As Bog’s group of exiled orcs takes refuge in an underground dwarven market, a grave danger creeps in through the world above their heads. The orcs’ resident witch is having trouble keeping this ancient evil at bay, but may have just found the power that defeated it the last time. Only trouble is, with Bog’s group exiled, there isn’t an orc around willing to step up and save the day. ORCS! #4 is created, written and illustrated by Christine Larsen, with special thanks to H.E. Gregory for flats.
Bog, Zep, Pez, Utzu and Gurh have had to deal with a lot these past few issues, between squirrel attacks, exile and kidnap by trolls – but after a minor scuffle with a pesky gnome infestation, the group gets to relax. Bog’s ally Arn sells them entrance to the dwarven market, allowing the group to rest, recuperate and re-arm themselves. While they relax, however, the world still turns, and there’s an evil approaching that only orcs can stop.
It’s a good break for our main heroes, who we don’t see much of in this issue. Instead, Larsen takes a little more time to set the table for what’s to come. While the past three issues have focused on relatively self-contained adventures, there’s always been a hint of something bigger coming down the line. Here, we get our first glimpses of what that could be – and more interestingly, the seemingly unrelated tales of old orc legend Drod might actually start to tie in to what’s happening now.
I am liking the way things are being set up here. There have been a number of background moments in the adventures of Bog, Zep, Pez, Utzu and Gurh, each entertaining in their own right. Here, though, we see that those moments weren’t just one-off gags – Larsen has been building up to something much grander. As the orc witch continues her fight to contain the ancient evil on the trippy, soft and puffy astral plane – we also see that a creeping evil is starting to scare a number of people, from spiders to elves, and even the Mother Tree herself.
This issue’s featured Drod story brings back the siren from #1, who, after a short scuffle decides to join Drod, Wendy and Zamma’s party in their quest for an object of tremendous power – and I’m willing to bet it’s the same kind of power that the orc witch seeks in the present. The Drod stories have always been a delight, but knowing that they might actually tie in to the adventures in the present just makes it all the more exciting.
With the focus off of Bog, Zep, Pez, Utzu and Gurh, we get treated to less diluted aesthetics when spending time with the supporting cast. Though the humor is still there, there’s an enchanted solemnity to the elves as they try to figure out what’s wrong. The enchanted forest at night grows hauntingly beautiful. The orc witch’s quest gains import, and the more unruly orcs we see get to be a lot sillier and party-loving than they do when our protagonist orc heroes are in the room – drum beats fill the air, and colors of low lit flames really bring the party to the page. The way the world carries on when the protagonists are nowhere to be seen strengthens Larsen’s already strong worldbuilding, and is fantasy at its best.
While the first three issues are a delightful romp through a new world, ORCS! #4 pivots an engaged reader into something deeper, darker and much more magical. There are stakes, now, an undercurrent of epic doom that runs beneath all the silliness. This potential was always there from the start, but now that the curtain’s been pulled back just a bit, I’m all the more intrigued about the adventures to come.
