In A King’s Vengeance #1, a King must lead his dwindling forces against an evil force in Mozdial. The issue is that setup… and not a whole lot else making for a first issue that both sucks you in and is frustrating.
Written by Peter Ricq and Davila LeBlanc, A King’s Vengeance #1 has everything to suck you in. There’s solid twists and turns. There’s shocking moments. There’s also some heart and very human moments as well. It’s a debut that hooks you in easily and then it just leaves you hanging.
There’s something both intriguing and frustrating about A King’s Vengeance #1. It’s all the setup and then kind of leaves you in a weird spot. It’s a hell of a scene before the credits begin on the big budget film. The comic feels a lot like that setting up the story and leaving you in a shocking moment before the movie really begins. It also feels really short too where both a lot and not a lot happens at the same time. It’s rather odd like that in that though there’s all of the setup for the series’ concept and lots of shocks and twists, the first issue also feels like it’s not filling enough.
Peter Ricq also provides the art delivering a style that’s interesting for this sort of story. There’s some aspects of the issue that feels like a mix between Andrew MacLean’s Head Lopper and Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. That’s not a bad thing at all in that both series has great style about them. What’s cool about A King’s Vengeance #1 is that it’s a slight twist from what you’d expect. The tease of the series makes it feel like you’re about to dive into more traditional fantasy of knights on horseback with some magical elements. But, the comic twists that a little with dinosaurs and giant junk piles. There’s also gore delivered in a way that’s almost comical.
A King’s Vengeance #1 is an interesting debut and first issue. I generally liked it but also felt like it needed about a half issue more to really hook the readers. This could be one to wait until it’s collected to read but it’s absolutely a series to keep an eye on.
Story: Peter Ricq, Davila LeBlanc Art: Peter Ricq
Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read
Scout Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Amazon – TFAW
