Welcome to the First Issue Bin, where I — Ethan Kaye — randomly grab one of this week's comics that’s just starting up and give you the details on whether it should get added to your collection … or remain on the comic shop shelf.
C.O.R.T. Children of the Round Table #1
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Daniele Di Nicuolo
Color Artist: Rain Beredo
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Whoa! This one came in with little fanfare but wound up being a pretty darn good first issue!
Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo invented a DC world separate from the main DCU that harkens back to the glory DC days of the 60s and 70s when you could just come to Editorial and say, "I got an idea for a team book," and BAM you have the Forever People or the Green Team or the Metal Men and it runs for a few issues and gets put on the shelf for a bit but every later writer gets to pull them down and use them for a crossover or something. Children of the Round Table, as a group, might live beyond this 6-issue series, they might not, but at the very least it's an enjoyable ride.
The first issue has that fun feeling of a DC Young Adult book, which it is, but it shouldn't deter older readers at all. I really enjoyed Jennifer Muro's Primer and this book nestles in pretty well to that space. Kids, relatable kids, get empowered by magical artifacts. It's a pretty straightforward premise, if I'm being honest, but there's no feeling of malice or exploitation, it's just kids doing kid stuff and then leveling up so they can solve a problem.
Personally, I'd love it if a big sword dropped out of the sky and started giving me advice.
The group of kids, presumably called "Children of the Round Table", although they don't use that name yet, is introduced first through Connor and Fel, two friendly rivals on opposite soccer teams. Sorry, "football", as this takes place in Cornwall, England. Their match over, they join a larger group of preteens as they prepare to go on a "quest", really just a group outing with an importance that is artificially elevated because, well, kids like to play pretend. They're just going to some caves that are already a well-known, well-explored tourist attraction, but it gets called a QUEST.
But things being things, the quest is interrupted by an enormous meteorite landing nearby, delivering a sword possessed by the great King Arthur to Fel, and additional Round-Table-possessed weapons to the rest of the group. Everybody gets one, although Kevin's bummed that he just gets a stick that doesn't talk. The weapons tell them they need to run, as the agents of Mordred are after them, and the issue ends with the prophecy, "For in the tomorrows to come…you must take on a tyrant and save the world."
It's a fun setup! Modern kids mix it up with Arthurian knights!
My only real complaint is that we're not introduced to the whole group of kids until page eight. With the focus of the rest of the book on the quest to the tourist caves and the arrival of the weapons, the rest of the team doesn't get proper introductions, and there are a lot of them, presumably with their own deals. Randall and Kelly, presumably siblings, are really into the cave quest, but that's all we get from them. Ash seems to be a little more of an authority, but doesn't get much to do. I initially thought that Hanan couldn't speak, but on a second readthrough I saw she can, but doesn't say anything important. Tom Taylor is great at character building! Build these kids!
C.O.R.T. is a fun book with some cute dialogue between characters and the promise of bigger adventures ahead. It has the feel of The Goonies, or Marvel's New Champions without taking itself so seriously. Maybe it exists in its own corner of the DCU, maybe it doesn't, but it shivers with optimism in a way that superhero books rarely do. There's talking weapons! Who don't like each other! I find that engaging.
The art by Di Nicuolo just amps up the friendliness of the book. It's an exaggerated style that evokes Lumberjanes or Stephen Universe, which are both good things to be compared to. I recall his work with Taylor before on the Seven Secrets series from Boom!, and I have to hand it to him, the style has only gotten better since then. It's not only the things I normally notice, like motion and character attitude, but also simple panel compositions that convey stress, annoyance, anticipation. The artist has improved on an already decent style.
Overall, it's a cute book that doesn't try to punch above its weight class, and perfect for younger readers just getting into sequential storytelling. Taylor, in the interview at the end, encourages fans to purchase copies, as sales will tell if the series extends past 6 issues. I sure hope it does, and this review should put you on your own satisfying quest for quality comics!
Script: 4/5
Art: 4/5
Composition: 5/5
Bitchy weapons: 5/5
Future animated movie possibility: 3/5
Verdict: A darn-tootin' good all-ages comic book that follows Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey in a satisfying way.
