Above & Beyond Parts 7-9

Part Seven

Part Seven starts with Kal off on a tangent of being lied to.  Funny thing is, having now re-read Above & Beyond, that Kal seems to have assumed all of this. I don’t think the Inquisitor or any of her retinue had told Kal what he believes the truth. As the group set melta charges on the door he still hasn’t finished ranting. Oddly, Kal may be close to the least likeable of all the characters in this story. He spends most of it in a moody adolescent mindset. Some of the time you can sympathise, but sometimes you just want him to shut up. This is one of those times.

At least he has the good decency to ask a logical question: it’s one of those, ‘Surely we can harness the ring of power’ questions that the weak of will ask in these good versus evil confrontations. It’s not that Kal is of the blackened soul of a malignant force of darkness. He’s just a regular human unawares of how the weapon they seek will ultimately eff them over without a moment’s doubt.

Okay, Kal’s not that bad in this sequence. The retinue’s answers seem pretty much in agreeance that the Madame-Inquisitor is the opinion to be followed and the team blow clean through the doors in quite the expansive explosion and enter the chamber wherein lies their objective.

As they all bask in the true ancientness of the place the story takes a twist. Vanyan Kloss betrays his companions. Acting as the herald to Inquisitor Malva, heading the Deathwatch boarding party, he reveals their motives. Whereas Heleana intends to destroy the Necron weapon, Inquisitor Malva and his followers plan on harnessing it to bring the Imperium’s own weaponry up to speed.

The Captain & Inquisitor Malva

Now backed by Inquisitor Malva and his terrifyingly powerful accompanying crew, Heleana is reduced to fighting with her words. Malva orders the Deathwatch squad to arrest Heleana and secure the sarcophagus containing “the weapon”. Here’s where things take yet another turn, the Captain, a member of the Raven Guard, who trusts not the words of Malva, takes charge (I guess he got the best asset of his Primarch) and is on the verge of taking in both sides for questioning when the whole tomb starts coming to life. Out of the sarcophagus steps a colossus of a Necron, and all of the action is about to kick off.

Whereas the previous part was kept alive by the urgency, action and scale, Part Seven boils down to the clashing of ideologies, and it’s a very interesting idea. It’s this thought that even within the vastness of a “unified” Imperium, there are still many ways for folks of different dogma to break into violent segregation. This part is very intriguing, and I wish there were more of it. However, in writing terms this argumentative part of the story is far from a masterpiece. It’s still very good, asides a little of Kal Jerico we have to withstand. Oddly, I think story would've been a lot better with some different treatment, like not going along with making the story all about this bounty hunter. Sure, it’s his series, but his teenage strops deduct from his likeability at times. For these reasons Part Seven scores 7.5 out of 10.

Part Eight

“Once it had a name: The Setekh, one of the greatest of the Necrontyr’s creations, one of the most powerful servants of the C’tan. Once it had a purpose: To bring death to every corner of the galaxy, to raise black pyramid monuments to its deathless masters on a thousand barren and blasted worlds. Now, awoken from its eons-long hibernation, it does not yet remember any of this. All it knows is that its rest has been disturbed, that its tomb refuge has been invaded... even after a slumber of sixty million years, its response is instinctive and instantaneous.”

That set-up text eh? Furthering this we have a flashback to the last time Necrons reaped the universe: Eldar clash against Necrons in a futile stand. I’d say this was the last vestige of memory the Setekh has. As it clambers from its statis, spying intruders, well, see above text. It then downs two Space Marines with blasts from his eyes. Dead just like that! And in the words of Kal Jerico, “How are you supposed to kill something like that..!?” That’s a bloody good question. Space Marines, the demigod-like elite infantry force of the far future. The kind of infantry that can best ten mortals at once in close quarters and walk through hails of standard issue fire like they’re walking in a light downpour of rain, and two are most definitely dead.

Even Space Marines can't continue fighting without a head!

