Review: ‘Royals’ #1 Gambles Big On Characterization
by Benjamin Hall
Summary
Paul and Castor are fraternal twins with a desire to win at poker. They use an unusual mind-link to do so. However, a tournament in Seoul might be their end. Can they win out over the infamous leader of the Bloody Cocks crime syndicate?
Overall
6.8/10Writer plus cover artist Derek Kirk Kim, along with interior and cover artist Jacob Perez, concoct a debatably decent first issue. Unfortunately, this issue has problems that are keeping it from possibly being better, or at least allowing the debate on the quality level not to exist.
The first flaw is Kim’s “thank you” to the readers paragraph. In it, Kim begins by stating the amount of time to develop and publish this comic book. While such a statement normally would not matter, it does when it comes to certain references that are now very much out-of-date in an off-putting way. It is also a problem because the graphic novel transformation into this mini-series is one year out of eight total for development. Which means a dialogue change would not have been completely impossible. Though more forgiving readers and critics might just attribute this problematic referencing to the specific characters being detestable individuals.
A second problem stemming from the paragraph is that Kim openly cites several inspirations, including some notable comics. This will lead some to comparing this first issue to these other works in a way that could negatively affect the respective reader’s experience.
The next flaw involves one of the characters displaying an extremely narcissistic personality to an utterly detestable level. While this will probably just be part of the individual’s character arc, it is still going a bit too hard.
As for the plus side of the comic’s narrative, it is mostly great when it comes to the rest of the characterization. Specifically, the visual range of designs and poses assists with the dialogue to make each feel very real despite the cartoonish style. Also, the lettering is good when it comes to the placement of the internal and external dialogue. When it comes to the color palette, there is a nice enough selection of hues that one may miss that a rather small amount is actually seeing use. Finally, the four covers each suggest something about the interiors while being nice art pieces by themselves
Royals #1 is out now from Image Comics.
