Action Lab Entertainment 2015
Written by Robert Tinnell
Illustrated by Brandon & Brian Fraim
I‘m still not sure I like the idea of Merlin and the Lady of the Lake having chosen an American to wield Excalibur. Other than that I am enjoying the way Robert is telling this story with a boy having dreams coming the realization that it may all just be true and finding friends whom he can count on to be there for him.
Kevin’s dreams have always troubled him but here we see finally that Merlin has managed to communicate with him and import upon him his new destiny. Granted he has questions as to why him but of course that’s the Lady in the Lake’s decision and he doesn’t question it, what is is what is. Also the transition from sleep to waking is handled much better for Kevin and by using Find-it.com, i’m going to assume that if you use an established search engine there’s copyright’s involved?, to research the sword, Morgan Le Fay and all that jazz that he’s finally ready to embrace his dreams.
So from skipping breakfast after listening to his folks talk, to being distracted all day at school and seeing demons in the shadows, who are agents of Morgan’s, leading up to an event that well for us readers will solidify why Kevin was chosen to wield Excalibur. While we know that all this rain they are experiencing is unnatural no one else seems to and as teenagers are prone to doing a few make a bad decision and decided the flooded waterway was a good place to inner tube. So naturally Jack goes first, gets stuck in the water and can’t get out and it’s Kevin to the rescue with Maggie and Ben’s help of course.
After hearing the snarl in the woods around them Kevin tells them about what’s going on and naturally they are skeptical until the demon pops out and suddenly well seeing is believing. So what happens next to end the issue you’ll have to read it to find out but suffice it to say while this is an all ages title don’t let it fool you there’s very much happening here that many adults can identify with. The characterization here is pretty darn strong and gives you a great sense of who each of these kids are. This is a fantastical adventure they are going to embark on and one that will force them in many ways to grow up faster than they’d planned but because each of them has their own unique skill sets already what they can do together as a team and as friends is much more comforting to see.
I also really like the Fraim brothers work here as well. They really do nicely to keep the all ages look even when dealing with one of Morgan’s pet demons. It’s very much to me a nice Saturday Morning cartoon look and feel to what’s happening. So we get a good look at emotions that the characters feel and the mood and tone of the book is nicely showcased. Though a little more consistency when they rescued Jack in the rain would’ve been nice considered it seemed from panel to panel the rain either stopped or was a monsoon or just stopped leaving that cement waterway overflowing and violent for little reason.
Still this is a very nice, fun and interesting little book good perfectly suited for anyone of any age and that’s how it should be.