Issue: Mouse Guard: The Black Axe #3
Release Date: November 30, 2011
Written and Illustrated by: David Petersen
Publisher: Archaia Comics
Following the end of Issue #2, Celanawe and Em awaken on a beach after a storm smashed their ship to pieces. While searching for Conrad, Em discovers the remains of her brother, which leads them up a hill to a large, seemingly empty hall. Turns out the place isn’t so empty as they thought and is the home of a weasel king.
Some posturing between Celanawe and King Luthebon eventually gives way and the king begins to tell them of a mouse whose legend grew over the king’s land until he showed himself during the weasels’ feast. Luthebon then defeated the mouse and swallowed him whole, keeping the Black Axe for himself. He refuses to give it to Celanawe, who attempts to offer his services to Luthebon only to be refused.
No sooner does the king refuse the mouse than other weasels burst in bearing Luthebon’s dead son. Seems a fox who hides in a briar maze on the island is no longer content to remain there, and now Celanawe has his chance. Offering his services again to Luthebon, the king grudgingly accepts, permitting Celanawe to use the Black Axe in exchange for Em remaining behind as collateral. Celanawe then marches into the twisted blackness of the briars to find the fox and fulfill his promise.
Despite Archaia being plagued with delays, David Petersen once again shows that his work is worth the wait. This miniseries continues to read like a great quest of Celanawe not only for the legendary Black Axe, but also of himself. As the story develops, becomes clearer that this is not just a tale of Celanawe finding the Black Axe, but of him becoming worthy to wield it.
As with his storytelling, Petersen’s art continues to display an attention to detail that makes this book a consistent best-seller. Whether it’s the fur on Luthebon’s face or the straw on the floor his hall, Petersen is meticulous in crafting locations and characters so lifelike that you expect them to come alive on the pages.
I can’t wait to read the next chapter of Celanawe’s tale, and I hope that the publisher won’t make us wait so long for Issue #4.
Rating: 4.5 / 5 Stars
About the Author
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has this to say about John Rabon:
John got started on the path to geekdom thanks to his brother's collection of comic books and Star Wars toys but was cemented into the geek class forever when LeVar Burton took Reading Rainbow viewers on a backstage tour of Star Trek: The Next Generation. A love of Monty Python soon followed, and it wasn't long before he was starting to collect his own comics. The rest, as they say, is history. But really, who are they to say something?
Since discovering the BBC some years ago, John has become an obsessive Anglophile. In fact, he even likes the food they serve over there! As such, some of his favourite programmes include: Doctor Who, Primeval, Coupling, QI, The Mighty Boosh, The IT Crowd, and Shaun the Sheep.
Upon choosing a university, John enrolled in the University of South Carolina, which was nice enough to give him a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a Master's in Teaching. Feeling that he hadn't been put through enough academic torment with student teaching, John decided to enroll in law school at Campbell University.
Hobbies, when he can find time for them, include: writing, video games, reading, and wasting time in the pub.