Beyond The Hub Acursian by DJ Forrest

Starring John Barrowman

Written by John Barrowman, Carole E Barrowman and Erika Lewis.

Art by Beni Lobel

Concept and Character designs by Tommy Lee Edwards

Music by Matthew Brind

Legendary Comics

Cover Images Kind permission from Beni Lobel and Legendary Comics (Thank you)

Every time I hear Acursian I keep thinking of Gwen Cooper shouting 'Code 3 Incursion' during the Torchwood episode – Cyberwoman.

The story thus far…

Chapter One

The intro music eases you into the chapter with what feels like a Torchwood episode.  It does have a Torchwood feel to it, I have to admit, not helping any by the fact that the artwork for Barrowman lends a striking resemblance to Captain Jack Harkness; in civvies!

Birds swoop manically in the sky above a busy city. A bird of prey, a raven and what could either be an egret or a stork fly together plotting the death of the main character while other birds circle behind them as back up. The birds descend and transform into beautiful women in various guises. They each have a mission - to find their talismans, but time is heavily against them, and the risk to their own world and that of this one, are fragile to say the least.

John Barrowman plays Charlie Stewart, a man of wealth as an attorney at law, with a beautiful family. He wants for nothing. Everything is at his fingertips. And goddamnit the illustrations of Barrowman's naked character cause you to linger perhaps a little too long on them and not on the story.

Chicago: The Night Before Charlie's Birthday

As with any story, you need a reason for why Charlie Stewart is the target for all the bad things that can happen to a good-looking rich boy. Enter left, the old guy in the long coat, entering the castle. He looks as old as his clothes, from a time long gone. He barges past the young girls waiting to get in to the party inside and dashes into the castle and into a room with a heavy wooden door and slides home the bolts. He knows what he's looking for. The music kicks in as the swirls of light wrap around him as he breaks a seal with a candlestick!!! and retrieves one of the talismans that the ‘fates’ are in search of. Of course, as with any rescue, there has to be an altercation, and someone will always come off worse and that's when things begin to change for Charlie.

Lurching from one disaster to another, Charlie does a Barrowman when he tries to shut the garage door – yes, he splits his pants!!! It doesn’t end there though, after catching his crotch on the gear stick and breaking the car door, every bird in existence it seems decides to crap all over his convertible. You should see my car after the starlings have camped out on the phone wires overnight.

Chapter Two takes us back to the Isle of Shadows and sets the scene for where the ‘fates’ originate from. The girls are younger but are still able to shapeshift and fly around the island before meeting their mother in the garden of their home. A Kelpie is squirting water from its mouth like a fountain and a young boy plays with two purple pups while the larger dog Effie looks on. He seems happy with his animals but there's a burning conflict between him and his sisters. A rage that begins to rise in Effie too almost as if she is his daemon.

The Queen insists that Bregan, her son, keep his dogs away from the talismans currently on the altar. He doesn't seem to understand the power with which they possess. She informs the daughters of their role in the universe and what their talismans are for.

We learn of Bregan’s role in the universe and given his attitude towards his sisters and the Queen, it’s not long before we see evidence of his hatred towards them.

Putting aside their rage for the time being, the Queen organises the family for the Hunt. This tests them all including Effie in their hunting skills – chasing a warthog through the forest. Effie's pups are caged while the hunt is on. When Effie is wounded and the only way to remove the poisoned horn from the warthog is to use the dagger on the altar, Bregan manages to cause a split in time throwing life back a few months to before the pups were born. Naturally Bregan is raging. Honestly that boy deserves a swift kick up the arse, a spell on the naughty step and bed before Doctor Who and no Playstation for a month.

Back in present day and Charlie is still the clumsiest person out and slips and slides, falls and hurts himself on a regular basis from now on in. To make matters worse, the fates have also hypnotised his wife into returning to her old job, giving up charge of her son to Charlie’s long time friend Nate. Not something she would ever normally think to do.

Jock Stewart has passed out in the taxi and wakes up, too late to save his son from the curse that threatens his very livelihood.

Chapter Three

With luck hardly working in Charlie’s favour, this episode sees Charlie lose his memories – thanks to those pesky birds which kind of shoots the Fates in the feet don’t you think if you’re trying to extract information about the whereabouts of Jock Stewart. Another thing that bothered me was that, if they could mess with memories, why couldn’t Ceillech see into Charlie’s mind to locate Jock Stewart for herself without putting Charlie through the whole rigmarole in the first place?

Ceillech and her sisters inform Charlie of the curse they have placed on him. They want to know the whereabouts of his father because then they might be able to find their talismans. Wanting nothing more to do with the girls, Charlie returns to the office where he’s promptly arrested for the missing pension funds. Oh, it’s always the pension money isn’t it?

Chapter Four

The story is finally coming together now. The characters are in place and it starts to make sense from here on in.

The Isle of Shadows Present Day

Time has moved on and Bregan is much older and locked in a cell for crimes against the Isle of Shadows, his family and the Kingdom. His rage still continues, and he prays for release. The big lug of a bloke Aeron, who stabbed Jock with the dagger, has returned to the Isle of Shadows with news of the Acursian heir.

