Orphan And The Five Beasts #1 - Dark Horse Comics

ORPHAN AND THE FIVE BEASTS No. 1, March 2021

Enthusiastically described by “Dark Horse Comics” as “a brand-new Kung-Fu epic”, James Stokoe’s script for Issue One of “Orphan And The Five Beasts” certainly seems to live up to its publisher’s promise considering the book’s “ultra-detailed fantasy imagery” and classic tale of oriental revenge. Indeed, considering that this book is packed full of far eastern mysticism, plenty of Samurai-era shenanigans and some seriously sense-shattering sword-fighting, its arguably hard to imagine why the twenty-three page periodical peddled so poorly in March 2021 that it was apparently only the eighty-second best-selling comic of the month.

Happily however, those bibliophiles fortunate enough to have picked up a copy should quickly have been beguiled by the Canadian author’s classic take on a village elder foolishly empowering a group of unworthy warriors with the supernatural abilities to defeat an all-conquering common foe, and then witnessing them treacherously misuse his teachings afterwards for their own benefits. Dying within a body-sized clay jar of boiling water, the old master’s highly-detailed flashback sequence is superbly penned, and does a splendid job of setting Orphan Mo on the path of their elder’s redemption; “Its hooks have sunk deep into the valley, spreading rot and spiritual pestilence… Ahead of you, demons walk the Earth. Go, and become an emissary for Hell!”

Equally as entertaining though, has to be the subsequent scintillating skirmish between the spiritualist’s protégé and a band of raiders who unwisely intercept a cart of monks taking much-needed goods to aid a local village. Quietly unassuming, this mini-series’ main protagonist dynamically defeats the cowardly thieves with a virtuoso performance in non-lethal close-combat, and provides this publication with a strong cliff-hanger when the young woman suddenly confronts the well-named traitor, Thunderthighs, at the temple the black-hearted bandit has usurped as his headquarters.

In addition to his enthralling writing, Stokoe’s artwork is also first-rate, with the illustrator’s knack for “over-the-top violence” creating some truly-fascinating panels which are well worth a reader spending plenty of time poring over. This attention to detail is particularly noteworthy during the brigands' aforementioned unsuccessful attempt to spirit away the amicable Abbot’s wares for their boss’s personal pleasure, as James imbues every weapon strike with an incredible sense of blinding speed and physical vitality.

Script, Art, Letters, and Cover: James Stokoe