Rokkin

(WildStorm, 2006)
™ and © WildStorm

This six-issue limited series from Wildstorm by Andy Hartnell and Nick Bradshaw describes the events befalling a young man named Arness who finds himself thrust into a warrior’s role when he only wanted to marry his true love and raise a family. Enchanted by a magical stone, Arness becomes the deadly barbarian Rokkin, who journeys to Demortia to fight the evil Lord Vulmax. Along the way, Rokkin falls in with a mysterious Valkyrie, fights Medusa, and overcomes a band of assassins. Jim Charalampidis’ vibrant and dynamic digital color palette does not stint on the blood and gore.

— Leland Burrill

From the Comics Buyer’s Guide:

In a medieval fantasy world, Arness moonlights as a monster slayer to earn extra dough so he can marry his true love, Dalia. After dispatching a hideous Grizzlok he’s warned of the coming of “The Hordes” but makes the mistake of hanging around just long enough to get married. Which, of course, is when tragedy strikes.

It’s probably too early to judge this as being conventional and contrived, but I so want to. It doesn’t help that almost nothing is explained about the story (What exactly is a Rokkin? It sounds like a ’70s hair metal band.) and what passes for the “twist” comes straight out of the part of the Conan The Barbarian movie where we discover how slave labor can pay off when it comes to building muscle tone.

But having said all that, this is truly one of the most beautiful comics from an unknown artist I’ve seen in a very long time. Unbelievably rich, it saves what could have so easily been so-so—at best.

—S. A. Bennett

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