ICYMI – Kaya #10: Land of Poison, Dawn of Light

Kaya #10 is a bridging issue to the upcoming ‘Poison Lands’ finale that will be taking place in the next issue. As a penultimate chapter, the issue contains some excellent writing and pacing that’s backdrop by some of the series’ best art to date. As a series, Kaya doesn’t exactly read the best in a monthly format, but that has little effect on the book’s chapter-by-chapter quality. Much like the first nine, Wes Craig and team knock it out of the park with this issue.

This issue sees a few major plot points coming to fruition, the most dominant of which involves Jin finally scratching the surface of his secret and genetic magical abilities. The narrative weaves in and out of each one, jumping from that, Kaya and Runt’s journey to save Jin, and the Borgo family’s meeting with Lord Vox. All of them flow quite naturally and build us ever closer to the finale, answering old questions while building up a few more to ensure the finale is explosive and satisfying. Each one is entertaining in its own right, and for completely different reasons.

Jin’s journey takes place in his unconscious mind, as he and a dream-like recreation of his sister try to survive a constantly changing landscape that’s visually realized in a black, white, and yellow color scheme. The paneling, lighting, and general vision on display in this sequence is deserving of an Eisner. Craig pulls out all the stops in order to make this section of the book visually tie into what it’s expressing at a story level. It is jaw-dropping work, and if the only merits this issue had were its visual style, then it’d still review quite high. However, these sequences are written quite well, the paneling style growing and changing alongside Jin as he struggles to self-actualize the magic in his blood.

As for Runt and Kaya’s detour, it expands the narrative’s world quite a bit with the introduction of the current king of Borogash, showcasing both characters in new yet interesting lights. Kaya has lost her arm, and seeing her stoic demeanor shift as she is forced to trust Runt is a treat and plays quite well into the arc’s themes. On the flip side, the meeting with Lord Vox continues to push the main conflict to its point of finality, leaving the stakes and tension high as it seems like our heroes won’t be seeing a happy ending to their adventure within the Poison Lands.