Obscure Comic of the Month is a column where I take a look at a comic or series that hasn't really been talked about. This covers independent comics, zines, weird spin-offs, webcomics and more.
--------------------------------------------
Knights vs Pirates by Jay Martin, Chris Imber and Chris Jenkins - 2020 Reckless Hero
Contains Mild Spoilers
We like to get somewhat intellectual here at Obscure Comic of the Month (and by we I mean me.) Whether it's dissecting the Life is Strange comic's criticism of it's own source material, or discussing what the alien societies of Prism Stalker have to say about mankind's inhumanity to man, dissecting themes, subtext and metaphor is what a lot of this column is all about.
Sometimes, however, along comes a comic that is shaped exactly as it is. Where there are no depths to plunge. What you see it what you get. Knights vs Pirates is one of these types of comics.
Pitting King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table against the crew of legendary pirate Blackbeard, Knights vs Pirates steps into a long standing genre of historical mashups that we have previously seen in such things as the video game For Honour, the tabletop game Unmatched Battle of Legends and the Half-Life mod Pirates, Vikings and Knights.
The video game comparison is apt, really, as Knights vs Pirates is all about the action. Jay Martin isn't here to bring us a story about the class differentiation between noble knights and stateless pirates. He's not here to bring us any kind of exploration of each character's mythic qualities and the legacy they left in historical folklore. He's here to have a bunch of cool looking guys with swords smash up against a bunch of cool looking guys with guns, on boats. It's not dissimilar to downloading a skin pack for Unreal Tournament 2004 so that you can have Gordon Freeman fight the Master Chief.
If it sounds like I'm counting all this as a negative against the work of Martin, Imber and Jenkins you may be surprised to find out that I'm not. If you know me, you know I actually love downloading skin packs for Unreal Tournament 2004 so that I can have Gordon Freeman fight the Master Chief.
Is there a reason that King Arthur here wears the St George's Cross and a crusader's bucket helm, despite predating both those things by centuries? Because it looks cool that's why. The historical and folkloric perspective doesn't really matter. This is pure popcorn munching entertainment. It's smashing action figures together in comic book form, and Knights vs Pirates manages to excel at such goals with high speed and panache.
The story, such as it is, takes place during Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, as pestilence stalks the land. However, he and his knights become embroiled with the machinations of Poseidon of Atlantis (Why is there a Greek God here and why does he also happen to be a fish man? Because it's cool, that's why,) as has, centuries later, Blackbeard and his crew, who are lured to the Bermuda Triangle and sent backwards in time with the promise of riches and glory.
As the Knights come to terms with gunpowder weapons and the pirates capitalise upon the confused forces of the past, so proceeds a series of battles and skirmishes between Arthur and Blackbeard's forces. The characters are all larger than life, more akin to Street Fighter characters than their historical counterparts, with their own colourful set of unique designs, motivation and gimmicks.
Chris Imber's fast and bold art really stands out in these battles. Keeping a sense of movement and logic at the same time, while making every bloody strike and blow feel heavy and visceral. Likewise, Jenkin's vivid colours really pop out of the page, and bring to life the personalities of these colourful characters (pun intended.)
The writing is archetypal with Arthur so noble it's almost maudlin, and Blackbeard very much the pantomime villain. Still, there are genuine moments of pathos here and there, such as Blackbeard expressing his past admiration for Arthur when he read stories of his adventures as a boy, and being nightmarishly torn between the optimism of his youth and the cynicism and selfishness that has overtaken his life.
Like any good versus story, after many bloody losses, the two sides eventually join forces to fight the real villain. Poseidon rises at the end to reveal the full extent of his schemes, which primarily concerned the retrieval of Excalibur, the sword having been constructed from his three pronged trident (Why? Because it's cool, that's why.) The climax brings an action packed battle as Imber really pushes the visuals to create a striking melee between Knight, Pirate and aquatic sea-folk.
Knights vs Pirates is excellent evidence that you can produce a story that is silly and over the top without being dumb. It's shallow only in the sense that greater depth would actively make the story worse. The story need not be saddled with attempts at highbrow storytelling. This is a monster truck rally. This is professional wrestling. This is a visual cavalcade of larger than life characters carrying larger than life weapons.
I can safely say that if I had read this as a sixteen year old I would have easily become obsessed with it, and sometimes, you just have to give the sixteen year old inside yourself something like this every now and again, as a treat.
------------------
Jack Harvey 2023. Knights Vs Pirates (c) 2020 Reckless Hero. Images used under Fair Use.
