The Darkest King 5. Tony Scott Astley (Writer), Paul Anderson (Art). WP Comics (2017)

The very satisfactory conclusion to a smart noir story.Kurt King , a vigilante ex police officer and his bother Victor, a candidate for Mayor of the city of Coldwood have a very complicated history and are set for a confrontation at their mother's funeral. The threads of the story are neatly drawn together and the final outcome is surprising and deeply satisfying.
Across the whole story Tony Scott Astley has developed a classic noir set up, someone trapped in a situation where the choice is between very bad and worse. Kurt King is a vigilante, trying to attack crime in his city by directly attacking the criminals, trying to protect his brother Victor has proved to be one of his worst choices. When the long suppressed words are finally spoken and the full context for everything is made clear it rings true to to the story. The struggle between the brothers that was festering for so long finally gets an airing and everyone is severely bruised by the revelations. It is great that Tony Scott Astley sidesteps the easy route of a cynical conclusion and has the courage to push in a different direction.
Kurt King trapped and shaped by his choices is the wounded heart at the centre of the story and his path to finally being free is beautifully told. Paul Anderson's art continues to shine, the force is not in the physical altercation is is in the body language that screams the repressed feelings that finally have to find a way out. The flash back that shows Kurt's path out of prison is suitably grim and brutal, the etched cynicism of Kurt's guardian angel is a pleasure to read.. Kurt always was a believer and that is clear from every line of his face and the weary weight that has settled upon him.
Noir is easy to describe and very difficult to manage effectively, the appearance of noir is a trap for the unwary, the real action is always taking place in the barely submerged context. Tony Scott Astley and Paul Anderson have developed a story that captures the brutal surface and delivers the emotional context that drives the action with tremendous skill and attention to detail.
Finishing a story can be a lot harder than starting one, these creators make it look easy and natural. A great comic.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy very kindly sent by Tony Scott Astley. To purchase a copy of The Darkest King %, indeed to purchase the full run which you really should to get the deep pleasures that great comics deliver, they are available from http://www.wpcomicsltd.com

The Darkest King No. 4 Tony Scott Astley (Writer), Paul Anderson (Art) WP Comics (July 2017)

The very entertaining and engaging noir crime story continues to unfold in unexpected ways. Kurt King has just found out that the crime lord he was trying to find is his brother Victor who is running for mayor of Coldwood.A severely complicated personal history is given a sharp twist by the revelation. A flashback reveals the devil's bargain that Kurt made to get out of prison, and leads him to realize just how difficult his current position is. Victor also finds his freedom of action constrained by events, until the brothers meet again at a the worst possible moment.
Tony Scott Astley continues to twist the story very nicely, Kurt how finds that he has to take savage action to survive and finds that the unintended consequences are even more savage. Trying to balance what he has done is leading him down a dark spiral to more trouble. Victor, the successful businessman and possible mayor who sees only the results and not the causes of Kurt's actions has reached a final decision. No one is quite whom they seem and the brutal reality that surrounds them lets no one escape.
Paul Anderson's vivid and expressive art captures and expresses all the nuances of the story. The cast are vital and physically solid, they move through their context with power and determination. Moving form a brutal conversation in a prison to a deathbed each scene is captured with tension and barely contained emotion. The forces that are battering away at Kurt, Victor and the supporting cast are revealed in their attitudes and features as much as their words.
The layers of the story are beginning to wrap tightly around each other as the context deepens and widens, the brother's conflict is deeply personal and also has significant consequence beyond themselves. Kurt is emerging as a great noir hero, a wounded romantic who finds his choices vary between hard and harder, opposed by a villain to whom he is bound to in intractable ways. Great crime comics.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy very kindly sent by Tony Scott Astley, to give yourself the deep double pleasure of excellent crime fiction and excellent comics, The Darkest King 4 can be purchased from http://www.wpcomicsltd.com

The Darkest King 3. Tony Scott Astley (Writer), Paul Anderson (Art). WP Comics (2017)

An explosively enjoyable issue that picks up the story threads and twists them in very engaging ways. Kurt King, ex policeman and vigilante follows a lead to find Mr X, the crime lord of Coldwood, when he meets Mr X there is a lot of trouble for everyone, exactly as there should be.
Tony Scott Astley moves the story with great force and confidence from the point where Kurt finds his willingness to use violence to pursue justice as he sees it and forward to the results of his actions. What drives the Darkest King so strongly is that the two key characters, the King brothers are never passive, they respond and try to control events around them. The similarities between them are striking, Tony Scott Astley uses these to great effect as they cross paths with each other and find that neither are who they thought they were. Action is very neatly mixed with context and explanation so that the story moves very quickly and the same time the cast develop strongly and the stakes of the story increase for everyone. Using the classic noir elements of a wounded hero and a driven villain Tony Scott Astley has developed the story into a very dark and deeply engaging place that smartly places a question mark after the title.
Paul Anderson's art is a match for the writing, it captures and brings out every aspect of the story, giving emotional depth to the events, never losing the cast in the violence. The action is forceful and consequential, words have the impact of a striking fist and the feel it. The colours are wonderful, they frame and emphasise the emotional context for the story. The different parts of the story are given very different colour keys which act to both separate and link them. The lettering is easy and natural, the sound effects are placed for impressive effect.
The Darkest King 3 is a great payoff for the story, the threads are picked up and tied together very effectively the bitter undertow to the story is given full rein and nobody gets away unharmed. Smashing.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy very kindly sent by Paul Anderson. To purchase The Darkest King 3, which you should to see how very talented creators handle the creative challenge inherent in a smart story, it is available from  http://www.wpcomicsltd.com