The chapter slips back to the Isle of Shadows Past when the winged walking dead creatures decimate the Isle in search of the talismans and power over the universe. Given that Bregan is locked away, they clearly don't have that power just yet.

At Thunderton house, Elgin, Scotland in the year 1746, the young Bonnie Prince Charlie - embraces the morning and spies something disturbing over in yonder forest.

Chapter Five

My name is Charlie Stewart. I am the Acursian. A world of Celtic myth and Scottish magic have crashed into my life and now every move I make ends in disaster. My job, my wife, my son, my work, even reality itself are all in danger, unless I find a way to reverse this ancient curse...

...And you thought your family was fucked up...

If you hadn’t sussed the connection before, now you’ll begin to see the link. We’re back in the year 1746 and Bonnie Prince Charlie has gone to investigate the strange lights in the forest which he discovers as the three Fates, jumping from one world into another, only this time hoping to hide their talismans from their avenging brother, Bregan. Unfortunately for the girls, someone is watching them. In much the same way as there’s always someone walking a dog when there’s been a murder!!!

Back in Present Day and Charlie is absolutely overwhelmed by all that he’s lost, although Nate thinks that all his Christmasses have come at once when Charlie’s expensive clothes disappear.

Isle of Shadows - Aftermath of Bregon's Coup

Aeron has let Bregan down, and a blood oath binds him until the talismans are retrieved and brought to the brattish young man.

Bonnie Prince Charlie has found the prize possessions and buries them somewhere safe and hopes to bargain with the Fates in order to fight for Scotland and kill the English.

Back in Nate's apartment (present day) and an almost naked Charlie is being harassed by an impatient Stork. There's a few comedic moments before she enters through the window. This time, instead of trying to humiliate him, she wants to help him. Suddenly he's not the only one who is confused. She explains to Charlie that the curse has been upon his family for centuries. The curse that can only be broken by a Stewart. They have to find his Dad.

Chapter 6

Scotland 1746

Bonnie Prince Charlie seems to know a lot about the Isle of Shadows. If he needs to win the war against the English, he may need a certain God of War at his side. You can see where this is going, can’t you?

Back on the Isle of Shadows and it seems that Connell could be playing with fire when she comes upon her brother after the Kingdom is in ruins. Connell was the one I had some confusion with. Just how big is this family, and are there more than three Fates?

Back in present day Earth, and Charlie and his friends arrive to see his father lifted into an ambulance. We discover who has been feeding Bregan with information about the Acursian heir, just as the dagger is removed.  With the fight for the dagger, a lot more than a few hours are pushed back. How much more can Charlie lose before it’s too late to stop the curse?

Chapter 7

There’s no time to mourn for lost lives as Police officers in full battle gear exit armoured vehicles and seal off the area. They need to call an ambulance but there’s a familiarity about the young woman officer who has an interest in the dagger lying beside a body.

Culloden Moor morning April 16th 1746.

This time the music accompanying this chapter remains for some time, even after scrolling up and down the page - unless it's on a timer.

As Bonnie Prince Charlie's aide Ogilvy informs him that they are outnumbered and outmanoeuvred and that it's better to leave fighting for another day, Bregan enters with Aeron, demanding to know where his talismans are, and are in possession of a familiar woman known to the Prince. After much bargaining for their life and that of Ogilvy, Charlie agrees to a blood oath that will seal his fate for the coming centuries if he can only win against the English in battle. So you can only imagine that along the way the Bonnie Prince Charlie did an awfully big Bad.

Present day morning and the Stork sister Corra discovers that not only has the dagger been used, but the staff also, throwing time back more than a few minutes. Time didn't just hiccup, it full on burped! Because time has fallen back so much, Charlie hopes and prays that he still has a wife and a son.

Chapter 8

Life has changed and possibly forever unless Charlie can retrieve the dagger and help the Fates locate the final talismans and put the world back as it was before all hell broke loose. Nate is a wanted man after being spotted hiding Charlie in an alleyway. Corra is suspicious of Charlie’s friend Nate, but before she can find out further, the Police arrive and arrest Nate. So, who is he and why didn’t he disappear when all of Charlie’s other possessions and connections disappeared?

The story and the artwork are fantastic. I did get a little lost regarding certain characters, especially Ceillech and Corra, and further confusion with Connell, but all will be revealed I’m sure before the end of the story. I was disappointed that Barrowman didn’t continue the narration past the trailer. I liked the music but it only tended to play for a short while, or during a certain part, and if you were perhaps, as I was for the review, scrolling up and down the page, it would tail off, or stop abruptly, or play for a certain scene, or as I found, when I strayed too long on a certain chapter, kick in with the end credit music before I was even half way through.

Web comics are not as engaging for me. I prefer graphic novels that I can sit down and read away from the computer. The constant scrolling became frustrating when for much of the time I was facing a white screen before I saw any artwork.

But I do have one question, that I wonder if it will be answered – if John plays Charlie, who does Carole play?