May 13

May 13 D'Orc #4 // Review

The little hero finds himself in the presence of a very, very large three-headed dog. It a huge “thrawg” and it seems very hungry to see him. The little guy doesn’t stand much of a chance...but he IS aided in his work by an enchanted shield and the ghost of a severed chicken head, which have actually wound-up being a lot more useful than one might expect. Their prowess under pressure is put to the test in D’Orc #4. Writer/artist Brett Bean’s hit series continues to prove itself in another issue that features the colors of Jean-Francois Beaulieu.

The thrawg is the least of D’Orc’s problems. In addition to having to deal with a rampaging monster, he also has to deal with the people of the surrounding area. One group is led by Cragnar. The other group is led by Bragnar. They’re all goblins and they’re all quite mad. (Except for Barry. Barry’s cool.) The followers of Bragnar and the followers of Cragnar are fiercely fighting each other...over which one of them is going to be able to to slay the thrawg. Meanwhile, it continues to be a scourge to the entire area (even after its ill-fated encounter with D’Orc.)

There’s SUCH a high face value on the story that Bean is bringing to the page. There’s no rational reason why the allegory isn’t going to be ponderously heavy-handed and yet...it’s fun. Bean has a brilliantly witty sense of plot and pacing that keeps it all enchantingly entertaining throughout. Yes: it IS obvious that Bean is making a statement on the stupidity of humanity as it’s too busy attacking itself to pay too much attention to bigger problems of survival that loom on the horizon. It’s obvious stuff, but it IS important stuff to continue to address. And Bean’s wit keeps it all so enjoyable.

Once again...the little hooded Dwarf Orc continues to look really, really cool. The enchanted shield with the big eye...the ghost head of a chicken that still has a living body. It all has its own distinctive look and feel that is quite unlike anything else that’s been brought to page, panel or screen in the past couple of decades. More than that, Bean manages some strikingly clever comic delivery as D’Orc deals with a couple of factions bent on destroying each other. The kinetics of the action are SO much fun. Beaulieu’s colors continue to make clever definition of depth and texture that add immeasurably to the work that Bean is doing.

There’s a huge number of issues that make it to the comic rack every week. D’Orc is one that has come to stand-out on the rack as a real original. Bean’s art and writing make it a really breezy read. 4 bucks for 15 minutes’ worth of reading might seem kind of steep, but Bean’s humor echoes beautifully well beyond the final panel.