The Royals: Masters of War #6 Review

royals masters of war 6
The Royals: Masters of War #6 Review

Publisher: Vertigo
Writer: Rob Williams
Penciller: Simon Coleby
Inker: Gary Erskine
Colorist: JD Mettler
Letterer: Wes Abbott

Review by: Josh Gillam

The Royals comes to an end in this issue, and Rob Williams leaves us with a satisfying and thrilling conclusion. Coleby, Erskine, and Mettler pull out all the stops and pack this book full of stunning artwork, making this a comic that you won’t soon forget.

This book is the conclusion to the 6 issue Masters of War story. The Royals is set in an alternate history where royal family members are born with special powers. The story takes place during World War 2 and is mostly centered around a young prince named Henry. Henry uses his powers to try and turn the tide of the war in Britain, which causes Japan to retaliate by sending their own royals with abilities into battle. Henry isn’t the only one with powers, he has two siblings. His older brother Arthur, who is selfish and a bit of a bully, and his younger sister Rose.

Being the last issue, this book ties up all the loose ends in the series. Henry meets with his brother Arthur at the beginning of the book. After they have a fight, Henry confronts the man that betrayed and killed some of his family. Henry makes his last stand and all of the events in the series culminate into one final showdown.

Rob Williams had done such a great job with this series that I was almost dreading this book, because I didn’t want it to end. But it was a great end to a fantastic series, and I felt very satisfied when I was finished. Williams gives you everything you’ve been wanting, including a good fight between Arthur and Henry and a showdown between Henry and his betrayer. He also gives you things you didn’t even know you wanted, like Arthur demanding that Hitler bring him a drink. There’s some great dialogue in this issue as well. Some of it is thoughtful and philosophical while some parts are just simple fun, like when Arthur calls Hitler an “overmothered, pervert waiter”. Rob Williams maintains the same level of excellence with his writing in this issue as he has done throughout the series.

I love the artwork in this series, and I feel like Coleby and Erskine made this last issue a memorable one for me. There were some really great panels in this book, once again going back to the fight between Henry and Arthur. Coleby and Erskine have a great talent for making action scenes feel intense, and you get plenty of it. They also do a excellent job of breathing life into these characters. There’s a lot of emotion in this book, and it is expressed very well through the characters.

JD Mettler’s work with the coloring is simply beautiful. It adds an extra layer of awesome to the artwork that pushes it off the chart. The best example of this is – of course – during the Henry and Arthur fight. The scene is at night, with a lot of fire, and Mettler makes it look breathtaking.

This issue was a strong finish for a great story. The Royals is so well written and beautifully drawn that it’s impossible not to love.

Story: 5/5
Artwork: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

Josh Gillam is the creator and writer for the webcomic/comedy project, Cynical Stew. You can follow him on Twitter at @Cynical_Stew

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