Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artwork: Matías Bergara
Colours Assists: Michael Doig
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Release Date: 13th September 2023

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It’s no exaggeration to say that Simon Spurrier and Matías Bergara’s Coda, which was released between 2018 and 2019, is one of my absolute favourite comic books of all time. Set in an apocalyptic fantasy world where magic has all but ceased to exist following an unexplained event called “The Quench”, the twelve-part series followed the exploits of a disillusioned bard named Hum as he did his best to make his way in this weird new status quo, and wrapped up fairly nearly with he and his wife Serka – an Urken berserker – riding off into the sunset with a world full of fresh possibilities ahead of them.

When we rejoin things here, the status quo has shifted ever so slightly while still, pleasingly, remaining ostensibly the same. Hum is still thoroughly unimpressed with the majority of the world’s population, and is more than happy to keep his head down and take things day to day, trying to eke out a happy life with his wife and avoid any of the silly nonsense that always seem to be going on. The latest such silliness  is the arrival of a mysterious youngster claiming to be the “Saviour of Magic”, and as expected, people are quick to rally behind him in the hope of attaching some sort of meaning to their otherwise mundane lives. Hum is typically nonplussed about the whole situation, but when his grumpy unicorn (pentacorn?) buddy goes missing, he finds himself grudgingly drawn into it anyway.

So yeah, I’m a huge fan of this series, but even through my own insanely rose-tinted lenses I can objectively say that this is one heck of an opening issue.  Pairing Spurrier’s industry-best dialogue (yeah, I said it) with Bergara’s supremely inventive visuals just flat-out works, and the pair reunite here without seeming to miss a step, instantly picking up the same blend of wacky visuals, eyebrow-raising world building and irreverent humour that made the first run such a smash hit.

There are a lot of high fantasy staples here, but the way they’re juxtaposed against this eclectic husband and wife pairing is pure magic. Hum’s open acknowledgement of how silly some of the things going on are gives the series a knowingly tongue-in-cheek approach at times, but it’s still far from a parody, delving into a lot of more mature sociopolitical and psychological themes along the way.

Once again, the Eisner-nominated Bergara delivers an absolute masterclass in visual creativity, providing a colourfully bizarre landscape packed with eccentric characters for Hum and Serka to run afoul of. I particularly got a kick out of the barely-constituted “Spriggans”, magical beings who are dispatched to spread the word of this apparent new saviour and who rapidly decompose and dissolve as soon as their message is delivered.

The final pages hammer how just how much Hum and Serka’s life has changed from when we last saw them, and with them both finding themselves drawn into their own (shudder) “quests”, it’s going to be really interesting to see how the rest of this series unfolds.  Whatever happens though, I’m going to be right there every step of of the way yet again, because like a drunken reunion with an old friend, Coda’s triumphant return ticks every chaotic, subversive box you could possibly hope for.

Rating: 5/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
Article Archive: Ceej Says
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