To make matters worse the damned thing is only at a small part of its full strength. While it rampages through the Inquisitor Malva’s boarding party, Heleana deduces that they must destroy it’s sarcophagus to weaken it. Merelda, who is ever ready to prove herself to mother, jumps ahead to exact her will. Almost immediately she is gunned down in a hail of fire. This course of action by Vanyan Kloss may have been his worst decision. Heleana gives into her emotion, the death of a family member obviously is the push that bring about her ire. She unleashes Kal and Mordak, who outrun Vanyan’s rapid fire. In one hell of a co-operative feat, Mordak injures Vanyan with a shuriken while Kal detonates his ammo supply with some well placed shots.

Kal then goes in with the sabre, just as furious about Vanyan’s actions. Vanyan counters and locks up Kal’s arm, goading him into attack by insulting his quality of melee fighting as being all bark and no bite. So, responsively, Kal headbutts him. The joy of this scene had me in an ecstatic fit of joy.

Mordak has frozen up, chirping a desperate sentence. Kal being unable to break to the language barrier is perturbed, that is, until he sees what Mordak sees. The Setekh has turned its attention to Mordak, Vanyan and Kal. Whilst being horrified by this discovery, Kal and Mordak are still fast enough on their feet to dodge the gauss beams of the giant skeleton. Vanyan however, much to his displeasure, gets his just desserts.

Hereon the situation becomes more and more desperate as the surviving Inquisitorial forces are cut down and almost enveloped by Necrons. Things aren’t looking too bright at the end of Part Eight.

8 out of 10, for an intriguing and unpredictable action sequence. It’s only let down by how Vanyan stays on overwatch while his allies are cut down around him. Something about this seems to defy the laws of human psychology. Otherwise, it’s great, highly enjoyable stuff.

Part Nine

While Kal and Mordak put up a last stand that the defenders of Rorke’s Drift would be proud of, Heleana (who is protecting the downed Merelda) devises a way to escape this apparent death-trap. Seeing Malva in the process of teleporting away she orders Kal to stop him. A pinpoint shot severs Malva’s hand clean off, and Malva is sucked into the warp. More just desserts.

Heleana and her surviving retinue make a dash to Malva’s teleporter homer. Urgently Heleana requests the Deathwatch vessel to teleport them away from danger. The Setekh draws closer and right at the last second, as they all seem doomed, they teleport back to the vessel, all in one piece. Heleana commandeers the ship by Inquisitorial edict and orders exterminatus upon the Space Hulk Kronos. Cyclonic torpedoes rip into the gargantuan vessel, but before it is entirely obliterated it’s sucked back into the warp.

Kal and Heleana are left to ponder the success of the mission. Now free of the mission, they check in on the recovering Merelda in her medicae chambers. This is where the ending shifts from a lot of the power of the story before. Kal is gifted Wotan by Merelda and not wanting to be in the service of the Inquisition any longer, heads home to show off his new toy. This blindside happy ending makes sense, but could've been handled so much better. It’s the suffering factor of Kal Jerico that the stories rarely seem to be long enough to space out the timing for the ending. Alas, they usually feel too rushed, even so in this nine-parter – the most expansive of all the Kal Jerico comics.

The final part gains 7 out of 10. The ending itself is pretty satisfactory and lives up to the forerunning material. It’s just the turn it takes when they visit Merelda.

So all in all Above & Beyond averages a 8.2 out of 10. Definitely the most accomplished Kal Jerico multi-parter thus far. Next we have the three-part Yolanda & Scabbs. I’ll be tackling this one all in one go. Thankfully the Omnissiah has been on my side this weekend. See you all again, either Monday or Friday.

--Blackwire.

Above & Beyond Parts 4-6

Part Four

Part four continues from the previous a little further down the line. The boarding party are busy probing the areas ahead with servitors. For what seems to have been the past hour or two they've systematically been rooting out the many traps that Kronos has neatly tried rebuking them with. Yet again the quality of strategical chatter sucks you right into the setting. It’s truly amazing how the little things can make all of the difference.

