise, or perhaps it shouldn’t have been, Bennu rose up from the ashes, reminding her of what he was: a Phoenix. She hugged his neck saying that she was quite used to losing people, but she was unaccustomed to getting them back.
With Bennu back, she knew they would complete their goal and capture Abyss mantle as well. Bennu reminded her that it undoubtedly would not be that simple. At that moment, just to emphasize that point, Abyss had arrived. He wanted to speak to Zara, but she only wanted one thing: for him to DIE!!
Thoughts
This chapter was ALL about the power of love and what it would drive you to. For Zara, it was worth it to her to be sentenced to 10,000 years inside a bottle. Rather that to reveal the location of her love Samira. For the young man in the village, it was worth bringing all the dead back, if that included his lost love. Writer Jay Sandlin captures this with his usual skill, while at the same time, making it easy for anyone who just has jumped into the series to understand the backstory. Basically, it reveals that Zara is an emotionally complicated character wrapped in a package of Bad Ass. Looking forward to see what transpires now that Abyss has arrived…the Djinn that sentenced her to the bottle…so to speak.
I have literally ran out of superlatives to describe the work Fabrizio Cosentino is bringing to the table every issue of Djinn Hunter. Undead battles, tender moments between Zara and Samira, Soul Flameouts, all handled with artistic expertise, line, color and letters. Combined with Sandlin’s prose, it makes Djinn Hunter a much anticipated release each time it drops. Be sure to catch Issue 3 on October 6th.
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Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first 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 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
