They’ve faced devious squirrels, starving trolls, gnomes, wardens and exile from their own people – but now they’ve been forced by their hag into accepting the most dangerous quest they’ve ever faced. Will they be able to defeat what lies in wait for them, undo their exile, and return home in time for another of their hag’s stories? Of course they will – and they’re going to make a colossal mess of themselves doing so. Orcs! #6 is written and illustrated by Christine Larsen, with special thanks to H. E. Gregory for flats.
I spoke last issue about how much I enjoyed getting to know the team, and how much I wish it had happened earlier. This issue only reinforces that; as much as I’ve been enjoying the series, I’m enjoying it a lot more now that I feel like I know the characters. Even without that crucial reading bonus, though, this issue is one hell of a finale for Book 1 of Orcs!, bringing our heroes home, and a step more prepared for the larger threat to come.
I wasn’t sure how well the book would be able to wrap up this arc satisfyingly in one issue, but one thing that helps is that there’s no back-up story featuring Drod – though her stories from the past have finally intersected with the present. While she’s missed, they do mention that there are still stories left to tell – something to look forward to for Books 2 and 3.
Party Dynamics
Last issue really was the key, I think, to the only thing I felt this comic had been missing. Context is everything, and while we didn’t do a deep dive into each of our protagonists’ backstories, we did get to see what makes them tick – and it makes such a big difference to the comics reading experience. I feel like these characters have simply been colored outlines up to this point – well drawn, and the point of them certainly came across – but now they’ve been colored in, and I’m seeing them in ways I never have before.
The party’s dynamics have been there right from the start – I’ve done a reread just to check. It’s just that they were hard to grasp – or that, though visible, none of it really landed without context. Now that it’s there, this cosy camaraderie of colors, every panel featuring this special adventuring family is saturated with personality.
Bog, who believes in the party more than they would think to believe in themselves. Utzu, the wry badass who would be the leader if she cared one whit about seeing the larger picture when she can just focus on her family instead. The unique bond between Utzu and Pez, bringing out the incorrigible in each other. The pride Zep has in his own scrappiness, a toughness that will never let himself be hurt again. The gentleness of Gurh, the party’s tank, conserving his energy for the next time he has to keep everyone safe. Everyone revelling in being indomitable little scrappers, no matter what the odds – and the lettering that brings out so much of that rough-edged lovability. It’s taken me six issues to feel like I get these characters, but now that I do, it adds so much to an already beautifully written series.
Vines and the Yawning Darkness of the Void!
Christine Larsen draws beautiful nights in a fantasy world. The magic of those blues that, even in the real world, make it feel like anything’s possible in ways both threatening and wondrous. The darkness of the vine-infested temple, though, is something special – something epic and appropriately season finale-y. I love the added touch of the orcs’ darkvision making their eyes glow in the dark – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m a sucker for things glowing softly in the dark.
The fight against the vines is filled with energy, bursting through the page – sometimes literally, as vines loom large as they overtake panel gutters, as our heroes launch themselves against the vines to get to the pages beyond. There is a truly glorious double page spread that the orcs travel across, hacking desperately at the vines trying to keep them out.
It’s all in service of finding Drod’s old sword, surprising our heroes, who always thought Drod was fictional. The past and present collide – but what that means is something that Larsen’s leaving for later Books to explain.
Coming Home Again
Saving the day happens to be pretty good leverage for overturning an exile. I love the dynamic the orcs have with each other – they’re a messy bunch of siblings with two brain cells scattered amongst the lot of them that they take turns passing around. Hrogragah being bullied by logic into letting a petty ruling go, and sulking about it until someone mentions a dance party, is the kind of childish, endearing quality that makes Larsen’s orcs such fun to read. Bog’s party doesn’t even ask for much for saving the day – they just want to be back home, be given all their stuff back, and a hot bath.
Not enough fantasy comics take the time to truly appreciate how good a hot bath would be at the end of a long adventure, and I appreciate this comic for doing just that.
The book doesn’t end without one last surprise, though – the old hag, unnamed throughout the series, is revealed to be Zamma. The Mother Tree? Wendy – both allies of Drod in her adventures from days past. Does that mean Drod is alive there too, somewhere? Or did she die in a sufficiently heroic blaze of glory whose story is yet to be told?
Either way, I cannot wait for this series to return for Books 2 and 3. This series has been a fantastic blend of comedy, wonder and adventure. Despite its highly entertaining start, it feels like the series has just hit its stride – and I will be counting the days until it returns.
