By: Jim Zubkavich (writer), Chris Stevens & Edwin Huang (pencils), Edwin Hang (inks), Misty Coats (colors) & Marshall Dillon (letters)
The Story: A pair of mercenaries finds adventure in a swords-n-shields tale.
What’s Good: This book has gotten a lot of hype and was selling for several times face value on eBay before it even hit comic shops on Wednesday. Hype around a comic is usually a good thing because it plays into the periodic nature of comic books and creates anticipation for the reader. But, hype can be problematic if the book fails to deliver.
Skullkickers is (so far) a very solid offering featuring two nameless mercenaries (a dwarf & human) set in a medieval setting. There is lots to enjoy as the brash dwarf charges into battle yelling in typical dwarf-speak while his more calculating partner lays back a bit. And, that is pretty much the set-up for this first issue as only the vaguest suggestions of the bigger story are revealed.
The issue also had a mystery: why does one of the mercenaries (hint: not the dwarf) have a pistol in a medieval setting? Is he “out of time” somehow? Is this setting more steam-punk than it would seem?
The art is solid: characters are recognizable, nice linework, etc. There is no “ooooohhhhh, ahhhhhhh” moment for the art, but it effectively tells the story. It is also a very respectable effort considering that the art team seems to be fairly new to comics.
What’s Not So Good: The hype around this issue created a hope that this issue would be better than it was. Perhaps that is unfair, but this issue does make one wonder why this issue was selling for $10-20 on eBay at the time of writing. There is nothing even remotely “bad” about this first issue, but it did not live up to the hype. This same effect can happen in reverse too when little is expected of a smaller issue, but it is quite good…..even surprisingly good. Two recent examples of this are Lady Robotika and Nancy in Hell. Expectation is a funny thing!
It would have been nice to see a little more of the story in this first issue. There is perhaps a revelation of this story on the final panel, but for the way it was delivered, it could have just been another adventure for our mercenaries to get into. The upshot is that there just isn’t quite enough story in this first issue to get a handle on whether this is a really good comic book or not.
Conclusion: Objectively “good,” but does not live up to the hype.
Grade: C+
– Dean Stell
A Second Opinion
With all the hype, sell-outs, and wild speculation, it’s impossible not to expect something special out of Skullkickers, along the lines of Chew or Morning Glories. Unfortunately, Skullkickers doesn’t come close this sky-high standard, which causes its hype to become more hindrance than help. The problem is that while the book is not at all bad, balanced against the momentum it has behind it, it’s hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of disappointment.
The plot feels thin at this point. Our two leads seem like overly familiar archetypes that we’ve seen many times over. The world is appears to be just another run-of-the-mill fantasy setting, and that sense of averageness ends up permeating the comic, which seems content to settle for being inoffensive.
Of course, the comedy is what’s supposed to carry this comic. Unfortunately, for this to be the case, the book would have to be absolutely uproarious and while this book is funny at times and there are smiles to be had, no particular gag or joke stuck in my mind or had me eager to tell my friends about it.
The one unqualified high-point is the art, which is fantastic and has a kind of polish often not found in an indie comic, let alone one with newer artists. It’s comedy-anime at its finest and is lively and energetic throughout, particular thanks to Misty Coats’ bold, vibrant colors.
Grade: C
-Alex Evans
Grade
Conclusion