In BY THE HORNS #5, available from Scout Comics on September 15th, 2021, Elodie and the gang head to the fortress of the third evil wizard and straight into a trap. Meanwhile, the fourth wizard, Feng Po, reveals part of her plan.
The Details
- Written By: Markisan Naso
- Art By: Jason Muhr
- Colors By: Andrei Tabacaru
- Letters By: Jason Muhr
- Cover Art By: Jason Muhr, Andrei Tabacaru
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: September 15, 2021
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Was It Good?
This title was firing on all cylinders up until the revelation at the end of this issue. The creators took the easy path on the cliffhanger, and it’s a disappointing down point on an otherwise stellar series. Let’s get into it.
Generally, there’s a lot to like about this issue. There are twists and turns, close calls with the aforementioned traps, and a brutal bit of backstabbing that gives readers a very clear picture of a new villain introduced in this issue.
But the meat of this series… the central conflict… is Elodie’s unresolved hatred for the unicorns. She’s driven to genocidal revenge over the death of her husband, but that conflict has been slowly softening as Elodie is reluctantly forced to ally herself with a pair of unicorns to stop the wizards from destroying everything. Whatever else happens, the core conflict is Elodie’s grudge and the final payoff is how she eventually deals with it.
The cliffhanger takes that core and nearly throws it out a window with a shortcut so shockingly egregious, it nearly negates every prior issue. Look, complex conflicts can be hard to resolve when you have limited pages, issues, and time, but this shortcut deflates so much of the emotional tension, the disappointment almost hurts.
Despite the admittedly melodramatic reaction to the story choice, you can’t take away anything from the art. Muhr and the team make the best looking book of anything Scout is putting our right now. The closest title is a very distant second. Character designs are original, the coloring is mesmerizing, and it’s simply a beautiful book.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
First things first. Prepare yourself by catching up with our BY THE HORNS #4 review.
We pick up with Qeb, the third wizard, attacking Wayfarer, Elodie’s home village. The townspeople are clearly outmatched, but before Qeb can wipe everyone out, he’s called to join Feng Po, the fourth wizard to discuss how they’ve both gained powers from the death of the first two at the hands of Elodie and the unicorns.
Later, Elodie and the gang approach Qeb’s desert fortress to rescue Rigby and destroy Qeb. Surprising absolutely no one (including Elodie), the fortress is laden with traps set by Qeb to kill the monster hunter before she interferes with the wizards’ plans. When the traps become too deadly to avoid, Elodie activates a wayfinder device that opens an escape portal for the gang to get away.
Meanwhile, Qeb meets with Feng Po to discuss their plans to build something called an Augernaut. Qeb believes his traps were successful in killing Elodie but he’s confused about how Feng Po was able to capture Rigby and how Elodie knew where to find the other wizards.
We conclude the issue with Feng Po demonstrating how power-hungry and ruthless she really can be, Elodie and the gang emerging from the portal with the realization that escape comes with a time-wasting cost, and a blowup between Elodie and Zoso that shockingly reveals Elodie’s justification for a grudge may easily be undone.
Final Thoughts
BY THE HORNS #5 is a gorgeous-looking book that up until now has captured a heartfelt, nuanced adventure story… with unicorns, wizards, and monsters. Unfortunately, the central conflict of the series is nearly undone with a shortcut of a cliffhanger that almost invalidates the hero’s journey. This is still one of the easiest Scout books to recommend, so the score will reflect high marks for the outstanding technical execution, even if we strongly disagree with the story choice in the cliffhanger.
Score: 8/10
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I really appreciate all the BTH coverage, Gabriel, but I’m very surprised by this review. The cliffhanger is definitely not an easy way out or a shortcut. It actually strengthens and intensifies the central conflict. Elodie’s continual hatred largely stems from the fact that she just can’t move on. What happened to her love is something we now know she is constantly reminded of and haunted by every single second. Her feelings of anger mixed with a tiny ray of hope has only served to fuel her rage and vitriol for unicorns. Knowing there’s a possibility that circumstances could change but not having any means to actually fix it for over a year is an absolutely maddening state for anyone to be in. It makes Elodie’s feelings more visceral and raw than if past events had gone another way.
On top of that, Elodie’s hatred for the unicorns has now completely bubbled to the surface. And just when it seems all her softening toward the unicorns over the past issues has been destroyed, she gets information that again forces her to reconsider and temper her actions when all she wants to do is unleash her full fury. Now, with her true motivations and hate revealed, she has no choice but to continue working with Zoso in a tenuous and shattered alliance, not knowing if she’ll make it through to fix what’s happened in her life. Not knowing if Zoso will make it through to deliver on his promise. Not knowing how she’ll react if the promise isn’t fulfilled. Not knowing if she’ll take her revenge anyway because all her emotional anguish has just reached an apex. ALL that clearly heightens the core conflict for Elodie 1000 fold in ways she did not anticipate.
For Zoso, the reveal in issue 5 also marks a significant character moment for him that will play out in the coming issues; one that builds off the very first page of the first issue.
I really hope you’ll reconsider the emotional significance and nuance of the twist in BTH5 when you read the next 3 issues, because the way it impacts the characters will deepen and enrich them in ways you might not expect. And it makes their end choices matter so much more.
Hi, Markisan,
Thank you for taking the time to add clarification around the implication of the final reveal. The fact that you took the time to read our review and provide this thoughtful rebuttal speaks to how passionate you are about your project. That said, the review stands as is, but I guarantee we’ll review the next issues with an open mind (or as open as possible). If you make this revelation work in a satisfying way, I promise we’ll eat as much crow as you can dish out. 😉