Of the four Crossgen launch titles, Scion has always been my favorite, and rediscovering the book in Traveler format confirmed that opinion for me. This issue is one that might be of interest not only to ongoing Scion fans but to new readers, as it is special in a couple ways. For one thing, it's the last issue of original creative team Marz & Cheung, before a new team takes over. For another, and this is where I think the outside interest could come from, it is done in a style that is an homage to the classic Prince Valiant strips. Given the fantasy genre and royalty of the lead characters, Scion is a good match for the Prince Valiant strips, and the creators pull off not only a convincing homage but an entertaining story in its own right.
The style of Prince Valiant is one that isn't seen in the comics strip page much anymore, allowing the artist room to really draw instead of just having to stick with tiny panels and quick gags. This style fits the artwork of Jim Cheung very well, and he does some impressive work with what amounts to a mini-splash page every couple of pages along with sequential storytelling to break it up. As with most of his work on Scion, the backgrounds are lush and beautiful, and he really excels when he's doing epic stuff like the intrusion into a forgotten weapons cache or the views of the kingdoms of the Raven Dynasty and Sanctuary that Ethan and Ashleigh have created.
What surprises me is how the storytelling works in this style, as Marz captures the feel of a cliffhanger at the end of each "strip" (basically every couple of pages) without it feeling like a disconnected series of tales. It's kind of an odd tale for a final issue, as Marz sets up several new story elements here, including a minor status quo change for one supporting character and a pretty significant revelation about the history of the Heron Kingdom, but it remains surprisingly approachable and satisfying as the conclusion of this team's run in general. Certainly they didn't use the gimmick as an excuse to just stand still or recap, telling a new story instead.
Scion has been an interesting mix not just of fantasy staples like war between kingdoms and daring escapes, but of politics within both kingdoms and families, and this issue continues that tradition. The revelation of hidden weapons resonates nicely with modern-day politics, and the implications that perhaps Ethan's family aren't the morally upright good guys they've always been presented as makes for an interesting twist. Though this issue doesn't really involve a lot of deep character interaction, since the dialogue is presented within the narrative captions Prince Valiant style, Marz does hint at some interesting plot twists in the future within all three of the main kingdoms in the book.
I've never been much of a follower of Prince Valiant, but the decision to do a sort of tribute issue works for me because it's such a stylistic fit and because it's an unusual use of the medium. After more than three years of Scion, Marz & Cheung leave the book with a memorable final issue, leaving plenty of room for the new creative team to explore at the same time.
