KING: PRINCE VALIANT #1 Review


Can this hero be worthy of his title? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

“I’ll dare ANY adventure!” Welcome to the KING, full of BRAWLING KNIGHTS and ARTHURIAN ADVERSARIES and MYSTICAL MEDDLING and COURAGEOUS CHIVALRY and SERPENTINE SORCERY and WITHERING VALOR and TIME-SHIFTING ADVENTURERS and CATASTROPHIC CONFIDENCE! BRAVE THE BATTLES courtesy of NATE COSBY (Cow Boy) and RON SALAS (Spider-Man) with a connecting King cover by comic legend DARWYN COOKE!

King-Prince Valiant 1_Variant CoverWhat’s been unique about this area of comic lore, has been the fact that a handful of various creative teams have been able to take separate properties and combine them in an interesting and concoction. And that’s exactly what this latest entry represents, as a narrative ripe with mysteries and perils pushes a squire toward his destiny. So let me say if you’ve been avoiding King, it’s time to stop.

Nate Cosby pens a script that knows its protagonist even if the audience picking this up has absolutely no idea who he might be. And that right there crafts a text that knows its boundaries, before any decisive blows are even taken. Prince Valiant wants to be great and he’s eager to charge forth beyond his station to do it, but there are limitations that sheer will might fail to topple. For the most part the author handles the transition between desire, glory and the dimness of age well. So much so that after this I can’t wait to see where the arc goes from here.

What’s captivating about this mini-series is the visual component crafted by Ron Salas. Each page ebbs and flows with the heart of a fantasy epic that just happens to be steeped in a somewhat grounded continuity of events. The panels are structured well with controlled pencil strokes that should make other illustrators jealous. Add in the dynamite colors by Luigi Anderson and the whole of the book looks stellar.

King: Prince Valiant #1 is not what I expected and that’s a good thing. It’s structure feels old and new as it presents a character that might be worth rooting for. Recommended.

OUR RATING
9
  • + Fantastic visuals.
  • + Meet Prince Valiant!
  • + The realm of King deepens.
  • + Mystery, thrills and a solid script.

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