When fantasies become nightmares, it’ll be up to a pair of sisters to save their family from an unknown fate. Your Major Spoilers review of The Autumn Kingdom #1 from Oni Press, awaits!

THE AUTUMN KINGDOM #1

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Christopher Mitten
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Editor: Bess Pallares
Publisher: Oni Press
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 4th, 2024

Previously in The Autumn Kingdom: Sisters Sommer and Winter are the daughters of a best-selling dark fantasy author, who happens to be going through a rough patch of writer’s block. So, he packed up his family, and they all joined him at a lovely cabin in the heart of a Swedish forest.

WHO NEEDS BOOKS?

The Autumn Kingdom #1 starts off with the rage-filled Wraithborn Queen hacking and slashing her way through hell as she searches for her greatest enemy, which is her sister. The two finally meet on the battlefield, but before their fight can really kick off, it’s revealed that these are scenes from a book that Winter and Sommer are reading on the way to a cabin with their mom and dad. When they arrive at the cabin, the sisters notice a path into the woods and decide to go exploring. While in the forest, they come across an old, overgrown statue garden full of figures of trolls, faeries, and other fantasy creatures. Later that night, after dinner, Winter is awake in her bed, continuing to read the pages from her dad’s latest book. A loud noise startles her and wakes her sister up. They go to check it out and are shocked to find that a large beast has crashed through the cabin and a horde of goblins are taking their parents away.

CLEVERLY CONSTRUCTED, BUT LACKING SUBSTANCE

It’s unclear who The Autumn Kingdom #1 was written for. Even though there’s nothing that explicitly says so, there’s a distinct feeling that this is aimed at younger readers in the 13 to 15 range, but previews for future issues suggest that this series will bend more towards a more mature age group. Not to say this is necessarily a bad thing, in fact part of this issue’s appeal is that it’s not bogged down by the typical trappings of something that is trying to appeal to a more “sophisticated” audience. There’s no deep family trauma to deal with here, there’s no massive blocks of text trying to world build or explain lore. It’s simply a loving family that is suddenly torn apart by an inexplicable event, and bringing the family back together is all the motivation needed. There’s something refreshing about how briskly this comic gets into the thick of things and establishes the stakes. Unfortunately, it’s also this briskness that brings about some of the problems. While the family dynamic is well established, none of the actual family members have any discernable characteristics beyond the fact that they are part of this family and like each other. Thankfully though, we don’t spend the whole comic with the family, the cut aways to the scenes from the dad’s book break things up nicely and are the best part of the issue. Letting these scenes carry the load in terms of action and excitement is a clever way to make sure the reader gets their sword and sorcery fun, while keeping things grounded to one universe, which means those scenes still have impact without creating a big juxtaposition.

THEY’RE JUST SO SMILEY

The art in The Autumn Kingdom #1 really shines during the fantasy sections of this issue. The designs of the Wraithborn Queen and her sister are great, and the action feels epic in scope. The problem is that a lot of this issue doesn’t take place in this fantasy setting. It’s clear that there is a big effort to make sure the reader understands that this family is healthy and enjoys spending time together, but apparently, the best way they found to show this visually is for the family to be constantly smiling at each other with an unwavering expression. These sections are left feeling awkward and stick out in an otherwise lovely looking comic.

BOTTOM LINE: A BRISK START TO A SERIES, WHICH COULD USE SOME FLESHING OUT

The Autumn Kingdom #1 doesn’t spend a lot of time trying to establish a complex and intricate plot for the main characters to follow. The formula is pretty simple: parents are in trouble, so let’s go save parents. And this works here for the most part. There are some areas that feel like they should’ve been given some more time, in particular, establishing some more recognizable personality traits for everyone involved. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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