Sea Serpent’s Heir Book Three: Queen of Mercy by Mairghread Scott & Pablo Túnica

I can’t even remember the last time I read a graphic novel series that wrapped up neatly in three books. Good show, creative team!

The Sea Serpent’s Heir trilogy concludes with this final volume, as our heroine Aella must try to rescue the demon Xir who was once bonded to her, in the aftermath of her beloved aunt Kiana’s betrayal. Having stolen Xir’s power, Kiana is using her formidable magic to disguise herself as the murdered Black Sun Mother and take command of the Church of the First Light. She plans to become an irresistible force who will never feel powerless ever again.

While Aella managed to escape the church’s stronghold with her mother Ryanna, her other aunt Zuri and the former demon hunter Bashir, she refuses to flee the city. Xir needs to be freed, and Aella will not stop until she’s made sure of their liberty, even if it means facing down an entire church and Kiana’s machinations once more.

Complicating matters is the fact that Aella is strongly against killing, a concept her pirate mother finds unfathomable. Will Aella be able to find allies willing to believe her and work with her to take down the imposter? Or will Kiana successfully carry on her deception until its too late to save innocent souls from her reign of terror?

While I did feel that this series ended a little more quickly than I expected — especially after the astonishing brilliance of the second installment — I was glad that everything was resolved in such a way that Aella could stay true to her values. She’s come so far since she was a frankly intolerable ninny in the first book, and it was great to see her grow into leadership and truly assume the mantle of Queen Of Mercy. I also liked how she made her decisions in the end, with both realism and compassion. She’s grown so much as a character and it really shows.

I’ve loved Pablo Tunica’s work throughout this series as his art revels in the nautical grotesque. There were bits in this book where I had to stop and examine panels to make sure I knew who was doing what, but overall, it’s a fitting culmination of his work in the series overall. I particularly enjoyed how Aella keeps evolving physically as the series progressing, growing more and different parts as her connection to Xir changes.

I’m genuinely glad I took a chance on Book Two of the series after hating Book One. This has been a solid fantasy tale of seafaring pirates, too-powerful churches and desperate, demonic bargains, with a solid message of choosing real kindness and mercy whenever possible.

Sea Serpent’s Heir Book Three: Queen of Mercy by Mairghread Scott & Pablo Túnica was published September 17 2024 by Image Comics and is available from all good booksellers, including