Join Ken as he battles to protect The Row, home to the most competitive arcades in Infinity City, from the clutches of McMax! Discover the enemies he’s made in Arcade Kings #3 by Image Comics!

ARACADE KINGS #3 (OF 5)

Writer: Dylan Burnett
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Colorist: Walter Baiamonte and Sara Antonellini
Letterer: AndWorld Design
Editor: Amanda LaFranco
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $7.99
Release Date: July 19th, 2023 

Previously in Arcade Kings: Joe was always the better fighter and more loved than Ken. Because of that, Ken had to find his own way in the world to avoid the influence of his father and the McMax Corporation. Now that Joe has decided to trek alone, he hopes to find his brother and reconcile.

Arcade Kings #3 starts with an introduction of Ken being left behind as a child. All Ken wanted was to play co-op games with his brother, but it was inhibited by Joe’s training and Ken never quite being as good. In the present day, Ken runs an arcade and protects The Row from McMax’s thugs, who want to drive out business owners for McMax to eventually buy up. The book shows one such incident where McMax’s thugs are harassing a business, and Ken gets sucker punched but decides not to fight back. Later, Minerva visits Ken, who gives him one last option to sell, which he refuses. Shortly after, he is jumped by more thugs. But this time, he turns into something monstrous and gives the thugs a thrashing.

The following day, injured and bruised, Ken reorganizes his arcade when he realizes someone is still there. To his surprise, it’s none other than his brother Joe.

I really like the setting of the Arcade Kings title and the thematic fight against a corporation in an exciting genre. However, Arcade Kings #3 portrays the first character I am deeply invested in, continuing the trend that the secondary characters seemingly have more personality than Joe, the series protagonist. Ken is relatable. He struggles with living in the shadow of his family and standing up to “the man” when no one else will. While this trope is old, the setting revives these themes through the monster Ken momentarily became. With Ken’s introduction, the writers will have to work hard for us to return to Joe’s point of view for the rest of the story.

The art in this series continues to be fantastic and unique, and in this particular issue, I was impressed by the colors. Great work by the creative team to make dynamic character and background designs while also trying to keep this series’ unique details.

Arcade Kings #3 is my favorite issue in the series thus far and provides a ton of depth to the series. Ken is someone I want to root for, and I hope that they can implement the character without overshadowing anyone else. For me, this was the perfect issue for this series, renewing my interest in the middle comic and shoring up some of the weaker narrative elements in the characters. With that in mind, Arcade Kings #3 is a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

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Arcade Kings #3

100%

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Great Read

Arcade Kings #3 introduces an engaging point of view character, offering us a unique insight into the world and setting.

• Writing

  10
• Art

  10
• Coloring

  10
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