The Darkest King 2. Tony Scott Astley (Writer), Paul Anderson (Art). WP Comics (2017)

The second issue of the very engaging and enjoyable noir story moves backwards and forwards to add depth and context to the story. Kurt King, ex-policeman and vigilante is becoming increasingly concerned that his brother Victor is somehow involved with Mr X the crime lord of the city. Having suffered a devastating loss Kurt reflects on his shattered past with his brother. Victor is also making moves of his own to pursue his own interests. When Kurt returns to the hunt for Mr. X he finds much more than he ever expected.
Tony Scott Astley has a sure and confident approach to noir storytelling, he is willing to take the time to build up to a substantial pay off and keep a number of story possibilities open at the same time. Kurt is a classic noir lead character, deeply wounded and channelling his rage into a fight for something worthy, fighting corruption. The fact that his brother maybe implicated in the corruption is a complicating factor that ultimately does not distract or deter him. Victor King, the brother who got away, rich and successful is ambitious at best and very murky at worst. The  looming possibility that Kurt is being deftly played by someone else is quietly set up, nicely stirring the plot possibilities.
Paul Anderson's art is sharp and a pleasure to read, the physical setting is very powerful, the locations have a strong presence. This underlines the huge gulf between the brothers, harsh actions are taking place everywhere, the difference in the settings is vital to the story and context. The way panels and full pages are used to control the momentum of the story is great, in a story where reveals are crucial this is very important .The cast are powerfully expressive, Kurt wears his life on his face, battered and stubbornly determined, Kurt moves forward for his mission with a grim determination and bitter humour. Victor is a smooth shark, moving steadily in for the kill. The supporting cast all move naturally in their context amd give depth and force to the story. The shifts from conversation to action are natural and effective, that both are as dangerous as each other is captured with deft skill.
The colouring is striking and very important, it brings out every nuance in the story and creates and sustains the vital atsmophere of the story. The lettering is quiet and flows naturally with the panels, never distracting the reader, the sound effects are loud and pitched exactly at the right place and volume.
The Darkest King is smart, engaging and confident crime comics storytelling using a genre that is fatally easy to get wrong, a pleasure.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy very kindly sent by Tony Scott Astley. to purchase a copy of The Darkest King 2, which you should to improve your quality of life as only excellent comics can do, it is avalible from http://www.wpcomicsltd.com

The Darkest King 1. Tony Scott Astley (Writer), Paul Anderson (Art, Colours & Letters). WP Comics (2017)

A very engaging and enjoyable set up for a noir crime story that delivers the action, context and introductions with confident economy and force. A clever opening sequence introduces Kurt King and hints at past, present and future troubles. Kurt's brother Victor King, clearly much more successful that Kurt gets introduced as does the shape of the plot. Kurt is up to something very bad, Victor may be up to something worse, both share a brutal history and it all gets satisfactorily nasty.
Tony Scott Astley has written a classic noir set up , a damaged man doing ill to do good, with a strong connection to a man who appears to be doing good while possibly doing much worse. The events that bind and separate the brothers are shown and a very satisfactorily grisly climax pushes the action forward. There is a great deal of story in the issue, it never feels crowded or rushed, the voice over is smartly anticipating and commenting on the action. Tony Scott Astley has a willingness to push the action hard and that benefits the story, from the opening the stakes get higher and more complicated, by the end the reader is very nicely set up to plunge into the unforgiving world of Coldwood.
Paul Anderson's art is easy to read and very engaging, the cast are well defined and strongly expressive. They move naturally through their context and have the vital physical weight and presence they need for the story. Kurt and Vincent look like brothers, enough similarity to suggest a relationship, enough differences to make them strongly individual. The art moves comfortably from quiet conversation to brutal action, there is no strain in the change of pace, it flows naturally from one event to the next. The panel layouts are used to control the pasce of the story with skill, the splas pages ear thier slots as dramatic moments and they do not stop the story,  The colouring follows the demands of the story with care, it amplifies the context of the action, the changes are dramatic and hardly noticeable as they fit with the scenes so well. In particular the red lighting for a gunfight frames the action and the intent equally well.
The lettering for the various components, speech and voice over is clearly differentiated without being obtrusive and the sound effects are a pleasure.
A smart set up that gives the reader every reason to look forward to where this story will go and to be pretty sure that Kurt King is only starting to discover just how much trouble he had brought down on himself.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy, very kindly sent by Kim Roberts, to purchase a copy of The Darkest King 1, and you should as really good crime comics are a deep pleasure you should give yourself, it is available from  http://www.wpcomicsltd.com/comics