{"id":8866,"date":"2010-11-06T11:42:43","date_gmt":"2010-11-06T00:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/?p=8866"},"modified":"2010-11-07T08:46:49","modified_gmt":"2010-11-06T21:46:49","slug":"of-monsters-banana-burritos-and-the-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roberthood.net\/blog\/index.php\/2010\/11\/06\/of-monsters-banana-burritos-and-the-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Of Monsters, Banana Burritos and the King"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the success of their comic series Robot 13<\/em><\/a>, writer Thomas Hall and artist Daniel Bradford of Blacklist Studios have branched out with a second series, this one looking at monster fighting from a different perspective — different in terms of tone, theme, plot and certainly as regards the nature of its “heroic” protagonist. Where the skeletal\/robotic hero of R13<\/em> is conflicted, uncertain, in search of the meaning behind his existence and inclined to fight mythological creatures with an attitude of self-sacrificial commitment, this new human monster-fighter is self-confident, gruff, in search of a decent breakfast and prone to take on less-classical types of monsters for more mercenary reasons. He is Jessie King, ex-wrestler, Elvis look-alike and bane of zombies — with a penchant for typically Texan high-calorie food, violence and sanguine skepticism.<\/p>\n

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The first issue of King!<\/em> — which has just been released — is an updated rendering of a story first published in a limited way by Hall and Bradford in 2007. In it, we are introduced to the series’ hero (dressed in his underpants initially) when a mysterious package is delivered to his rather isolated home in the American South-West desert. The package contains a semi-mechanical heart that informs King that a rift is about to open in a nearby fast-food joint, unleashing a horde of moche zombies and their over-sized bloodthirsty deity. Idealism doesn’t compel King to get off his ass and fight the undead, but an abundance of gold coins does — and I’m sure the fact that the hole in the fabric of the universe is opening in Blubber Tubber’s Burgers may have been a considerable incentive by itself.<\/p>\n

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The resulting free-for-all with the moche zombies and their deity is fast, furious, bloody — and humorous, too.<\/p>\n

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Hall’s black, though good-natured, sense of humour is spot-on, and it is well translated into visual terms by Bradford, whose style here — though recognisably from the same hand that drew R13<\/em> — has been slightly modified to suit the new series. The visual pacing of the narrative is generally smooth and effective, with clear semantic movement from one frame to the next — something too often problematic in independent comicbook productions. And I like the use of large frames (such as the one below) that give an abundance of character or plot information with no verbal back-up.<\/p>\n

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At the end of the day, though the emphasis in King!<\/em> is less on some overt journey of self-revelation and more on sheer monstrous mayhem, there are questions left over that will no doubt propel the series forward: what is the semi-mechanical heart and what is its relationship to King? And what is the Spear of Destiny doing in a burger joint in the middle of nowhere? Are these things — rift, heart, Spear, ex-wrestler\/Elvis impersonator — connected?<\/p>\n

Finding out looks like it might be lots of fun.<\/p>\n

The first issue of King!<\/em> is available now from Blacklist Studios<\/a>. There’s even a King! <\/em>t-shirt.<\/p>\n