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VOLTRON Recap: ‘The Blade of Marmora’ Puts Keith Through Hell

Friends! Paladins! Slipperies-Havers! Lend me your eyeballs! The following is a recap of Voltron: Legendary Defender season two episode eight, “The Blade of Marmora.” By its very nature it will be full of spoilers. If you don’t want to be spoiled, go watch the episode and then come back. If you do want to be spoiled, well then God bless you.

Well, “Space Mall” was a nice respite from all the dark stuff in season two of Voltron: Legendary Defender… for the most part. Sure, Shiro had his mental duel with Zarkon, but everybody else got to go be weird in a mall. But the rest was brief, because episode 8, “The Blade of Marmora,” finally put the Voltron crew in the lion’s den of seemingly the only group capable of being a true ally, or possibly a massive trap. Certainly Princess Allura believed the latter, but it ended up being much more about Keith than I or anyone else could have predicted.

As the episode opened, Castle Ship was heading toward the coordinates for the base of the Blade of Marmora given to them by Oolas. Pidge was particularly excited to meet the people who had created a fold in space time to hide just a tiny outpost; what would their whole base look like?! Astonishingly, the base was in maybe the most fortified place in the universe: nestled inside a blue star being held in place between two opposing black holes. Pretty cool place for a secret base, you gotta admit. They send a hail and the Blade says only two of them can go…unarmed. Keith and Lance argue about who gets to go with Shiro, but Keith ultimately won, because the Red Lion is the only one that can withstand the star’s heat.

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In the Lion, Shiro asked Keith why he was so harsh with the others, and laid the bomb on him that Shiro wants Keith to lead should the worst happen—the worst, I feel, is DEFINITELY, going to happen, guys. Keith apologized for his outburst and swore to be better. BUT, that didn’t last too long at all, because when the two paladins stood before Kolivan, the leader of the Blade of Marmora, Keith’s anger flared up. See, the Blade were incredibly dubious of any newcomers, even if they’re the frigging PALADINS OF VOLTRON, and they immediately knew that Keith had brought the dagger to ask about his past. Keith won’t leave without answers, and Kolivan said the only way would be the Trials of Marmora. Only two possible outcomes of this: knowledge or death.

And these Trials of Marmora? Friends, they were intense. Keith first had to fight a single member of the Blade; when given the option to leave or continue, he naturally wanted to keep going, despite his disadvantage. He was met with “You are not meant to go through that door,” and then two Blade members appeared. After fighting them, same question, then three new ones appeared. This went on for some time, and eventually, after still refusing to give up, Keith made his way down one of the trap doors from which the Blades entered. Here, he was met with “Shiro,” who was actually another warrior wearing a hologram device which showed Keith exactly who he most wanted to see. The fake Shiro told him he was being selfish and should give up or be ousted from Voltron. Keith again wanted to know his true past.

That is some harsh crap, but he pressed on. Next, he was put into a hallucinatory world in which Keith was suddenly in his childhood home, and a vision of his father told him he’d learn all the truths he needed once his mother got home. But outside the house, the Galra fleet were attacking. The Red Lion, sensing its paladin was in danger, began attacking the base, which caused the Castle Ship folks up in space to get very nervous. Keith ultimately decided he had to leave, and he awoke from the dream to find the real Shiro helping him up. Kolivan appeared and told him once again to give up the dagger, and Keith finally said that this mission was about forging an alliance and alliances are built on trust (not hope, sorry Jyn Erso), and freely offers the dagger. However, this awakened the ancient Galra magic inside, causing the dagger to become a full sword. Kolivan was shocked, saying that the only way this would have happened is if Galra blood flowed through Keith’s veins. UHHHH WHAAAAAAAT?!?

Kolivan travels with Shiro and Keith back to the Castle Ship where the Blade of Marmora leader finally removes his mask and bows to Princess Allura. He tells them—which we saw earlier in the episode—that Witch Haggar had been interrogating the Galra brass looking for the spy. She interrogated Commander Thace, who is the actual spy, but he was able to fool her magic. However, Kolivan said they’d have to begin the next stage of their plan…right now.

This was one of the more plot-heavy episodes, but was incredibly satisfying. Keith hadn’t been the focus of any episodes thus far, but he kept asking questions and worrying about his dagger. The revelation that Keith must be part Galra is incredibly shocking; it means that the Galra at one point had reached Earth long before the moon incident that led to Shiro’s abduction. I’m also very certain Shiro will be on his way out and Keith will become the new leader. And what will the Galra-hating Allura do when she finds out Keith has that heritage? AH! So much.

