Review: King’s Quest #1
“It wasn’t like this last time I was here. This is new.” – Flash Gordon.
I love nostalgia themed comic books and Dynamite has another winner with “King’s Quest” Similar to what Valiant is doing with “Gold Key Alliance” bringing King Features characters into the Dynamite universe. In fact most of these King Features characters had been in Gold Key comics at one time or another. The line up includes Flash Gordon, two Phantoms, one male one female, Mandrake the Magician and Prince Valiant.
The story opens with our heroes being shot down in Arboria. The Arborians mistakenly think that this group is attacking Arboria on behalf of Ming the Merciless. A fight ensues. We’re introduced to other classic characters that were also featured in King comics and it becomes clear that it was a major misunderstanding. Our heroes are on a quest to rescue one of their own.
Ben Acker and Heath Corson are the writing team here and they’re having a field day breathing new life into old characters. Flash Gordon is the clear leader of this Motley Crew, he and Hans Zarkov continue their friendly rivalry as Zarkov reminds Flash that he owes him a ship and Flash says “Bill me.” Snappy one liners throughout remind the reader that their tongues are planted firmly in cheek. A great beginning for what promises to be an amusing series. So far the only characters that are completely fleshed out are Flash and the female Phantom, Jen. She seems to be new to the whole Phantom experience and it’s fun to watch her adapt to the title. I’m sure that the others will develop nicely over the course of the series.
Dan McDaid’s art is very reminiscent of the old style King artists but with a modern attitude. His Flash is a little different from Alex Raymond’s although it is reminiscent of the swashbuckling hero if not a carbon copy of him. McDaid’s energy compliment’s the writing team quite nicely. His characters have the determination it takes to see the job done and have that old style nobility we’ve come to expect in our heroes’
The cover is nicely rendered. We have Flash and Valiant in the forefront holding their weapons out, ready to defend the crew. The Male Phantom is holding open the door of the crashed spaceship. The female phantom and Mandrake are emerging ready to jump into the thick of things. A nice cover that should bring the reader directly into the action of the first issue. A very good beginning. It holds promise for things to come. ***
Kings Quest #1
Story by Ben Acker, Heath Corson
Art by Dan McDaid
Cover by Marc Laming, Dan McDaid, Jonathan Lau…
Publisher Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date May 4th, 2015
About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
