KING KONG: THE GREAT WAR #1, from Dynamite Comics on 5/10/23, returns to Skull Island during the Great War when a group of German soldiers are shipwrecked and forced to survive against monsters.
The Details
- Written by: Alex Cox
- Art by: Tommaso Bianchi
- Colors by: James Devlin
- Letters by: Taylor Esposito
- Cover art by: Bryan Hitch (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Teen+
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: May 10, 2023
Is It Good?
In all honesty, KING KONG: THE GREAT WAR #1 came out of nowhere, so we didn’t know what to expect. So far, KING KONG: THE GREAT WAR #1 is a good start to a period adventure on Skull Island. Except for one or two down points, which is more preference than a technical flaw, this is a solid issue.
Alex Cox’s script centers on a group of German soldiers who find themselves shipwrecked (sub-wrecked?) on Skull Island while performing maneuvers in the Pacific Ocean. It’s not clear (yet) exactly how the sub was wrecked, but hints are dropped suggesting the submarine encountered one of Skull Island’s oversized inhabitants.
If there’s a minor down point that makes this issue a little hard to get into, it’s that Cox leans heavily into random snippets of information, memory flashes, and general disorientation to get readers into the mindset of the captain and crew. If the goal was to convey a general sense of confusion and post-wreck shock, Cox achieved it. The major monster and movement scenes are there for readers to get the gist of what’s happening, but the flow of the issue is clunky in spots.
As for the larger down point, which is preferential rather than technical – Cox isn’t showing readers anything new here. A group of outsiders arrives on Skull Island, and mayhem ensues. In fairness, this is just the first issue, so Cox could take the story to completely new and engaging places, but this first issue essentially repeats every Kong movie you’ve ever seen but with a different cast of outsiders. We’ll see how the next issue plays out.
How’s the art? It’s solid. Tommaso Bianchi has a keen eye for… eyes. In particular, the survivors have deep, sunken eyes indicating exhaustion and fear, and it looks great. Bianchi’s inks are “scratchy”, and the characters lose a lot of detail in the wide shouts, but what counts is the monsters. Bianchi nails the monsters, so if you’re more interested in Kong than the humans, you’re in for a good time.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a man waking up on a lonely beach on an uncharted island in the Pacific. Through the haze of his ordeal, the man (a Sea Captain) finds the wreckage of his submarine and the bodies of his shipmates. When he searches the shoreline for others, he encounters a massive sea monster. Fortunately, a group of armed shipmates is nearby, and they kill the monster before the Captain is eaten.
Later, the crew looks to the Captain for leadership and guidance as the tide comes closer to their position. The Captain orders the men to climb the nearby cliff to seek shelter in a cave before reaching the cliff’s summit. As the sun sets, strange noises urge the Captain to set a posted guard near the cave’s mouth.
We conclude the issue with one less guard, a shape big enough to block out the moon, and crunching noises.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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KING KONG: THE GREAT WAR #1 begins a new excursion to Skull Island with a new set of outsiders who find themselves shipwrecked during the height of the Great War. The monster designs, especially Kong, look great, and Cox nails the atmosphere of disorientation and desperation. However, this issue feels like more of what we’ve seen before, so it’s up to issue #2 to hook readers.
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