Share your thoughts on “The Blade of Marmora in the comments below!

Images: DreamWorks/Netflix

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

Funko’s Exhaustive 2017 Lineup Includes LOTR, MASS EFFECT, DEATH NOTE, More

The American Toy Fair doesn’t start until February, but the London Toy Fair is in full effect now, and Funko have chosen to roll out their 2017 lineup in a big way. As they continue to acquire the rights to every single thing you’ve ever liked, this year’s offerings include new stuff from Lord of the Rings, Power Rangers, Alias, Death Note, Mass Effect, Reservoir Dogs, Naruto, Donnie Darko, Pee-wee Herman, Ghost in the Shell…even Tekken is representing!

Much of these products are still in the concept art phase, but it’s pretty easy to imagine what it’ll look like in three dimensions. The Steve Buscemi Pop vinyl looks meme-worthy already for every time you feel skeptical, and the larger-scale Balrog manages to retain his intimidating demon nature despite being cute-ified.

Meanwhile, Donnie Darko and his time-traveling pal Frank look happier than ever as Dorbz, and a DC TV line of Mystery Minis doesn’t confine itself to the CW-verse, but includes Gotham as well. hug some plush Power Rangers with oversized heads, or collect the cutest Street Fighters ever. In what I think is a first, one of the Dorbz this year actually has a sad face…because it’s Sadness from Inside Out, and let’s face it, a smile on her would be blasphemy.

Most hilarious, though, is a Mystery Minis set dedicated solely to characters on The Walking Dead who’ve been killed off, colored in shades of gray to look like ghosts. That has to be one interesting afterlife.

As of this writing, there are still even more reveals to come, and we’ve already spotlighted the Nicktoons Pops and Twin Peaks action figures and Pops. What more could you ask for? Well, all we know is Funko will find a way to figure out the other things you never knew you wanted. Check out the gallery below for all the poppy goodness–we’ll be updating as more images come in.

What would you like to see next? Let us know in comments!

Images: Funko

A GHOST STORY Travels Through Time and One Space (Sundance Review)

There’s nothing quite like David Lowery‘s A Ghost Story in cinema today.

Walking out of the theater after seeing it is a bit like slowly waking up from a dream and having to question your own subconscious. It’s a nagging, sentimental journey about dedication, the mutability of our relationships, and what God must feel like watching the world change. It also tests your patience and makes you want to eat pie with Rooney Mara.

She stars in the film as M, an adventurous young woman married to a homebody musician, C (Casey Affleck). They’re intimate and tense, on the cusp of moving out of their creaky suburban bungalow and wondering where late-night noises are coming from.

The opening places a premium on their close-clinging affection, with M relaying a story about leaving notes in all the houses she ever moved out of as a kid. She speaks while enmeshed with C on the couch in a singular tangle of human limbs, he kisses her temples, hand on her chest, they appear as one being.

Then, he dies in a car crash. For the rest of the film, Affleck appears as a ghost (think impressive child’s costume; not hologram Jedi), forever waiting with eternity on his shoulders. He becomes a spectator of M’s mourning, but he’s also tied to the house, so it’s not long until she leaves (a note in the wall for good measure) and other inhabitants fill the space over years of use.

Like a soul-based Inception, A Ghost Story toys with our sense of time with its scope, patience-testing long shots, and playful transitions that cast the ghost as a constant in a shifting space. The first to fully emerge keeps the ghost static in the foreground as three different M’s in different outfits emerge from the bedroom, cross the living room, and leave the house. From that point on, it’s not unusual for the ghost to turn around to find a completely different family in his house.

The camerawork shifts perspectives from the ghost’s to the house’s stream of inhabitants, crafting moments where you forget the ghost is even in the background of the shot, like a piece of furniture, despite once being a breathing being we cared about.

Among its many themes — loyalty, eternity, loss — A Ghost Story seeks to recast and question the ties that bind us. The clearest examples come in gaining a rounded view of C and M’s relationship, portrayed at first almost as a product of a faulty, rosy memory. There are fights and incompatibilities, but there’s also music and comfort and love — all anchored by the sense that the ghost is hanging around the house (and trying to get the note in the wall) solely for the wife that lived. His desire for her allows him to lash out on the physical world, flashing light bulbs to white hot brightness or, once a new family moves in, throwing their dishes against the wall and scaring them into moving.

