TODAY
ACƐ -16 – THE VODUN RECONNOITER
The Vodun are scattered across two existences as the battle against Une continues. In the Une-verse, Xêvioso and Fâ continue to round up their forces while Agê remains MIA. In the Smiting Chamber, Sakpata and his seven continue their work of ridding the multiversal structure of Une.
THE ARCANE WIZARD’S LOG 2120 – 16 – THE VODUN VERSUS UNEA
The Arcane Wizard is still with Damballa and the Luminaries spectating Jo’s confrontation with Unea. They are both extremely powerful and their battle involves more than throwing punches. The epic showdown starts here and I guarantee that you’ve never seen anything like it. Also, the black wall of death is approaching the Fonlands, and the last time we saw it, it led to the Talj Rip.
2-IN-1: FON WITCHES IN THE UNE-VERSE – DEATH WITCH COVEN 4 & THE DIVINE ESSENCE 39
The Fonlands is home to witches of many colors, including the violet witches of the Death Witch Coven, and the green witches of the mmoatia. Four of the most powerful witches to ever grace the Fonlands are currently in the Une-verse and even if things are bleak for the team as a whole, you can’t keep a good witch down.
THE STOLID KEVIN BLACKMON – 38 – THE MAN SETS A TRAP
Kevin has been through a lot and stared over the edge of a precipice. But they don’t call him the legendary magician for nothing. No amount of mid-life malaise is enough to deter Kevin Blackmon in his mission to save the Hyperion universe. Not with Alia so far away and the fate of so many on his shoulders.
DISC OF GU
Excerpt from the Manual and Reference of the Fonlands.
‘YOUNG’ VODUN CHRONICLES – GU’S CONFIDANT
Even a Vodun as rough and gruff as Gu needs someone to talk to.
This issue of the PRL Serials features the return of the PRL Two-in-One (2 in 1). The last time the 2 in 1 was featured was all the way back in 2019 in Volume V, and it returns this month with Fon Witches in the Une-Verse, a pseudo-anthology of the exploits of the Mmoatia, Pultine and Tracia, and the unofficial leaders of the Death Witch Coven, the Quietus and Detritus witches. The battle against Une rages on, and the witches of the Une-verse are embedded deep in enemy territory.
I should say that the PRL Serials definition of the 2 in 1 refers to a single serial issue that includes two different issues of two different ongoing serials. The 2 in 1 has also been used to characterize stories featuring two major characters, in the sense that you get two big names in one issue, like the Marvel 2 in 1 with the Thing that paired him with others from the universe in each issue. We have never used this definition here at the PRL, we’ve always viewed the 2 in 1 as a way to fit more story into a Volume Issue. The PRL Team Up is our equivalent of the Marvel 2 in 1 where you get major characters teaming up for an issue of an ongoing serial.
My first encounter with the 2 in 1 was in comics, when I was reading Steranko’s Nick Fury that was in issues of a 2 in 1 Strange Tales comic with Dr. Strange. Marvel called this an anthology, I believe, but it was the inspiration for our 2 in 1. The idea fascinated me, even though there wasn’t any narrative overlap between the stories it fostered the idea of a shared universe where spies were undercovering complex schemes while the Sorcerer Supreme protected the same Earth from arcane threats. I can’t remember if I was there for Nick Fury or Dr. Strange, because Steranko’s art is legendary enough that I could have just been curious to read it, or I was doing the complete read of every Dr. Strange comic and got to the 2 in 1 issues that way; either is plausible. And no, I have not finished every issue, though I think I read every comic from his first appearance through the eighties, and most of the ones since 2012. My fascination with Dr. Strange reflects my preoccupation with the idea that magic can be learned by reading, that books contain secrets lost to time and attention, and if we can find the right one we can do magic. I love the books of the Marvel Universe, the Book of Ashanti and the Darkhold, books of spells and grimoires are fascinating. But I will warn against expecting magic from just any book that purports to be a grimoire or magical book. In my experience, books that contain real magic, display magic without regard for the beholder. Books of magic are not shy, and if something claims to provide magic, it must demonstrate it first. That is a weak warning, it can be hard to discern true magic, it is too easy to rewrite human memory in favor of a desired outcome, to see magic where it is not.
But back to the 2 in 1, even though the Strange Tales comics I was reading featured stories with completely different narratives, creators can choose to tell one story across both serials featured in a 2 in 1. It allows for a more in depth way exploration of the characters involved and gives space to really show the fallout of a given situation. The Second Unrest is a sprawling fantasy space saga and there is so much happening. We realize that there are a lot of issues planned for Volume 6, but that’s because we need the real estate to do the story just as we come in for our landing. Une launched a surprise attack against our heroes in the Fonlands and Hyperion universes, and the Fonlands launched its own attack on the Une-verse, and there are so many moving parts. In order to document this conflict, to show how the heroes struggle against a threat to all life everywhere, we’re trying to really show the struggles of the characters in the battles, and formats like the 2 in 1 allow for that.
Fon Witches in the Une-verse is a combination of the Strange Tales version of the 2 in 1, and the ‘one story, two points of view’ model that I just described. It features two separate stories of members of the Death Witch Coven and the Mmoatia in the Une-verse as their forces regroup after the explosion of the transportation. Pultine is trying to stop Maxx, the Superguardian’s self-destruct sequence, Tracia wakes up in the Une-verse after the explosion on a barren planet, and Quietus and Detrius are drawn to sweet music in the aftermath of the explosion.
But enough about the 2 in 1. Go enjoy the May issue and get ready for the 2026 Annual Issue. It’s coming soon and there are major revelations ahead that will alter the history of the Fonlands and universe Prime 5. What could be so paradigm shattering? Some flowers? No, it has to be something else. Like the Blight Maker, we haven’t heard about that thing in a while. You’re serious? A whole Annual Issue about flowers? Purple Mysticisms, The Second Unrest interlude? Ok, there it is, dear readers! The Purple Mysticisms are beautiful, I wish I could grow some, they glow in the dark. And apparently they have secrets that the aboatia Lorv uncovered on the planet Rycoia. Come back soon to find out how the Purple Mysticisms could be a major threat to Une!
PRL Serials 