Just as some of the group have gotten a little too comfortable the last of their servitors’ runs clean into another trap. The resulting blast of raw energy completely levels all flesh and organs from the servitor. Only a withered skeletal frame and cybernetics remain. I wonder what alien race could possibly possess that kind of technology?

Well, these guys too... but they're not who I'm on about!

 As Kal muses sentimentally in Shakespearean pose, he wonders now their lobotomised stock of test-dummies is gone, how they’ll test for traps. The looks he receives are enough to give him an answer. As far as travelling in the Inquisitorial retinue is concerned your life is expendable for the greater good of the Imperium. Just how likely you are to be put at risk depends on how valuable (/long-serving) you are.

Before things can get too settled Vanyan finds a recently expired soldier bearing the logo of Lord Helmawr. Determined to beat Heleana to the prize, Helmawr’s men have taken a far less subtle route to the source. Many of his clueless lackeys have sprung what should be the remainder of the traps. Merelda hears gunfire, and Heleana spurs on her group into the fray where awaits a Necron beholder. Now I've just made that name up because I have no clue what it is. It’s not divulged to us. It’s just a massive floating skull bearing a Pharaoh's mantle and shooting gauss beams from its eyes. It sounds just a bit like a beholder, 'kay? And this beholder is busy decimating Lord Helmawr’s troops.

In true military fashion Heleana splits her fire-teams to tackle the opponent as best suits the situation. Kal, Merelda and Mordak draw fire, and Tarren and Vanyan focus fire. I love how they show what volumes and types of fire are required to bring down a monster such as this with record speed.

 Things then get even more heated. Lord Helmawr’s forces aren’t the least bit grateful of this interjection, and furthermore, refuse to cede to Inquisitorial edict. Things look spurred for some juicy Imperial in-fighting. Luckily Kal is on alert and draws both sides attention to an even bigger threat...

Above & Beyond has some hair-raising cliffhangers, guaranteed to get 40k geeks dizzy with excitement. I love Lord Helmawr’s forces – how their military uniform is a mixture of WW2 German, Renaissance Italy, and a tad Ancient Roman. It looks fantastic. Yet again this episode has a little cheese but cuts to the chase quick enough to keep you swayed in the immersion of an exciting story. Some of the grandeur of the last part is gone, but I still really like it – 8.5 out of 10.

Part Five

Necrons, if it weren't for Space Marines they’d have the best all-around Troop choices in Warhammer 40,000. I’m so glad Gordon Rennie and Wayne Reynolds picked up on this. Almost the entirety of this part is one well-paced fight between the temporary Heleana-Helmawr alliance and the Necrons. There’s some exposition at the outbreak, but anyone with even the most basic knowledge of the Necrons will know what is being said. That said, most of the Imperium’s populace have no knowledge that Necrons exist.

Ultimately teamwork pulls through and the weathered humans count their numbers. Most of Helmawr’s men are dead, including the most objectionable of them. Of Heleana’s retinue only Tarren was lost in the struggle. It’s strange how a character I knew nothing about evokes such a melancholy mood in me – especially as his skeletal remains are barely recognisable.

Alas, poor Tarren

Before we, or Kal, are given much time to be sentimental over losses, a new force arrives. To add to Heleana’s “small scale” operation, and the forces of Lord Helmawr, now just freshly arrived for their claim on Kronos are the Deathwatch! Oh wow oh wow oh wow! Now we have a bigger potential threat; 8.5 out of 10.

Part Six

So how does an intro blow Nemo’s out of the water in my opinion? – Space Marine boarding torpedo entrance. Immediately the scale has been restored. Watching these professional warriors walk from the mists of their destruction is truly thrilling, and under the command of an Inquisitor no less. He also has a small retinue, and it’s fun to test your knowledge of the background while looking at what they consist of.

