Sparrowhawk #4 (2018)
Written by: Delilah S. Dawson
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Sparrowhawk
Publisher: Boom Studios
Why I Chose It: The series has been great so far and I’m excited to continue reading.
The premise:
Teen Victorian fairy fight club! As the illegitimate daughter of a Naval Captain, Artemesia has never fit in with her father’s family, nor the high class world to which they belong. However, when she is targeted by the Faerie Queen and pulled into another realm, she has no choice but to try and save the world that has always hated her. Writer Delilah S. Dawson (Hellboy: An Assortment of Horror, Star Wars: Forces of Destiny) and artist Matias Basla (The Claw and Fang) present a beautiful, gripping tale perfect for fans of Labyrinth and Princeless.
Spoilers Below
Discussion: Book 4 starts exactly where we left off, with Warren having officially left the group and Artemesia continuing on her way to stop the Unseelie Queen from destroying her world.
To gain power, Artemesia is on a quest of destruction. In this issue, we see her at her most vicious as she, without hesitation, destroys creatures in her quest. Without the presence of Warren as a buffer of non-violence, creatures are cut down before Artemesia even asks if they deserve it.
She’s descending towards becoming a monster whose first impulse is to destroy. She is starting to become the creature that she hunts and Crispin, her jackalope mentor who stole her memories of her beloved sister, enjoys and encourages the change.
The group finally begins the trek to the castle where she learns that she will have to kill an innocent to truly open the portal to her world to stop the queen. Resisting this idea, Artemesia argues with her remaining companions until Warren returns to talk to her and try to dissuade her from her quest.
The two have a short but painful conversation before Artemesia lashes out and kills Warren, claiming it all to be an accident. Warren, a true innocent, dies and the way forward opens as the book ends on a killer cliffhanger.
When Warren returned I saw what was coming. It’s been established several times that Warren is one of the few true innocents in this world. Artemis’ anger and focus on the only way forward she could see blinded her to her own actions. The twist was at the perfect point, just a page or two before the actual death. Enough time for the dread to fully register before appearing on page.
The artwork continues to be incredible. I love the stylistic choices for Artemesia’s changes as she gains in power. I love the story and my one and only critique is that I really would love this to be a longer series. I lost some of the emotional weight of Warren and Artemesia admitting their feelings for each other because it’s such a short series. The whole thing seems to all happen very quickly, and I would love to have more time with these characters. I think seeing a slower descent into this world would make Artemesia’s journey even more powerful.
In Conclusion: Book 5 is out now and will wrap up this series, and I am diving right into it to find out how this will all work out for Artemesia.
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