Could there be any greater group of heroes than an all-orc adventuring party? Probably, but the adventures of Bog, Zep, Pez, Utzu and Gurh are nothing to sneeze at. Battling a forest full of enraged squirrels, trolls and the threat of exile, these orcs are struggling to make the best of their adventuring days, following in the footsteps of the legendary orc warrior Drod. Created, written and illustrated by Christine Larsen, with special thanks to H.E. Gregory for flats.
While ComicsXF has no trouble diving headlong into a series mid-arc, ORCS! is close enough to its launch to merit an overall review of #1-3, before continuing with monthly coverage as usual. I have never been disappointed by reading a comic series with an exclamation mark in the title so far, and I’m happy to say that ORCS! keeps that streak up.
The first thing you should know is that even by #3, you will probably not remember everyone’s names. The second, more important thing, is that it doesn’t matter, and does not take away from how much fun each issue is, as our titular orcs get into one scrape after another. This book is an all-ages party, and while you may not remember every little detail, each one is extremely enjoyable in the moment.
The story, for the most part, follows an orc adventuring party made up of Bog, Zep, Pez, Utzu and Gurh, a party with a decent mix of strategy, stealth, strength, silliness and stupidity – the 5 Ss essential to any humor-based fantasy team. Over the course of three issues they hunt down a treasure of acorn-covered gold and fight off the squirrels that defend them, get exiled from their community by King Hrograhgah for pranking him with said squirrels and fight off a pair of trolls who tried to eat them.
Peppered in are moments with other orcs in the community, from the disgruntled cook trying to keep orc kids away from the meat, to the orcs’ resident medicine woman, communing with the astral plane and trying to keep some unidentified, malevolent entity trapped in a wooden mask. There are also continued stories of Drod, a legendary orc warrior with much brashness to match her brawn. There’s a lot going on – Larsen has built up a very detailed world, and its biggest flaw is that despite each issue’s extra pages, we don’t get nearly enough time to spend with all of it.
The world is beautiful. Every environment is lovingly crafted, as if designed by the Dungeon Master who brings in extra props for his battle maps and writes out at least two paragraphs worth of flavor text. From the castles to the forest to the underground orc caves and even the areas our heroes pass through while on their way to more important places – it all feels like it’s part of a larger world, like you could retrace your steps through a handful of panels.
The characters themselves all have their rough-edged charm. This is not a book that seeks to turn traditional fantasy trops on its head. Though there are some moments here and there where those tropes are poked fun at, for the most part these adventures could be happening to a rag-tag group of scruffy humans, some more barbaric gnomes, or even anthropomorphic bears. They’re all cute, and grumpy, and largely at the mercy of whatever their world seeks to throw at them next.
What makes it fun is how unapologetically self-serving everyone is. These orcs are a community, yes, but not one that looks too far ahead past their next adventure or acquisition of treasure. These are orcs that just want to have a good time, and despite some bumps and bonks along the way, they achieve just that.
There appears to be a larger story – or several – bubbling just below the surface, but you can enjoy this comic for its surface alone. The colors give the comic a cozy, storybook feel, while the art is lively enough to keep the fun free flowing. There are more than a few laugh out loud moments in this series. Caught between a Saturday morning cartoon and a quiet webcomic with a passionate online community, this series is a welcoming, fun, delightful romp with a lot of room for growth. It’s a high recommend from me.
