Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Orc Stain #2
Image Comics
Stokoe
Orc Stain is one of the most unique comic book ideas I've seen in a long time. Essentially, the premise is that we are following along the adventures of an Orc, One Eye. The result is a comic book with a creative world, interesting characters, decent conflicts and fun dialogue. Add in that the comic is thirty pages of story for $3 and you have a lot to like about this purchase. A comic book with one, and only one, creative credit (James Stokoe) is hard to come by these days and this one is certainly worth checking out because of the care put into this package. This is a good comic book.
One Eye and his companion, Pointyface, are on their way to the local lord, Norman, to pay tribute. It's worth pointing out that each of these characters are presumably Orcs but look vastly different from one another making this comic filled with detailed character designs. I'd say that many Orc interpretations are of the Lord of the Rings variety where the Orcs are mostly dark and vulgar with goo dripping from their mouths and snarling and grunting attitudes. However, in here the characters are colorful, lively, intelligent and actually wear clothes and sit on furniture. This adds some more depth to the characters and their world.
Pointyface betrays One Eye to Norman and gets put on a chopping block. The block isn't to remove his head, but rather his gronch. Think about it and it will come to you what I mean. "Gronch" is the perfect example of how dialogue is used in this comic book in ways that I never expected. Another line is when One Eye manages to knock down his prospective "chopper" and an orc remarks, "Oh Noes! Choppy's Down!" I found myself laughing at a lot of the dialogue and the spelling in this issue which added a lot to the reading experience.
The story tells a complete story as One Eye completes this misadventure and basically embarks on the next one. His actions set in motion other motives and plot threads for Pointyface and Norman. It's a good story that leaves you wanting more.
The artwork is amazing. I was particularly taken aback by the color palette used. We find a lot of bright, almost florescent, colors that really makes this world the complete opposite of the scenery in the Lord of the Rings movies. Beyond that there is a ton of details in the town, the character's clothing and the backgrounds as they wander the countryside. It's hard to imagine a comic book that is more visually engaging.
I missed the first issue of this series but that doesn't seem to hinder my enjoyment of this issue. Sure, Orcs might not be everyone's thing but the character work, art and story are enough to rope in even the biggest skeptics. Thirty incredibly drawn pages with witty dialogue, funny moments and a good story makes this worth checking out. I'll be looking for more issues of this series for sure.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