Things are now immediately racier. There’s a lot that Heleana hasn't told Kal, and now is the time to fill him in. We’re given the origin story of the Necrons as written in their first codex. For the fact I know it already – wow! The visuals really keep the up-scaled sensation fixed well in place. We see really epic images. I don’t use that word often. So when I say it is epic, it really is; sweeping, endless Necron legions, a space war of an ancient time eons bygone, even the remnant buildings of their empire standing in unabashed solitude – a testament to their timeless nature. Sure, the story’s the same, but the artwork brings to the forefront imagery we've not seen before. Mainly the lone temple structure, I've never seen one exactly like that in the 40k universe.

Cut back to the Jerico ensemble and they've now located their objective. Doors big enough to be the gates of Hades bar the way, a large Necron glyph inscribed on the front. Kal is now quite mad at what he perceives trickery on his mother’s part, but like us the question most pertinently gnawing away at him is what’s behind that door? “This hulk is the tomb of one of their most powerful servants”, “a terrible weapon which we cannot allow the C’tan to regain control of”.

This is potent stuff indeed, this kind of story is brilliant. I'm considering the flaws here, because this one was so good I may flat out give it 10 out of 10 while I pick my jaw back up off the ground. The setting, already something vastly unimaginable as it is, has just been upscaled by all the pieces in play. It’s the kind of stuff that has kept my love affair with Warhammer 40,000 aflame all of these years, despite the ever increasing price! I'm truly awed by the connotations here. Y’know, that kind of awe that leaves you deep in impassioned fan boy mode, unable to shake the shivers you've just received for a good few hours. The only downside is the occasional smattering of comic book atypical lines. They can bring you out of the situation real quick, but here the story is so up there and racy it’s hard to notice these instances for long. Part Six, 9.5 out of 10, it’s masterly, but still oh-so-slightly out of place every now and then.  

Above & Beyond Parts 1-3

Originally this post was supposed to go up last Monday. Due to technical difficulties I was unable to upload the complete version. After communion to the Omnissiah, the ancient machine to which the scanner is linked is now functioning! I now intend to have parts 4-6 & 7-9 done and uploaded over the next two days. Hopefully the Machine-God will be kind over the next few days.

Above & Beyond is something unto itself. It’s not quite the regular Kal Jerico series. It’s longer & more fleshed out than any of the previous multi-parters and it’s not technically the tale of Kal Jerico, Necromundan bounty hunter. It is still Kal Jerico, but as the title insinuates, it’s a space-bound adventure, and it covers a lot more than bounty hunting.

Part One

Really I’d say Killing Time was the part one to Above & Beyond, but seeing as it’s not I’ll refer to it as a prelude... maybe even a prologue.

Right off the bat the quality of this series is more evident. The flavour text actually tells us things that are insightful and useful to know. We see the Enforcers in action for the first time, and boy is this an action-packed opening. You can always tell when Kal is out of his league when he’s on the run right at the beginning of an episode. Spyrers, the full of Guzman Ludd’s hired muscle, a grossly overgrown giant spider, and Arbites – these are what we know to be more than a challenge for Kal. Whereas other gangs went for Kal directly, the Enforcers are operating under guise of a cull, entering the underhive to cut down the lawless and the innocent alike in an effort to keep the populace in order by fear.

We’re really shown the desperation of the situation as the underhivers flee, not bothering to draw weapons; the best chance of survival is probably being the farthest away in the crowd. We’re informed Kal has survived three of these culls before. Using his guile he dives around a corner only to be met by more Enforcers.

I can’t recall a situation where Kal has drawn his sabre and not breezed through a melee fight. Here, it’s apparent he’s in a desperate struggle, giving it his all. It is intervention from the loyal Scabbs that grants him a quick exit. Even then, there are more Enforcers in the immediate perimeter!

Kudos to Wayne Reynolds for drawing
Scabbs with a Native American club! It's
a nice tie-in to his Ratskin heritage

Asides from a wonderfully claustrophobic feeling this episode really continues in fashion of showing a scale of difficulty. It’s something that fundamentally makes it better than The Redeemer. The Redeemer is never shown as having any particular difficulty in dispensing his opponents, no matter how stupendously tough they become. Despite being shot, pistol whipped and clubbed over the back of the head, the armoured Enforcers still aren't out for the count. Dazed would be more accurate. Yes, down, dazed and reeling from the onslaught, but recuperating quickly. Given half a minute they’ll be back in shape.

