SACRED SIX #10 – An Honest Review

In SACRED SIX #10, available from Dynamite Comics on June 16th, 2021, Nyx recounts how she recovered her hellfire scepter from the Landsknechte, and Drago takes matters into his own hands in the present.

The Details

• Written By: Christopher Priest
• Art By: Stephane Roux, Marcos Ramos
• Colors By: Mohan
• Letters By: Willie Schubert
• Cover Art By: Lucio Parrillo
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: June 16, 2021

Was It Good?

It was good if you’re purely looking for answers. Answers about Adam/the Gardener’s origin. Answers about Leviticus. Answers about Samira/Pantha.

Unfortunately, those answers take about 5% of the issue. The rest is filled with muddled, disjointed storytelling that’s become a hallmark of Priest’s writing style. In terms of the overall arc, very little happens, so you could look at this issue as an exposition dump. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as long as you’re willing to put in the work to dig the nuggets out from the noise.

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This issue also marks a large transition from the lead artist on the series, Roux, to Marcos Ramos. Ramos’ style is rougher and grittier than Roux’s with hatching lines reminiscent of woodcutting art. When character’s faces are cast in shadow with only glowing eyes visible, Ramos’ style ups the creep factor, so it’s a departure from what we’re used to, this change in art has a certain appeal for a horror comic.

You can see the samples of Roux’s work before we transition to Ramos in our SACRED SIX #10 preview.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

We start with another flashback to 17th century Europe where Nyx is on the hunt for the Landsknechte who stole her hellfire scepter. If you’re not sure why the issue is talking about 17th-century Nyx, read our SACRED SIX #9 review to get caught up.

Unfortunately for the Landsknechte, they were all killed by a horde of Druden, and one of them figured out how to use the scepter. Nyx counts on the leader trying to destroy her with a force blast from the scepter in the hopes it will re-power her demonic side. Nyx’s gamble pays off and she receives a very brief boost that allows her to destroy the demonic Druden and take her scepter back.

That action and art in this prologue are fast-paced, exciting, and clearly written. It would be a benefit to the series if the rest of the story was written and paced as well as the prologue.

Cut to Ashthorne in 1969. The Six Marys, gun-toting nuns do battle with a host of demons in the nearby woods. When the shooting is done, the nuns find a baby in the woods. It’s not clear where the baby came from or who it is, but it’s Adam/The Gardener as a child if you connect the very few dots.

We can infer (again, very loosely) that the nuns brought baby Adam to Sacred and raised him as a human, although he has demonic darkness within him. We also learn that the crowd of identical-looking Adams walking around Sacred are clones of the original wherein Sacred’s scientists have tried to strip out the demonic energy from each clone through bio-engineering.

The other tidbit we receive is that the original Adam was raised in Sacred with Leviticus. They have tentative respect for each other that falls short of brotherly. Leviticus warns Adam that his helping hand trips into Ashthorne will put him on the wrong side of the war to come, and he must choose sides.

Cut to Vampirella recovering in a hospital room from Pantha’s attack with Nyx watching over her. The two have a tentative truce but Nyx is convinced her own demonic nature will push her to break their truce and the peace in Ashthorne. Nyx asks Vampirella to kill her, but Vampirella refuses. They part ways, but Nyx warns Vampirella may regret not taking the opportunity to end Nyx when she had the chance.

We conclude the issue with Adam and Drago partnering up to stop one human from turning into a vampire.

How Does It End?

Drago and Adam accept what they cannot control. Vampirella acknowledges her freedom. The Ashthorne warriors may be heading for a trap.

Final Thoughts

SACRED SIX #10 fills in a lot of backstory about some players explaining their motivations and history. Unfortunately, you have to wade through a fair amount of noise and jumbled storytelling to learn anything. The art transition to a new artist is very stark but Ramos’ style doesn’t detract from the story at all.

Score: 6/10