Overall, Dead Kings #1 manages to deliver in its story and in the intrigue to the world it introduces, and it's obvious that both of those are at the forefront of the team's creative decisions. Read Full Review

I absolutely loved this first issue, I think this has the potential to be very special and just the promise that were going to move into Russian folklore married to the strength of the story so far has me very excited for the coming issues Read Full Review

Dead Kings #1 is an incredibly personal opening chapter. It brings us in at the ground level, showing us the seediest angle of its world first and making us experience it with the most downtrodden and vulnerable of its denizens. The opening juxtaposition of a mother giving birth in the shadow of a massive mecha battle seems very indicative of the direction of the series, and representative of Orlando's best creative instincts overall. Paired with Dow Smith terrific art, Lauren Affe's colors and Thomas Mauers' letters, Dead Kings is the sort of sobering and intimate reflection that we will always need from our art. Read Full Review

Dead Kings is what I imagine would happen if the Cold War had been fought with the Jaegers from Pacific Rim and the KGB had been the victors"mass destruction followed by a totalitarian state ruled by fear. The world of the story exists in a realm of magical realism. It hits all the marks for setting up the traditional hero's journey but is compelling enough about it to draw the reader in. Read Full Review

This is one were I want to know as much about what happened in the past as the current story presented. This feels like so many concepts I love put together into what's basically a Western. There's gangs harassing individuals and the loner has to stand up to them. But, it's done with such style that it feels new and interesting and a world I want to explore and find out more about. Read Full Review

A gritty first chapter that seems to promise outsized adventure and fantastical warfare to come. Theres a lot to be said about the way states fail their peoples from generation to generation, and this might be the book we need right now to say it. Read Full Review

Dead Kings is the kind of book that I think is going to reveal itself over the course of the run and will be a struggle in some ways to connect with because of it. I've had similar with some of Orlando's other works and on the original side the payoff is definitely there. What's helping with this one is the great artwork that has me really digging what the team is doing. The core story that's at play here is fairly straightforward and accessible but the trappings and the path that Orlando uses is complex and only partially presented, making it one that you have to put a bit of work in on and some patience for more of it to be revealed. And there's a whole lot here that looks to justify all of it and make the effort. Read Full Review

While "Dead Kings" #1 carries an interesting personality, the script fails to make a strong first impression. Read Full Review

There's a fascinating notebook packed with ideas on this world, but the introduction in this issue falls far short from producing any desire to pick up the second issue. Read Full Review

Dead Kings is a comic that feels familiar, toeing the line of generic. The story is set in the Empire of Rus, now in a state of perpetual decay after the Great Steel War. A man is in search of someone important to him, who has been imprisoned, and begins to enact a plan to infiltrate the compound, but it looks like, as one would expect, things won't go quite according to plan... Read Full Review