Spider King #1
Written by Josh Vann
Drawn by Simone D’Armini
Colored by Adrian Bloch
Review by KrisK
You remember that Harrison Ford/Daniel Craig movie, Cowboys and Aliens? Well, this is basically Vikings and aliens. And as a guy who thoroughly enjoyed the clash of genres, I am happy this happened. I am not saying this is a knockoff, mind you. The aliens, when they show up at the end, are very different. These aliens are sneakier.
The book starts off with a war between Viking lords. Two brothers, Hallvard, the official king, and Aarek, the attempting usurper, fight to rule over a kingdom. Hallvard dies, and his son, Hrolf, is now the heir to the throne. Fast forward about a decade, and this war is still waging. The son has been fighting his uncle for a long time, and he has been losing the whole time. His people and army have dwindled. He is ready to die in battle. He nearly does. His men are massacred. He accepts death as a very real possibility. Just as all seems helpless, green balls of fire fall from the sky, killing many on both sides. Hrolf finds a crashed flying saucer, and Aarek meets a jellyfish looking alien, Spider King. Then the alien shows his power.
I found myself enjoying this comic, especially once the aliens appeared. I had forgotten they were supposed to be in the comic, and then, BOOM!, aliens. I found the it to be a fun little story. The writing was good, if at sometimes perfunctory in dialogue, and I was ready to see where it went. The art has that IDW house look, which makes it a brother of their Goosebumps and other comics. You can look at it the way you can most publishers and name the company. Not a bad thing though. I love the playful colors.
The dialogue is a little weak in parts. It gets better towards the end, and I hope it is just the stiffness a first issue can have. This is usually a pet peeve for me, but it never gets cringe worthy.
Verdict: Buy. This comic is a fun palette cleanser for any comic lover. It fits in well between the tragic comics that saturate the independent market, giving you the opportunity to lighten up and forget the world’s troubles. I love the art so much.
