D’Orc #1 // Review
He has remained hidden for 20 years. So naturally, he's going to want to get out at some point. And as he does, so, he finds himself facing a pack of sinister humanoids who are feasting on unicorn flesh. The creatures in question are goblins. The half orc/half dwarf who is watching them eat might just have to do something about the situation. Before he can do so, however, he's going to have to have a little conversation with his shield in D’Orc #1. Writer/artist Brett Bean and colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu open a surprisingly enjoyable sword and sorcery fantasy comedy.
The shield just really wants to fight. This is rather unfortunate as it is a shield and not an enchanted sword or battle ax or some such. Nevertheless, it can really hold its own in a fight. And it really wants to. The D’Orc is more than a little bit reluctant to do show. After all, there's a prophecy. Born of light and darkness it's believed that he's going to bring about the end of the world. Naturally, he's a little hesitant to let his presence be known. But his shield is really, really interested in getting into a fight. So naturally things are going to get a little complicated.
Bean’s basic premise for the series is actually very clever. It's very calm a very difficult to draw an epic and heroic fantasy adventure for someone who rest somewhere between lawful and evil. The epic scale kind of demand demands that they'll be good and evil at play. Bean does a really good job of delivering a concept that makes neutrality seem like the most heroic option in a world of good and evil. This isn't an easy thing to manage. Bean’s doing a remarkable job of it, though.
Bean’s art style suits his scripting quite well. Given the scope of the story he's telling, Bean could have tried to go for a visual mood that feels more weight, greedy, and intense. He's not trying to do that, though. He's clearly trying to deliver a comically over-the-top sword and sword of three fantasy world that is amplified in many ways. And while it is very funny, the way it's brought to the page, Bean still manages to make his title character. Look incredibly cool at times. This goes a long way towards selling him as the action hero that he could be.
There's a great deal of potential in the first issue of the series. There's a lot of different directions that Bean could go in with the script. It's really refreshing to see both good and evil seen as being basically counterproductive. Often an epic fantasy things are over simplified to a ridiculous degree. It's really nice to see an epic grand scale fantasy adventure that just happens to feel like a really relatable contrast between extremes. This sort of thing is really difficult to maintain in the long run, though. So it'll be interesting to see exactly what choices Bean makes as the series continues.
