Dec 28, 2024

Cruel Kingdom #1 Review (Oni Press)

About Cruel Kingdom #1

Cruel Kingdom is a horror/dark fantasy anthology mini-series. There are four short stories inside Issue #1.

“Blood of the Robo King”

Writer: Greg Pak

Artist: Leomacs

Colorist: Iñaki Azpiazu

“Friendly Visitors”

Writer: Al Ewing

Artist: Kano

“Death and Pickaxes”

Writer: Chris Condon

Artist: Charlie Adlard

“The Demon’s Faces”

Writer: Ben H. Winters

Artist: Andrea Mutti

Colorist: Michael Atiyeh

Lettering is by Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Tyler Smith.

Publisher: Oni Press

Release date: January 8th, 2025

Cruel Kingdom #1 Review:

Following in the footsteps of Cruel Universe, Oni Press’s homage to the great EC Comics line, Cruel Universe promised the same style of horror short stories but in the worlds where Dark Fantasy and Grim Magic dwelled. Cruel Universe #1 is no disappointment. With the first two stories challenging the idea of magic versus science in their own unique way. The third, a twist on the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs barb. While the fourth gives The Sword in the Stone mythos a demonic “run for its money.”

The first, Blood on the Robo King, depicts what goes horribly wrong when a sovereign nation uses their robot king to settle their differences with a neighbouring people. Differences settled in the form of needless bloodshed. But after so many times of being powered up and powered down, the robo king learns, adapts and brings his vengeance down upon his subjects who are so keen to dispense death and carnage onto their neighbours. This Greg Pak story is loaded with artificial intelligence narrative akin to The Day The Earth Stood Still if taken down a path of dark fantasy satire. While Leomacs’ art is appropriately grim, offering a smorgasbord of gore but, at the same time, delivers intensely on the mood and message that Pak is trying to convey.

The second, Friendly Visitors, follows a wizard and his assistant who are visited by alien astronauts who, while appearing human, promise benevolent assistance in warding off their enemies through use of the technology they bring. A demonstration fells a dragon but the wizard isn’t convinced and warns his assistant of the dangers when combining science and magic. It’s a riff on the classic ship in a bottle archetype. One which will completely subvert your expectations by the end. Al Ewing’s writing in this one feels like it’s been ripped from the pages of a forgotten about 1980s era Heavy Metal Mag. While Kano’s artwork is a style which reminds me of that Lord of the Rings cartoon from 1978 which blended cute hobbits and a frightening as fuck Gandalf.

The third, Death and Pickaxes, is the play on Snow White and Seven Dwarves which I mentioned earlier. In this one, the eighth and only dwarf left and charged with protecting this princess becomes extremely jealous of her prince and murders him in this blind incel-level rage. But when she discovers what he’s done, why he did it and what the prince and her had planned for him he takes care of things the only way he knows how. TW: Suicide theme and ideation. Chris Condon’s writing takes a well-known fairy tale story and takes it to dark places which lets Charlie Adlard’s artwork off the leash to tap into an unrelenting and ferocious rampage. One that Walking Dead fans are too familiar with!

The fourth and final, The Demon’s Face, sees out this first issue of Cruel Kingdom with an easily digestible, demonic and twisted take on the sword in the stone mythos. Because when a woman pulls the sword out of a stone shaped like a demon’s head this is either going to rally the kingdom of men around her or summon forth an evil entity. You’ll only find out if you pick this issue up. It’s certainly a play on old world feminism and how the minds of men often linked women holding power to evil. Ben H. Winters’ writing is twisted and Andrea Mutti’s malformed with a tweak of gothic horror. Allowing for a vibrant palette of Michael Atiyeh’s coloring which borders on surrealism. Especially in those moments of sword pulling bravado and reveal of an otherworldly demon whose cloak screams Lovecraft. Specifically, the dead racist author’s penchant for journeying into the beyond.

Cruel Kingdom #1 has an otherworldly allure to it. These four short stories overcame any fear I had of this mini-series being too niche or too caught within its own limitations of being fantasy and only fantasy. Instead, there’s a pushing of the boundaries in what can be considered fantasy, dark fantasy or even science fantasy. More of this please.