Review - King's Quest #1 (@DynamiteComics)
"MANNED rocket crashes? WAY worse. Especially when I'm manning 'em."
Comics have offered plenty of memorable characters throughout its illustrious history as a medium. Some of those characters persevere and stay at the forefront of reader's minds while others fall to the wayside here and there. Dynamite Entertainment is looking to give readers a glimpse at some old favorites united in King's Quest #1. The issue is written by Ben Acker and Heath Corson, illustrated by Dan McDaid, colored by Omi Remalante and lettered by Simon Bowland.
Join Flash Gordon, TWO Phantoms, Mandrake the Magician and Prince Valiant on a disastrous intergalactic rescue mission! All they have to do is defeat a limitless alien armada and NOT get eaten by a space jungle.
What works best about King's Quest #1 is the way Acker and Corson seem to blend an old-school mentality with a new-school approach. The characters in the issue are all familiar and the writers capitalize on that to help the book flow more freely. In fact, Acker and Corson pace the book extremely fast, almost rushing through a bunch of action scenes at the beginning to get to a plot-establishing payoff. The dialogue also works for this as well, offering lines that are befitting of each character's personality and interacts well with one another. There's enough of a foreign aspect to the world the characters are visiting to give it a pulpy feel throughout--something that Acker and Corson rely on to further the nostalgic take.
Helping out with the script is the art by McDaid which doesn't let up. His take on the classic characters is very appropriate in that his style draws on what's most recognizable about each of them. His approach with the two Phantoms is really fascinating, as the older one sports a more traditional look while the younger one has more of a millennial vibe. The planet the interlopers have arrived on is given plenty of personality of its own as well, with McDaid emphasizing the land itself as a living entity. Remalante's colors keep things exciting as well, drawing upon stronger primary colors to distinguish the looks of each character from one another.
King's Quest #1 is pretty enjoyable and breezy. Team-ups are always fun and there's a lot of old-school sensibility in King's Quest #1 in terms of the plot's approach to its characters. Acker and Carson have brought together some of the most famous heroes from old strips into one story that pits them against a legendary opponent. McDaid's artwork is spot-on and infuses the book with plenty of nostalgic charm. King's Quest #1 is pretty entertaining and doesn't take itself too seriously at any point.
King's Quest #1 is in stores now.