Review: Lost Fantasy #9 Launches a New Arc With Coordinated Chaos
LOST FANTASY #9
TL;DR: Lost Fantasy #9 kicks off Book Three with a bang, launching the "Fall of the Hunters" arc with coordinated chaos across multiple fronts. Curt Pires, Franklin Jonas, and the creative team have built something with serious scope here, and this oversized issue makes clear the series is ready to pay off everything it has been building toward.
Creative Team
Writers: Curt Pires & Franklin Jonas
Artists: Luca Casalanguida & Alex Diotto
Colorist: Mark Dale
Letterer: Micah Myers
Publisher: Image Comics
Review
There's a certain kind of comic that earns the "Giant Size" label on its cover. Lost Fantasy #9 is that kind of comic. There is no padding. It's a book with a lot of ground to cover and it covers it confidently, moving between storylines with the controlled energy of a creative team that knows exactly where this story is going.
The issue wastes no time establishing the threat at its center. A mysterious figure called Edge has been pulling strings across the globe, deploying coordinated strikes against each of the great Hunters simultaneously in what amounts to a massive, multi-front ambush. Wolfsbane is caught in the middle of the Bloodfang werewolf rebellion in Eastern Europe. Tekhumiavi is attacked at his daughter's rehearsal dinner in India. Grootslang is fighting off an Adaze outbreak in Africa. And Kitsune's headquarters in Tokyo comes under assault from an army of freelancers led by the Cyber-Ronin. It's the kind of sequence that makes good on the "The Inferno Ignites" title immediately. Pires and Jonas earn real credit for making each of these concurrent crises feel distinct rather than interchangeable.
Edge is a compelling addition to the series' roster of antagonists. Casalanguida opens with a dark, near-prophetic sequence showing Edge walking through each planned move before it happens, which does a lot of work in establishing the character’s bona fides. The revelation that Henry Blackheart Sr. is alive reshuffles the deck considerably, and Edge’s cold response to it, acknowledging the elder Blackheart’s existence without missing a beat in planning his next move, tells you a lot about his mindset.
A good portion of the issue is focused on the Tokyo part of the story. Henry and Nihlas go up against the Cyber-Ronin in the type of well-choreographed fight scene that this book does best. The Ronin's design is visually menacing in a way that makes me hope this isn't a villain the series is planning to dispatch quickly. Casalanguida and Alex Diotto share art duties on the issue and the handoff is smooth. Both artists bring their own personality to the pages they handle without creating a jarring tonal break. Mark Dale's colors keep everything unified, shifting palette naturally across the book's many locations while maintaining the warm, slightly otherworldly quality that has defined this series from the start. Micah Myers' lettering is sharp throughout, particularly in the action sequences, where his sound effect work amplifies the impact without overwhelming the panels.
As arc-opening issues go, this one is a lot of fun. Lost Fantasy has definitely found its groove, and "The Inferno Ignites" looks like the beginning of arc that puts it firmly on the map.
Rating: 4.5/5
