Check out the hottest new arcade player in Infinity City and see if Joe’s past will catch up to him in the new miniseries Arcade Kings #1 by Image Comics!
ARCADE KINGS #1 (OF 5)
Writer: Dylan Burnett
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Colorist: Walter Baiamonte and Sara Antonellini
Letterer: AndWorld Design
Editor: Amanda LaFranco
Publisher: ImageComics
Cover Price: $7.99
Release Date: May 17th, 2023
Previously in Arcade Kings: Check out a new miniseries by writer and artist Dylan Burnett! This world is set around local legend McMax, a fighter who suddenly retired early. Joe is his son and a deep fan of him despite some reservations from his brother.
Arcade Kings #1 is a story about Joe, who wears a Dragon Fruit helmet destroying his competition in an Arcade Game. We soon learn that Joe is at the Round House Arcade after saving Rikio from a street attack. During this fight, Rikio’s game controller was destroyed. Joe said he would buy a new controller if he allowed him to crash at the arcade.
During one of Joe’s matches, he is interrupted by a kid, Molly, controlling a robot via a remote control. This robot proceeds to beat up Joe, but Joe can get a blow-off when Rikio gives some insight into the robot’s next move by watching Molly. This causes the robot to go into overdrive and forces Joe to use his near-superhuman speed and strength to completely destroy the robot. After the fight, Joe leaves the arcade to ensure it isn’t in danger. Molly escapes and reveals they are working for McMax, who is trying to bring Joe back home, but McMax is very sick.
When I picked up Arcade Kings #1, I finished my first read-through in a few minutes. The story reads so quickly, even though this is a double-sized issue. The story has a lot of promising elements to it. The setting seems exciting, and the mystery of McMax and Joe promises a decent plot. However, I’m unsure what the premise is. The title and solicitations imply that this game is primarily about a person in an arcade. But the main conflicts are centered around physical fights. As I finish this first issue, I don’t know what to expect from the comic, and in this case, I think that is a bad thing. I expected one thing, and I don’t believe that is what I will get it. Molly uses an arcade-style joystick to fight Joe, but Joe is just a super-human fighter.
The art of the story is very significant and well done. It feels like the older arcade street fighter-type games. The style is immaculate for the story being told. Great work here!
I really like the ideas behind Arcade Kings #1, but I think I’ll need to adjust my expectations for future issues. The art is very well done, and the writing is promising, even if I was caught off guard. Arcade Kings #1 is a 4.5 out of 5 stars, and I’ll check out the next issue.
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Arcade Kings #1
Arcade King #1 has a ton of promising elements and spectacular art.
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Writing8
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Art10
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Coloring9
Christopher Rondeau is a storyteller based in Tulsa, OK. Finding himself with little work, he ended up creating a job as a Game Master full time on the internet. Chris spends most of his days reading everything he can, writing bad fiction, and watching old Digimon cartoons with his daughter. Sometimes you can find him Dungeon Mastering a podcast or streaming on twitch. Recently, he has completed his Master's degree with a focus on collaborative storytelling. Find out more at https://rondeaucreator.com
1 Comment
Wow, this is the first wester comic with this kind of premise I’ve seen. Its got very 80’s & 90’s manga-feeling to it. There were several of these kind of stories in the Famicom era of video games.