Kal & Scabbs are on their feet again quickly. Taking flight before the Enforcers can capture them. Yet again the desperation of the situation rubs heavily on this episode. You know things are really dangerous when Kal instructs Scabbs to split ways. This Scabbs does. A lone Enforcer locks on to Kal, a guided round ready to take him down, but his superior belays his actions. While pulling his best Dredd face, he reminds his lesser that they only need flush Jerico out in the open.

Kal rounds another corner only to be greeted by a strangely varied group. He jumps clean of the heavy, uses one of his well-practiced counterweight kicks to deliver a knackering kick to the oncoming Kroot, and just as he’s cock-sure that he can down strikingly-similar female “enforcer”, she springs her cyber-mastiff Wotan on him. Kal is subdued by her order, and the captured Kal is taken uphive.

Here we learn that they’re all the retinue of Madame-Inquisitor Jerico. Well, we already knew the heavy was. What plays out is an interesting angle on what happens when members of the Inquisition have offspring. Kal is very much reduced is psyche to an injured child, whilst his mother is every bit the cold, well-calculated agent to a higher cause. Her devotion to the Imperium has left Kal an abandoned child left to find a way on a harsh and overpopulated planet. She’s a brilliant Inquisitor, but a terrible mother.

Above the cloud-line of Necromunda she offers Kal a “job”, more than that, a chance to prove himself, and it’s all climbing to new heights from here.

Part One is simply great. No Kal Jerico story has had me this wholly hooked since Raintown. The atmosphere is even darkened to fit the darkened theme at play – 8 out of 10.

Part Two

Kal is transported off Necromunda by shuttle to the Madame-Inquisitor’s personal Sword-Class Frigate – one of many ships orbiting the planet. There’s a nice reference to one of the Inquisition special characters in this sequence.

For what is probably the first time in his life Kal looks upon Necromunda from far removed perspective. In what I suspect to be Heleana (Jerico/the Madame-Inquisitor/Lady Jena Orechiel – take your pick) trying to tell Kal the significance to her role, she tells him of the magnitude of the universe, and how small an unquantifiable fraction of it Necromunda is. Much harboured angst and rebellion is still evident from Kal’s reaction. The lack of a father figure – and a mother that was never around – has moulded him into a much different path and perspective.

Determined not to be drawn into petty squabbling, Heleana moves things along, now is the time to meet the team. The whole retinue is in the process of training against melee servitors who look suspiciously like arco-flagellants. First we’re introduced to the heavy-set Vanyan Kloss, oldest companion and most trusted of the Madame-Inquisitor. He’s an ex-Enforcer, and doesn't seem to warm to Kal too well. Next is, Merelda, who Kal seems all too keen to meet. She’s deftly dispatching servitors with all of the agility of an assassin, and with exceptional use of a katana and knife too. All of her skill, we’re told, is by-product of Heleana’s training, and before Kal can become too infatuated, she also informs Kal they’re blood relatives. Finally there’s Mordak and Magos Tarren. Mordak is a Kroot mercenary, won over to Heleana’s retinue from a victorious death duel. Both, in my opinion, are brilliantly drawn by Reynolds and for different reasons.

Meet the team. From left to right: Merelda, Wotan, Heleana, Mordak,
Vanyan, Kal & Tarren

Mordak, as a Kroot, is drawn perfectly. The way he leaps, runs and stands, his attacks, his hunched over eating, his demeanour and facial expressions. It may be safe to say that Reynolds draws a far more convincing Kroot than he does any human. We’re also told all the basics about Kroot, just in case you didn't know already, and also highlighting that the Madame-Inquisitor is of the Ordo Xenos. Now the reason I love the Magos is his spindly, almost skeletal frame.He looks like he’s fully embraced the Mechanicus way of life, operating machinery without having to afford it a glance. He also looks remarkably like Abe Sapien from Hellboy with his goggles on, which probably explains my immediate attachment.

