King’s Watch #2 – Review

Jeff Parker (Writer), Marc Laming (Artist) Jordan Boyd (Colorist)

The Story: The Phantom learn more about what is going on about the Kings Watch, while Flash gets attacked by the Cobra.

The Review: Old characters still hold some kind of charm, don’t they? After all, the most iconic of super heroes all picked up one or several elements from pulp characters or other old tales in their conception, as traces of the Shadow and Zorro can be seen in Batman, some bits of Mandrake the magician can be seen in Dr. Strange and the list goes on. They may not be the most seriously taken characters nowadays thanks to some of most silly aspects that are attributed to them (like the Phantom’s costume), but for some they hold a cherished place in the collective consciousness of comic readers.

It seems they hold a dear place to Jeff Parker’s heart as well, as he seems to not only respect the origin of those characters, but also manage to bring them to modern time without making them look ridiculous or dated. It would be particularly tough to see the Phantom as an effective and threatening figure, yet Parker seem to succeed as he build on many elements of his mythos to bring the story up to speed while adding flavour to the ongoing narrative. The same also goes with Flash Gordon, a character mostly know for the serials that would nowadays look quite dated, as he participates in the action, showing what makes him special without destroying the tale in the process.