Your cherished loved ones may be someone else’s poltergeist.

The film beautifully captures the feeling of a quiet presence orbited by the vibrancy of life. The loneliness on display is crippling in its ubiquity. To see the full spectrum of life surround you, to lose your sense of time, to be almost completely unable to participate.

It also falls victim to the same criticism that all films with post-modern flairs are susceptible to. Toned down later in A Ghost Story, the first act is replete with watch-checking long takes. They aren’t torturous, Bela Tarr level, but they still intrinsically raise the question of whether a shot of an empty house should be 47, 117, or 437-seconds long. The line between hypnotic and sleep-inducing.

They also create an alienation effect, making you firmly aware that you’re sitting with 150 people in a dark room watching Rooney Mara stress-eat a pie for five minutes. Pure spectator, losing your sense of time, completely unable to participate.

The patience A Ghost Story demands is rewarded with fantastically inventive storytelling, buoyed largely by the magnetic draw the ghost develops as he stands sentinel, the one constant in a millennium-burning world, sweetly comical under his sheet. After its mourning and haunting periods, the movie picks up its pace, imagining all the things a single patch of land might become over its lifetime, creatively engaging the ghost with a multitude of new histories in search of an emotional conclusion satisfying enough for an immortal specter.

The path toward and the culmination of the story itself are both thrilling, simultaneously melancholy and delightful and surprising.

There is simply nothing like A Ghost Story out there. It’s a beast that no description can fully capture, and its ingenuity, humanity, and vision deserve to be celebrated.

4 out of 5 scared sheetless burritos

Images: A24

Make sure you stay up to date with the rest of our Sundance 2017 coverage here.

The FORBIDDEN BRIDES: Come For the Neil Gaiman Wit, Stay For the Artwork (Comic Review)

Heaping praise on Neil Gaiman is like giving King Midas a gold brick for his birthday. Even his “bad” stuff is still better than average, which is why proclaiming that Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire is trope-bending fun shouldn’t drag any jaws to the asphalt. The Dark Horse comic version—out January 25th—is a clever delight right down to its tongue-in-cheek title.

And you can check out some pages for the book in the gallery below!

Bringing the decade-old Gaiman short story to animated life, it tells the persistently tragic tale of an author trying to capture the true essence of an everyday world of haunted castles, blood curses, and ominous talking birds. In other words, it imagines what fantasy would mean to a character living inside a fantasy novel. It’s a warm hug of parody for “a dark and stormy night.”

Gaiman, at his most playful here, stretches the idea past its breaking point without letting it overstay its welcome. There’s always a new, haunting specter of fantasy convention lurking around the next corner, and the bedraggled scribbler is charismatic in his sunny misery.

If Gaiman’s send-up is like a cool breeze in a hot graveyard, Shane Oakley’s artwork is a gorgeous, icy thrill down the spine. Every single page is outstanding, weaving between multiple realities (real, fictional, and real fictional) with engaging, separate styles. There’s a perverse storybook nature to the main, castle-bound and quill-laden narrative which anchors the writer’s silly, flailing woes by presenting them seriously. The parody works because of Oakley—avoiding caricature in the artwork because it’s already purposely present in the narrative.

On the other side of the author’s mirror, Oakley utilized jagged impressionism and wispy shading to create the kind of remarkable comic imagery that makes you reluctant to turn the page. It’s beautiful and chimeric, begging to be studied and appreciated again after the story comes to an end.

The art adds heft to a breezy concept, honoring both the loving send-up of Gothic fantasy as well as the tales that spawned it.

Even though the story is slight, both it and the art operate in concert like goldmines of geeky goodness. Just as Oakley’s drawings offer details hidden behind shapes and shadows, Gaiman packs the parody with enough references to other torrid tales to create an amusing treasure hunt. The sarcastic talking raven is a gimme, but there’s plenty of other Gothic Bingo squares to fill in.

The punchline is obvious from page one, but the groans it induces don’t diminish from living inside the What If of this brooding, poetically cruel adventure. Especially because Gaiman’s touch for humanity is as seasoned as his skill for telling fantastical tales.

Still, the true star is the art. It’s wonderful to see this charming story as a platform for Oakley’s nightmarish talent.

