Posted in: Comics | Tagged: ausar, auset, bes, david lenormand, HRL, kickstarter, kids 2 kings, manuel godoy, nehbet, Seth

Kids 2 Kings #1 And #2 Review: A Gorgeous, Finely Crafted Ancient-Inspired Epic

My sister actually came across this comic in Nashville about a week ago. The creators were there and promoting the series. My sister was kind enough to tell them that I worked for Bleeding Cool and purchased me the first two copies of Kids 2 Kings.

The story is set in the ancient world wherein there are Ancients, godlike beings with immense and mysterious power, and Mortals, beings with great powers that are still, well, mortal.

A diplomatic envoy from Kerma arrives in the land of Kush made up of a royal family and their children. The children are Ausar, Seth, Auset, and Nehbet. Immediately upon arriving, Ausar challenges his friend and rival Bes, son to the king of Kush, to a battle. The parents allow the battle, but Bes postpones it, as he wants an exhibition of the powers of Ausar's siblings. Seth can control the sand and manipulate perception, Auset is an illusionist, and Nehbet can control the elements — though Nehbet is not yet fully in control of her powers.

The battle picks up in the second issue, and we get some background on the rivalry between Ausar and Bes, including the how Ausar's family has stoked the flames of rivalry.

I will discuss the downsides first. The main confusion in reading these first two issues are the adults. In short, I'm not sure who is who. None of them are particularly well established. The King of Kush is easily identifiable by his garb, and I figured out who the mother and grandfather of Ausar were by the end of the second issue. However, beyond that, I was unsure who was related to Ausar, who was related to Bes, and who is merely a part of the envoy.

The context for the visit, the relationship between the two families, and what is going on between them is left unexplained in the first two issues, as well. The rivalry and battle between Ausar and Bes is the main plot for these introductory comics, but a little more backstory would have really helped.

That being said, the children are far better established and identifiable. Ausar is a hot-headed Shonen-esque protagonist, Bes is more collected, Seth is a passive intellectual, Auset is a trickster, and Nehbet is a timid girl with incredible power.

And they're quite likable. It was easy to be invested in these characters. Ausar is cool, and Seth is interesting. Auset and Nehbet don't receive quite as much characterization, but that could be resolved in future issues.

The action sequences are awesome, too. These kids are really cool, and their abilities are very impressive. The battle between Ausar and Bes is incredible and reminiscent of some great showdowns in manga and anime.

The dialogue is solid, too. There are some good one-liners, and, despite some of the above-mentioned gaps in establishment and exposition, the dialogue moves the plot forward handily and lets you know what kind of relationships exist between most of the characters while letting you know who the characters themselves are.

As you can see, the writing is rock-solid overall, and writer Manuel Godoy should be proud of what he's put together here.

The art, as you can see, is heavily inspired by manga and anime. However, it has a depth and texture that many offerings of those genres lack, and it works to this comic's advantage. Artist David Lenormand's work here is gorgeous, and, as I already said, he makes the action scenes and display of powers look great.

As I said in my article about Marvel's America Chavez being made into a goddess character, both Marvel and DC could use more gods and goddesses in their rotation (and not just in one-off stories) that have South American, African, and Asian origins. In short, they could use a little color in their pool of immortals. They don't even have to come from a mythology, though using mythology comes with a baked-in backstory and personality.

Kids 2 Kings provides the kind of things I'm looking for. These are awesome characters of African and Middle-Eastern origin, and they're gods (or demigods). It's cool, and I'm always up for more variety and diversity of characters in comic books. I would love to see Kids 2 Kings take off and be able to fund an ongoing series.

That's why I'm linking to the Kickstarter page for this comic. I want to see it go farther. The project has already exceeded its goal, but extra support always helps. There is also talk of a motion comic and, potentially, an animated series.

Creators Manuel Godoy and David Lenormand did some great work here, and you should seek this comic out and pick up an issue. This one easily gets a recommendation.

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