Kings Watch #1 Review
(Dynamite Entertainment)
Writer: Jeff Parker
Art: Marc Laming
Colors: Jordan Boyd
Letters: Simon Bowland
Covers: Marc Laming w/ Chris Sotomayor, Ramon K. Perez
Review by Scott Keys
Ever since I heard that Dynamite was going to do this series, I’ve been waiting (im)patiently for it’s launch. Featuring The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Flash Gordon, Kings Watch was automatically going to the top of the read pile. Add Jeff Parker’s script and Marc Laming’s art…BONUS!
People all over the world are having strange nightmares, and unexplained light-bursts fill the skies. The end is near. This is how Parker is going to get our heroes together, and I’m ready for a thrill-ride. You can tell that Parker likes these characters, especially Flash. Flash is still the gung-ho, no-fear jock we know and love, just in a more modern setting (take an untested craft into space on it’s first mission? Sure, why not). Laming’s art in this issue has that pulpy feel to it that you’d expect with these classic characters, but also very modern storytelling. Not static shots here! Very action packed and visually stimulating (did I mention the lizard-monster fighting a bull elephant? Yeah, THAT happened)!
Kings Watch #1 was a great set-up issue with plenty of nods to previous continuity and action to make you come back for issue 2. Dynamite has a great track record with pulp heroes, and they’ve done it again with this team of Parker and Laming…a real winning combination!
Art: 4.5 / 5
Story: 4.5 / 5
Overall: 4.5 / 5
Scott Keys is a father, Butler University grad, pharmacist, and full-time comic nerd. You can follow his adventures around the spinner-rack and his Incoherent Comic Book Ramblings on:
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