3.5 out of 5 Gothic burritos:

Images: Dark Horse Comics

Comic Book Club: Abraham Riesman vs The New Year

It’s Comic Book Club’s first show of 2017 with New York Magazine’s Abraham Riesman! Plus reviews of Punisher #7, Moon Knight #10, Midnight and Apollo #4 and Batman #14!

Check out the website at comicbookclublive.com to find out how to watch the show live! And follow the show on Twitter: @comicbooklive, @azalben, @jtsizzle, and @realpetelepage

POWERLESS Doesn’t Focus on the Heroes, But It Sure Is Super (Review)

This is our spoiler-free review of NBC’s upcoming new series Powerless, which debuts on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 8:30 p.m.

A constant criticism of modern day superhero stories is that they are too dark and depressing, lacking any of the fun and joy of classic comic books. Yet who would have guessed that all you needed to create a superhero story that is bright (literally and figuratively), delightful, and joyous is to switch the point of view from the heroes saving the world to the humans who have to live in it? That’s why I found myself with a big goofy grin on my face throughout the premiere of NBC’s new show, Powerless.

The premise of Powerless is inherently clever and silly, as it’s set in the DC Comics universe where Batman and Superman do battle with super villains, but instead of worrying about them it focuses on the totally normal non-super people that they are always working to save (though no one really cares anymore). The place here is actually Charm City, which has all of the same superhero problems of Gotham City without any of the prestige. It’s a place where trains get derailed and tossed into the air every single day, demigods crashing through the windows of skyscrapers are the single biggest problem faced by citizens, and seeing a man flying around throwing fireballs produces a response akin to seeing a light rain.

Despite its unique setting, the show actually follows a tried-and-true formula, one where the small town girl (in this case the very bubbly Vanessa Hudgens) comes to the big city all bright-eyed, optimistic, and hopeful, only to run into a group of co-workers that have grown cynical over their jobs and lot in life. The show looks and shares a similar ethos to Community, and has obvious elements of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and 30 Rock. The way it pumps out jokes from any and all angles is reminiscent of both shows too, and with the interactions of the co-workers it feels like a modern day descendant of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Powerless isn’t written to be enjoyed by only the most devoted comic book readers, but it still has some great subtle jokes that sharp-eyed viewers will enjoy, including a great one about Batman v Superman. For the most part knowing who Superman and Batman are (and how absurd it is that no one can figure out Bruce Wayne’s role in all of this) will be enough to get the majority of the superhero jokes. Though you Crimson Fox fans will probably be pretty excited.

In many ways the show owes a lot to the very underrated movie (one of my legit favorites) Sky High, with the same type of fun, lighthearted approach to what has generally become the very serious business of superheroes.

Hudgens is charming as Emily Locke, the new director of the research and development team for Wayne Security, a department who tries to find ways for citizens to deal with the constant dangers posed by the superhero fights that take place around them. Then there’s nerd hero Alan Tudyk as her uncaring and eager-to-move-on-to-Gotham City boss Van Wayne, the not very important cousin of Bruce Wayne. Unsuprisingly, Tudyk is great.

As are the rest of Locke’s team, played by Danny Pudi (Community),  Ron Funches (one of the funniest people alive), and secret premiere MVP Jennie Pierson, who should have been cast in something like this a long time ago. Rounding out the cast is Christina Kirk as Van Wayne’s totally defeated secretary, who acts as a sort of warning for Locke.

It’s a promising debut that feels more polished than most, with lots of potential for where it can go. Powerless is the bright, fun, superhero story that many of us have wanted, because it wants to entertain us instead of making us question the meaning of life. And all it took was forgetting about the superheroes.

4 out of 5 burritos.

What are you most excited about for Powerless? Fly into our comments section below and let us know.

Images: NBC

LANDLINE Is a Softer, Slower Turn for OBVIOUS CHILD’s Gillian Robespierre (Sundance Review)

In preparing for this year’s Sundance Film Festival, I had reserved a disproportionate amount of excitement for Gillian Robespierre’s new movie Landline. Having loved her feature debut Obvious Child, which premiered at the fest three years back, I was excited to see Robespierre inject a similar edge and vitality into a new story, once again with her de facto muse Jenny Slate in tow. This time around, Robespierre’s focus feels decidedly more “adult.” As she trades up themes like dating and unplanned pregnancy for marriage and parent-child relationships, Robespierre likewise eschews the erratic pulse of Obvious Child for a softer, slower, solider aesthetic.

