Yeah, that’s Baby Gravedust in panel 1, there, and Kid Gravedust at the center of panel 2.

As I mentioned way back, I had the story of Gravedust’s youth outlined for the planned, never-produced print volumes after 3. Panel 3 condenses the idea behind that story into a single picture: Gravedust was once indeed a warrior, at least outwardly. But he never quite clicked with his fellow Savasi fighters, and at some point their fervent fury alienated him enough that he sought out the road less traveled and became a mystic. Don’t remember if I’d planned for the desecration of corpses to be the wedge issue that forced him to make a change, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

My God, what an incredible payoff we got out of the double meaning of “berserker” here (i.e., truly demon-possessed hosts like Byron and fighty loudmouths like Brix the Berserker). I’d say it’s impossible to imagine Gravedust as someone like Brix, but again, his story is of change, of becoming whom you never thought you could.

We’ve seen the other mystics as shades before, and learned a few humanizing details about them through Gravedust here. This is the first time we’ve seen the meals of broiled desert moss that Gravedust apparently misses.