Review: King Tiger #1

Story: Randy Stradley
Art: Doug Wheatley
Colors: Rain Beredo
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: 08/12/15

Coming Soon from Dark Horse Comics is King Tiger #1. The mystical warrior gets his own four issue series in which he must confrontÂ secrets from his past.

The issue opens and we find people are being abducted off the street by a group of hired thugs. The victimsÂ are being collected for a shady group of characters, and when the thugs deliver their latest abductee, they find out just how shady their employers are. The story moves to King Tiger’s apartment where we are introduced to his supporting cast for this series. Milo, a recently acquired ally and Tiger’s girlfriend Rikki are setup to accompany our hero through the story. Through the end of the issue we learn the fate of those abducted and the magnitudeÂ of the challenge facing King Tiger is put on full display.Â With the bad guys going full reveal in the final pages of the issue, it sets up what I imagine will be an action packed second issue.

Overall, King Tiger #1 was an enjoyable read.Â Randy Stradley has setup a pretty cool story with this first issue. I like a story with a good villain and the bad guys Stradley has pitted against the hero are both creepy and appear formidable. They make a big splash in this issue and that always goes a long way with me. The final few pages of the issue are pretty crazy and a well done cliffhanger has me excited for the next issue. While IÂ enjoyed the story, I did feel that it dragged in places. Pretty much every scene in Tiger’s apartment was extremely boring, but did help to add some context to the characters so it wasn’t all bad. Also, this was my first exposure to King Tiger or the universe he comes from. Parts of this story appearÂ related to events that have occurred in other books, butÂ there’s no real background for newcomers like me. A brief summary page in the beginning of the story would have been a nice consideration.

As much as I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed the art even more. Doug Wheatley and Rain Beredo have created unique, eye catching pages for our entertainment. Wheatley’s designs for the story’s villains are terrific.Â With the exception of the final few pages, this story was light on action so I look forward to seeing what Wheatley and BeredoÂ have planned for fight sequences in future issues.

Final Verdict: King Tiger #1 is an overall enjoyable read that I would suggest giving a try. If you’reÂ already familiar with this universe I imagine you’ll love this series. However if you’re a new reader like me, you’ll still have fun with the read. I’m pulling for the villains. DON’T LET ME DOWN STRADLEY! #TeamBadGuys

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