As a result, Landline doesn’t feel much like a sibling to its magnetically youthful 2014 predecessor, but more akin to the patient family dramedies you’re likely to find rounding out the usual Sundance schedule or your local art house matinée marquee. That said, Robespierre and Obvious Child writing partner Elisabeth Holm adorn their new screenplay with the occasional calling card; even if delivered at a slower speed, the same wit that helped realize Obvious Child as something more than just your typical romantic comedy effects similar efforts on Landline.

The family in question is the Jacobs clan: a foursome of well-off Clinton-era Manhattanites whose love for one another is rivaled only by their communal dislike. Ad man and aspiring playwright Alan (John Turturro) shoots daggers at his wife for her dismissal of his creative ambitions. Dutiful matriarch and businesswoman Pat (Edie Falco) lays down the law when her younger daughter eschews school for drugs and partying. Baby-of-the-family Ali (newcomer Abby Quinn, who delivers teenage scorn like nobody’s business) resents both her parents for their perceived hypocrisy. Then there’s peacekeeper Dana (Slate), Alan and Pat’s older daughter who manages an amicable relationship with all parties…but whose engagement to nice guy Ben (Jay Duplass) may be hitting the rocks.

Though that rundown may project an unpleasant dynamic, Landline is hardly wanting for brighter material. Indeed, the film’s best work is in birthing love and affection from this sea of mutually assured derision; in evasion of her premarital problems, Dana seeks refuge in a newly refurbished friendship with her cantankerous younger sister. Under duress from their own longstanding issues, Alan and Pat find hope in their relationships with their daughters. In high moments and low, the especially clever Jacobses are duly entertaining, spewing well-tailored rejoinders and pop culture gags that should be the delight of any viewer. But more impressively, Landline manages to keep all its players consistently human, allowing empathy even for the wrongdoers.

Robespierre’s Landline may be a far cry from the film that won her our attention in the first place, but it’s hardly without a few of the same strengths. Where Landline falls short of its predecessor, however, is in its diminished bite. In subject matter, dialogue, and its overzealous ambition to forgive its characters’ transgressions and smooth out their conflicts, it partially defangs itself. Rushing to the happy ending may have cost Landline too large a chunk of its emotional impact, but time spent with the family on screen—sisters Dana and Ali especially—isn’t likely to leave you without a warmer heart and a few good laughs.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 burritos

Images: Sundance Institute

Michael Arbeiter is the East Coast Editor for Nerdist. Find him on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter.

What Is It That Makes Louis C.K.’s Jokes Work?

Should you ever want a unique perspective on any number of varying topics, you need only to browse the videos of Evan Puschak; The Nerdwriter. His YouTube channel, as we’ve often explained, offers his special brand of insight on a multitude of topics ranging from the meta concept of Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige to the reality of how taxes are spent.

In his latest video essay, Puschak deconstructs how comedian Louis C.K. tells jokes. Well, one joke in particular. This one:

It’s explained that the joke is a relatively short one for the comedian. Just over 200 words and lasting only about a minute and a half. But it’s what C.K. is able to do in that time with those words is incredible. Not a single word is wasted in it as he explains that he plays Monopoly with his daughters and how one isn’t entirely mature enough to grasp the concept of losing the game. Puschak points out how the joke works so well, in part, due to how our expectations are set up in the beginning. We’re expecting the brutal punchline because we’re reminded of how brutal the game of Monopoly can be. Additionally, CK is a pro at tagging a joke and pausing long enough to let each settle–thus pulling us in deeper to his story–which accentuates the larger point of the punchline when it comes.

There’s also the larger point, Puschak points out, that C.K.’s joke is also commentary to how closely the ruthlessness of Monopoly is to real life when it comes to money and debt. Yes, Louis C.K. is telling a joke but there’s a feeling you get from watching how he tells it that he seems to fundamentally dislike having to put his children through a brutal game that will, eventually, become real.

Think Nerdwriter’s deconstruction makes sense? Does anyone really ever remember Monopoly fondly? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Image: Louis C.K.  Live at the Beacon Theater

Also, how well do the jokes translate into Wookiee?

