‘D’Orc Volume 1: The Book of Certain Doom’ – Brett Bean (Image Comics)

 

Page Count: 128 Pages

After I DNF’d ‘Scourge The Heretic’, the other day, I decided to head back to my ‘Comic Book TBR Pile’ and try something a little different. You know, as you do when you’ve got all your ‘admin’ chores out of the way and fancy a little down time :o)

Well, that was the plan until I went to Greenwich, to drop a few books off at the charity shop, and thought I’d have a quick look in Waterstones while I was there… ‘D’Orc’ is one those titles that I mean to file under ‘M’ for ‘Must Remember to Read’ but somehow ends up filed under ‘T’ for ‘Totally Forgot’. When I saw it in Waterstones, I moved that file to ‘B’ for ‘Better Buy it Right Now’ (okay, that’s enough of that…) and a couple of days later, here we are :o)

D’Orc, the half Dwarf/half Orc, is fated to end the world because of some inconvenient doomsday prophecy from the Book of Certain Doom.

Armed with nothing but a magical yet ambitiously violent shield and a chicken with its head cut off, ‘D’Orc is dropped dead centre in Sunderaine’s never-ending war between Light and Dark. Elves vs. Orcs, Wizards vs. Common Sense, Dragons vs. Literally Everyone.

Can D’Orc survive being hunted, blamed and beaten by every human, elf, goblin, dwarf, witch, timelord, ice giant, three-headed dog, and at least three other unpronounceable magical creatures? Lets find out…

‘The Book of Certain Doom’ is a hell of a lot of fun and made for just the change of direction that I was after. It wasn’t a ‘read in one sitting’ kind of read, but only because I wanted to stretch this one out and make it last a little longer.

I got the impression though that, at least in these early stages, ‘D’Orc’ isn’t a hundred percent sure what kind of book it wants to be. I found it an absolutely hilarious read and with the kind of main character who goes through some really touching, poignant moments as he tries to negotiate his way through a world where the only thing Light and Dark have in common is that both sides want him dead. You’ve got to feel for poor D’Orc, you really do.

I’ll be honest… To me, it felt like the humour and the pathos were trying to find a little common ground themselves. Nothing major though, just rough edges rubbing up against each other while the plot works itself out. It did leave me wondering where this book is headed though, in terms of tone.

At this junction then, I opted for the humour because I suspect that’s where the series will land and also, I’ve really needed a laugh these last couple of days. And like I said, there was loads to keep me going. Not every joke lands but Bean throws enough at the page to make the ‘hit/miss’ ratio turn the right way. ‘D’Orc’ is very much a book where you’ll get invested in Bean’s hapless hybrid, mostly for the laughs though ;o) I’m definitely going to be around for Volume 2, no question about it.

I’d come across Brett Bean’s artwork in later volumes of ‘I Hate Fairyland’ and while it didn’t quite work for me there (likely due to unfair comparisons with Skottie Young’s art), it complements the plot perfectly here. Which you’d expect it to but still, there is a good mix of cartoon humour with moments where Bean makes you stop and think, ‘hang on, it’s serious now…’ I love the way Bean keeps the artwork consistent and vary the tone all at the same time.

I haven’t decided whether to keep going with ‘I Hate Fairyland’ and ‘D’Orc’ looks like the ideal title to keep me going while I make my mind up. Full on cartoon violence tempered with a little note of sorrow, I can get behind that.