Sparrowhawk #5 (2018)
Written by: Delilah S. Dawson
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Sparrowhawk
Publisher: Boom Studios
Why I Chose It: The finale is here, and I am thrilled to reach the end of the series.
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: We’re finally at the series’ end, and I’m thrilled to jump into it!
Artemesia has done everything necessary to get back home, but wicked Crispin, her guide, has left out one piece of information: to enter her home world, she must pull someone into the faerie world.
Since Crispin took her memories of her beloved Caroline, Artemesia yanks her once-loved sister into faerie and steps into her mortal world again. She knows the Unseelie Queen is disguised as mortal and plans to gain her full power at the formal ball. The time to save the world has come and Artemesia has no time to spare.
The Queen offers Artemesia power, but Artemesia refuses and ultimately tricks the Queen and kills her, saving her world as far as she is concerned. The Unseelie Queen has been stopped and killed from the mortal plane, but Artemesia has been consumed by the power of faerie herself. Now she is the faerie in the land of mortals, dangerous and wicked.
In the faerie world, we see Crispin beginning the cycle over again as he takes the memories of Artemesia from Caroline and convinces Caroline that she must kill to gain power and stop the wicked Queen in the mortal world. The wicked queen now being Artemesia. He has set the sisters who once loved each other more than anything up to kill each other.
I love circular stories so I love that we end as we begin, only with Caroline now in the world of faeries trying to find her way. It makes you wonder who the Queen really was, and whether Artemesia should have recognized her. It also makes you wonder how many times Crispin has repeated this cycle and why he’s done it. I think it’s a really interesting look at cycles of violence and how hard they are to actually break when a person believes the end justifies the means.
For a short series, I think this was a beautifully done story, though I think it really would have shined as a longer series stretched out over maybe 10 issues to really see the slow descent of Artemesia and Warren. We lose some of the emotional gut punches because the series moves so quickly through the 5 issues.
I don’t see there being a second season, and if there were, I’d want it to follow onto a different part of faerie. Artemesia’s story is done but there is still a whole wide world of faeries to explore. So far there have been no announcements of any more Sparrowhawk.
In Conclusion: A great, short series perfect for people looking for bittersweet endings and something that can be enjoyed fully in a single afternoon. The full five issues will be collected into a paperback, available on August 20, 2019, so you can pre-order now.
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