Review: King’s Quest #2
“Magic, it can be argued, is the oldest science.” – Mandrake.
In King’s Quest #2 our heroes are still stuck on the Jungle Planet Arboria where Jungle Jim has made himself right at home with his new telekinetic powers over plant and animal life. There is one scene where he literally commands the coffee beans to grow in order to cushion the blow of a crashing space ship. This issue is a battle royal as Flash and his crew of heroes have to break through Ming’s army to get to the Imperial Palace in an attempt to save Dale Arden. Mandrake and Zarkov argue over the merits of Magic Vs. Science. And finally the female phantom catches up with an old flame.
The Creative Team:
Acker and Corson keep the humor seamlessly interwoven with non-stop action in this spirited sea-quest to the underwater city of Coralia. Their tongues are planted so firmly in their cheeks it might take surgery to remove them. The high camp adventure continues rolling along with the King Features Syndicate characters as Flash Gordon leads the Phantoms, Mandrake the Magician and Prince Valiant on a quest to free the peasants from Ming the Merciless’ rule. We are treated to more intriguing cities on Arboria and the writers know not to take the story to seriously. It has the same hi-camp feel of the early 80’s Flash Gordon film from Dino DeLaurentis.
Dan McQuaid and Bob Q render the world of Arboria with Rich imagery and fun locales. I especially enjoyed their take on Mandrake. There’s one scene where Mandrake is doing a card trick and he reminds me of DC’s Phantom Stranger. They know how to bring life to these characters and make them fit in this universe. One scene I especially enjoyed is when Prince Valiant walks up and places his hand on the glass and observes the vastness of the universe and exclaims “This is astounding, this ‘Outer Space.'” A great chemistry exists between the writing and artistic teams on this title.
The Cover:
The reader knows what to expect with this cover. We see Flash in outer space with his spacesuit on and a grim look on his face as he’s being attacked by some kind of creature that looks like a man eating plant. The spaceship is in the background and He’s holding some kind of a weapon. It’s a cover that promises a lot of action to anyone who picks up the issue and gets ready to open the pages to another universe.
In Conclusion:
By the end of this issue our heroes have broken through Ming’s defenses and have approached his palace. Will they finally confront the merciless one? Will they hook up with Dale Arden or is it to late? Has She become Mrs. Ming? Is she even still alive? The Male Phantom has a little surprise for the ruler of Arboria but will he be able to spring it on him? Hi energy fun in the spirit of the old movie serials from the 1930’s through the ’40’s, which all of our hero’s have been featured in at one time or another.
King’s Quest #2
Writers: Ben Acker and Heath Corson
Art: Dan McDaid and Bob Q
Colors: Omni Remalante and Bob Q
Letters: Simon boland
Cover: Marc Laming and Lara Margarida
Publishers: Dynamite Entertainment
Publication Date: June 8, 2016
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.
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