Reviewer: “Starman†Matt Morrison
Story Title: The Art of Hack
Written by: Mark Plemmons
Penciled by: Brendon & Brian Fraim
Inked by: Brendon & Brian Fraim
Colored by: N/A
Lettered by: Brendon & Brian Fraim
Editor: Brian Jelke & Eric Engelhard
Publisher: Kenzer And Company
Okay. So you’ve heard of Knights of The Dinner Table, the comic about the inherit humor of roleplaying, right? So how does Knights of the Dinner Table Illustrated (also known as K.ILL.) differ from K.O.D.T, you ask? Surely both books are illustrated, being comic books, right?
Yes, they are. The difference is that while K.O.D.T. shows ordinary people sitting around the table acting out their adventures, KILL actually shows the game characters as if they were real crossbow-shooting, fireball tossing adventurers. The artwork by Brendon & Brian Fraim does a good job of depicting the high fantasy adventure in glorious black and white, while still being cartoony enough to express the few humorous moments.
Did I just say few humorous moments? I’m afraid so. For while KODT and KILL usually put the comic in “comic booksâ€, the last few issues (and this one in particular) have been hampered with plot details, exposition and past issue references. Too much time has been spent discussing the machinations of a secret society, the revelation of how they have been using the adventuring party of The Untouchable Trio Plus One for their own means and their killing of the party’s most level headed member Zayre. To say nothing of mystery woman Thornia, held by the same society, and now apparently a pawn of the Society to avenge themselves upon the rest of the Trio.
Confused? I’m not surprised. In all honesty, I can’t recommend this issue as one to check out. I can highly recommend the book, however and would advise any fans of fantasy or fantasy parody to take a look at this. You might want to wait until next month or look for the KILL: Overkill Trade Paperback, but this book is typically one of the highlights of my month.