BITCH May Not Know What It’s Doing, But It Sure Is Doing It (Sundance Review)

I should have known better than to come to a movie like Bitch with any kind of expectations. Having read about the broad strokes of the plot before sitting down for my viewing of the genre-evading film at the Sundance Film Festival, I brought with me assumptions about what tone it might strike, where the plot could go, and how the film would utilize its central metaphor. Sure enough, Bitch rejected all my presumptions, something I can’t help but applaud even if I found myself vexed by many of its creative choices. In fact, while I couldn’t very well say that the film is entirely successful in the maneuvering of these choices, the choices themselves at the very least deserve a nod of esteem. Or, more appropriately, a pat on the head.

Yes, this is the movie about a woman who turns into a dog. Long-suffering housewife and mother of four Jill Hart (Marianna Palka) incurs one too many displays of ingratitude from her sleazebag husband Bill (Jason Ritter) and collective of bratty children and snaps, adopting the psyche of a snarling, teeth-gnashing canine. “So what do we do about this?” is the question on the minds of not only the family members, but also writer/director Palka. If nothing else, they all at least have interesting ideas.

Instantly upon the transformation, Bitch’s narrative goes haywire, thrusting the overwhelmed and underqualified Ritter on a wild goose chase to keep up the normalcy at home and at work. Meanwhile, Jill’s sister (Jamie King) enters the picture to help out with the kids, adding an unexpected and occasionally frustrating asterisk to the gender-themed discussion the film is apparently interested in having.

This is just one of the many thematic endeavors that Bitch seems to short-sell. We’re told a few things about Bill that seem to contradict each other—he’s a workaholic who defines himself by his job, but is infamous for neglecting staff meetings and is on thin ice with his boss even before being saddled with the additional stressor of Jill’s transformation. The sloppy margins of Bill’s character cater to the haziness of whatever Bitch has set out to say and do.

Ritter shoulders the bulk of the film’s material as Bill wrestles with how (and, more importantly, how not) to approach the basement-confined Jill. That the story becomes his, after setting up Jill as its emotional beacon, is perhaps its biggest curiosity, as we’re left, after being introduced so intimately to all the pain affecting Palka’s long suffering character, wondering what exactly is going on in her head through all this. But while the emotionality at the center of Bitch may suffer from its evasion of Jill, its comedy and energy benefit. It’s a lot of fun to watch Ritter’s garden-variety jackass careen around his physical and mental space, fraying at the seams.

Still, Bitch is so clearly interested in mining its premise for more than macabre cackles. Glimmers of the torment inside the Hart children, especially the eldest daughter (Brighton Sharbino), become a big priority as Bill contends with countless snowballing conflicts, most of all his own narcissistic obsession with saving face. The shocking amount of irons in Bitch’s fire come at the cost of thorough exploration of any given one; what’s left is not so much an effective story, but instead a general showcase of stylized psychological mayhem.

But that’s still something. There is never really a dull moment in Bitch, even if a good deal of its momentum is fueled by vexation—that feeling sticks with you after viewing, I can promise. Though I’m still hard pressed to define the film’s themes or direction, I can’t say that the experience of watching it roll around in the dirt didn’t come with ample intrigue.

Rating: 3 out of 5 burritos

Images: Sundance Institute

Michael Arbeiter is the East Coast Editor of Nerdist. Find him on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter.

A First Look at Titan’s PENNY DREADFUL Sequel Comic

Last year, Penny Dreadful came to a pretty abrupt end on Showtime after only three seasons. But there are still more horror stories to be told in that era, and Penny Dreadful is set to return as an ongoing comic book miniseries from Titan Comics.

Chris King, the former co-producer of the program, is writing the comic book sequel series, Penny Dreadful: The Awakening, with artist Jesús Hervás. Thus far, most of the story details are still under wraps, but it does look like Ethan Chandler isn’t quite over the love his life, six months after the show ended.

According to Titan Comics “this new comic sees Ethan Chandler unable to move on. As he searches desperately for meaning in a world without Vanessa, ancient words echo across the centuries, and he is called on once again to take up arms against the creatures crawling out of the night!”

Considering that both Vanessa and Lily are on the photo covers for Penny Dreadful: The Awakening #1, it may indicate that both women will still have a role to play in the story even though Vanessa is clearly dead after the events of the third season finale. You can find the rest of the covers by  Stephen Mooney, Rob Davis, Shane Pierce, and Louie De Martinis in our galley below.

Penny Dreadful: The Awakening #1 will be released on Wednesday, April 5.

What do you want to see in the Penny Dreadful comic? And should Vanessa stay dead? Let us know in the comment section below!

Images: Titan Comics