Die #9 Review

Writer: Kieron Gillen / Artist: Stephanie Hans / Image Comics The beauty of Die is not that it is just a series of homages and whole plot references to great literary and tabletop gaming roots, but in the fact that it constantly forces a reexamination of those roots. Gillen and Hans have set out on a mission to examine different heroic archetypes and how they interact with classic story arcs. Die is a comic about overlapping interests and the rediscovering connections you once thought you understood only to uncover something a little sinister. All of this to say, Die is a comic that constantly surprises me in its ambitious and its deft art of textual and visual narrative. That’s how your fight in Angria.

As the “Split the Party” arc slowly recollects all of the party members in one place, Gillen uses this opportunity to catch all of the characters up to date on some of the more recent revelations for the readers. Sol’s status as the Fallen is now common knowledge. The implication of what this change means is brought back out to the open. Gillen is very good at positioning the characters to be in the same mindset as the readers. In this positioning, we become further endeared and sympathetic to their plight. And then while we’re busy getting attached to the character, he proceeds to drop several bombshells about the lore of the world and forces a critical analysis of everything that led up to that point. Yet, this quick pivot in the plot is only possible thanks to Hans’ incre…