I started threads for Oni Press's other "EC" titles, so I might as well start one for Cruel Kingdom as well. For some reason, I assumed Cruel Kingdom would be an ongoing narrative, but it's not; it's an anthology (sword & sorcery in this case), just like ever other EC. I will often rank the stories as I see them, but that's usually when I have a clear favorite. In this case, I liked all the stories equally (and I did like them). I would provide some brief summaries, but I don't think doing so would serve a purpose. Those of you who are going to try this title will try it, and those who aren't, won't.
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Pretty good issue! Because of the settings, it had the feel of stories passed down by oral tradition.
"Blood of the Robo King" was just an OK story, where you kinda knew where it was going. But the art (by Leomacs) was the star. Best line: "Are they not as human ... as we?" Chilling.
"Friendly Visitors" also had a telegraphed ending ("Once one is in place, the other cannot challenge it"), but again I enjoyed the art (by Kano) which was perfectly suited to the tale.
"Death and Pickaxes" was my favorite story, because of the familiarity. For those just tuning in, it's about Snow White's forgotten eighth dwarf ... Vengeful.
"The Demon's Face" was a slight six-pager, one that made the reader think it was going to make one point, then swerved to make another. A bit too short or slight to make much impact on me.
Speaking of Kano, I had to flip back to the credits to check whether or not it was Paul Smith.
I hadn't made that connection. I'll watch for it in future!
ISSUE #2:
That's pretty much my order of preference, too. "A Rare Immunity" was predictable, but it was fun watching someone who deserved it get their comeuppance. The ending was a little bit open-ended, although I suspect we're supposed to assume that history will keep repeating itself, now that the boy has used the sword.
I ejoyed the other two stories, but don't have much to say about them. The stories in Cruel Kingdom tread pretty well-trod ground. In retrospect, I think "Friendly Visitors" is my favorite story so far, just because it told a fantasy story that didn't use the usual tropes in the usual medieval setting. I don't mind that as a change of pace in an anthology, but when it's every story you begin to feel like you're reading Dungeons & Dragons fanfic.
Maybe I'm being influenced by all the Forbidden Worlds and Adventures Into the Unknown I'm currently inhaling, which is usually more fantasy than sci-fi, but mostly eschews the medieval setting for a modern one. That opens the genre up a bit, while simultanously allowing for self-aware protagonists ("This is like a fairy tale! So I bet that apple is poisoned ...!") It occurs to me that Richard Hughes, who wrote most of these stories, wrote so many that he might have moved to a wider canvas out of necessity or boredom. Meanwhile, Cruel Kingdom and the like are written by a series of writers, some of whom are doubtless writing a fantasy story for the first time and want to use D&D trappings because they never have before. IOW, the readers may be more experienced in the genre than the writers.
But that's all speculation. Oni's EC books are better than most comics, so I'm still on board.
Meanwhile, Cruel Kingdom and the like are written by a series of writers, some of whom are doubtless writing a fantasy story for the first time and want to use D&D trappings because they never have before.
That's a fair cop.
ISSUE #3: