Review: Madame Xanadu - Broken House of Cards

Centuries after her defeat during the fall of Camelot, the sorceress Morgaine Le Fey has returned to wreak havoc on the human world. Hellbent on resurrecting her departed son, she intends to unleash atomic warfare onto the Earth with him by her side and stake her claim on what remains. There’s just one thing standing in her way – her younger sister – the precog known as Madame Xanadu.

Madame Xanadu: Broken House of Cards collects issues #16-21 of Madame Xanadu, written by Matt Wagner and illustrated by Amy Reeder.

Broken House of Cards reads like a direct sequel to the first collection of Matt Wagner’s run on Madame Xanadu. Of course, this is largely due to the return of the talented Amy Reeder on art duties and the presence of Morgaine Le Fey as this arc’s antagonist. It’s a satisfying read and is a step-up from the more subdued arc that preceded it. Once more, Wagner juxtaposes the past with the “present” (1950s New York). Through flashbacks, we get a more detailed look at Morgana and Nimue’s life long before they became known as Morgaine Le Fey and Madame Xanadu. In the present, Madame Xanadu teams up with a mysterious detective in order to stop a satanic cult that is enslaved by the enchantments of Morgaine Le Fey.

The flashbacks are, sadly, the weakest part of Broken House of Cards. While they’re intended to elaborate on our heroine’s past, they’re actually interruptive and don’t add a whole lot to the overall arc. They take up two issues, which take place immediately after Morgaine Le Fey’s epic resurrection. This means that you’re essentially left hanging and are forced into the past to witness events which don’t feel terribly relevant to the grand scheme of things. The other issue is that Wagner digs further back into England’s past, meaning that readers will need to be familiar with that history otherwise they’ll be left feeling lost. His exposition is weaker in comparison to the preceding volumes, which makes the context fuzzier.

Arguably, the opening of this arc is the most riveting part of this collection. We see the life of a bored and ignored housewife turned upside-down when she becomes the vessel for Morgaine Le Fey’s resurrection. The imagery involved during her transformation from a ‘50s housewife to a slightly grotesque witch is quite spectacular (and memorable!). By placing much of the focus on this particular character, the reader becomes invested in her and her narrative. Unfortunately, Wagner all but abandons her once she’s possessed by Le Fey. This, paired with the flashbacks, really sags the flow of the story and makes it that much more difficult to become invested. We go from empathizing with the housewife to delving into the complex relationship between Madame Xanadu and her evil older sister.

Broken House of Cards is fairly inconsistent as a whole. The story is fantastic and there’s a lot of great action, but it’s much lighter on themes and it seems Wagner failed to latch onto the right flow for his narrative. Admittedly, it meanders at parts and it’s almost as if Wagner changed his mind throughout the writing process in terms of where he wanted to go with things. Still, the return of Amy Reeder as the series artist is what makes this collection such a joy to read. Her expressive art is whimsical and truly captures the eras she’s tasked with illustrating. While nowhere near as captivating as the first trade of this series, Broken House of Cards is worth the read, if only to get some closure between the conflict of Madame Xanadu and her sister Morgana.

RATING: B+