The Magos explains that one of Lord Helmawr’s ships is tailing them, probably intent on beating them to their goal. In a quirky twist we find out Lord Helmawr is Kal’s father. Though this is a little out there and weird last minute blurb, I do love how Heleana casually dismisses it. “It was all a long time ago, and just one of the many disagreeable things one has to do for the greater good of the Imperium.” Ever the professional, Madame-Inquisitor. Yet again, Kal’s left butt-hurt over the sudden imparting of news.

Skipping ahead, we’re now at the goal, and with some brilliant Martian techno-babble, we’re introduced to the objective – the Space Hulk Kronos.

Yet again, a solid 8 out of 10 score. Though despite a few major quirks, the story is still really quite engaging, leaving off on a cliff-hanger grander than last time. The story is pretty impressive. It’s to its testament that the cheese doesn't bring it down that much.

Part Three  

Wow, the opening of this is awe-inspiring. First off, the way the scale of the Space Hulk is shown – how the titanic Kronos (see what I did there?) dwarfs the almost ant-like vessel of the Madame-Inquisitor. Then there’s the piloting chatter as the vessel is taken in to a suitable docking location. It all sucks me into the universe, makes it believable, and I'm bought right there.

Hulk Kronos. Big, isn't it?

The boarding party is sent in through one of the melta-breaches, still fresh with freshly settling molten edges. The unified entrance of Inquisition forces is quite awesome in its own right. Kal’s still confused about the mission, so Kloss fills him in. They’re after xeno-tech, forbidden but highly valuable. As they take in the colossal room they've entered, Heleana tells Kal that she’s been tracking Kronos for quite a portion of her life now.

Kal still has one prominent question: what’s the hurry? So Merelda explains, and she seems to have a certain sadistic joy from doing so. “Because it’s entirely random about when the hulk will get sucked back into the warp. And if we’re still aboard it when that happens, then the daemons of the warp will tear out your soul and feast upon it for all eternity.” More than a little concerned, Kal hastens ahead. And for the first time in quite a while, one of his lines made me laugh loudly.

Then we have some transitional frames, and for once I feel they were handled really well by Reynolds. He uses them at leisure to show us the bizarre mixes of different alien ships, the journey of the protagonists, the surprises, the interior and exterior and finally the less encouraging – long-dead Ultramarines terminators. The looks on the faces of the retinue are harrowed indeed, and you can feel it. If what lurks on the inside can down the Space Marine’s best, what chances do the retinue have?

And still Heleana is too professional to register emotion

With little warning, the group come under attack. A flood of bizarre creatures attack the retinue. Again, Reynolds proves his competence, taking time to show the action play out. My first guess was these were very strange genestealers. After a maddening, swirling combat the proficient retinue stand victorious and bathed in the blood of their enemies. In high spirits Kal acts the fool, casually stating if that was the worst they had to face, then the mission should be easy. Vanyan and Heleana are quick to ground his expectations. In one of the best uses of transitional foreshadowing Heleana tells Kal that what they fought were merely mutated parasite-scavengers. What lies ahead will be much, much worse.

Wow, what a brilliant marriage of things 40k, brought together in a brilliant seamless blend. This really digs so deeply, so insightfully into the 40k background. It’s more than just a good Kal Jerico story. This is close to the quality of a chapter of Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Night Lords series. The last time I ranted about something this highly was Nemo. Does this even beat my clinging praise of Nemo? I think so. Just barely though. One could say it goes above & beyond my opinion of Nemo. It’s much more than the most interesting happenings on Necromunda. At least, from Kal Jerico’s stories it is. Part three is a lauded 9 out of 10.    

On Friday (hopefully Saturday now) I’ll tackle the next three parts. And on Monday (hopefully Sunday now) next I’ll have the parts seven to nine reviewed. Stay tuned folks.

--Blackwire