Rumble Kings #1 is a comic written by Ryan Cummins with art by William Allan Reyes and Nelson E. Malta with colors by DC Alonso. A group of mercenaries undertake dangerous missions outside of the city walls. This is a post-apocalyptic, science fiction, fantasy comic that stars a four-man group of mercenaries called the Kings. The Kings members are: Raleigh the swordsman and seemingly the leader, Garven has a large axe and is the biggest member, Marek is both bald and the smallest and wields two daggers, and rounding things out is Arlo who has a staff and gives off mage vibes. There are a number of other characters we’ll come across that are very interesting and some even steal the scene. The story begins with these fellas out on a hunt when they come across a troll who is at least 8 feet tall and they take their time getting things started. This story takes place in a world where, outside of walled cities, it is a dangerous wasteland. The action is hard-hitting and bloody with some gory and explosive moments. The pacing is partly steady to slightly slow as there is plenty of talking. The tone goes from lighthearted to serious frequently with the intensity fluctuating the same way. The dialogue is mostly conversational with thick text bubbles and at least a couple word-heavyish pages. This the debut comic for a series that gives us an exciting and interesting world full of potential led by a cast of intriguing characters with strong personalities.
The art here is drawn with varying levels of detail with a style that might remind you of comics from the 90’s/2000s. The colors here are mostly of a darker tone and shading is used a lot here. The scenery is either rocky or a city with unique buildings. The initial location is out in the wild but the rest of the story takes place in various buildings like a palace, a lab, and a home of women. The backgrounds usually show the scene but they are usually a grayish-blue color and faded out so the characters in the foreground stand out. The expression level here is average as most of these characters are hard people who don’t like to show emotion. The range here is mostly from shock to anger with the occasional sad and somber feelings. The faces here are detailed enough for the looks to come across clearly. The violence here is bloody with some brutal shots and it also gets gory with some body part separation. The action scenes have good flow and a nice breakdown of the action.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like post-apocalyptic science fiction stories with fantasy elements that stars a team of mercenaries with personality and that features violence and looming evil then this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
R. Violence, blood, gore.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“I expect you to have my back! Just like I have yours!”
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/skeletalpress/rumble-kings-1/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 32
Violent Pages: 14, for 44% of the comic
Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic
**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**
Violence Level – 3
“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”
“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”
“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”
“This was a tournament arc.”
“All my life I had to fight.”
Gore Level – 4
“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”
“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”
“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”
“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”
“This is a slaughterhouse.”
Death Level – 3
“And everybody lived happily ever after.”
“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”
“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”
“Yeah this was a tragedy.”
“Think Gettysburg.”
Porn Level – 1
“Everybody kept their clothes on.”
“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”
“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”
“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”
“Oh. This is porn.”
