Editor's Note: Black Knight #1 arrives in stores tomorrow, November 18.

Plot: The origins of the sword-wielding mystical hero.

Comments: So why wasn't this released when the Black Knight was actually in a book? Say a year or so ago when he was in the cast of Captain Britain and MI-13? Not to say that it would have generated much interest given the antiquated style of the writing and art, but it might have helped to get it out there when the character was in the spotlight.

The book tells the story of twin princes Richard and Percy, one heroic and noble, the other a flighty drunk. Tasked by Merlin to find the Ebony Blade before King Arthur's nephew Mordred gets his hands on it, the brothers set out on a quest to defend the kingdom. Of course, the blade has a curse so getting it will be easier than keeping it without trouble but…

Oh, simply dull. It's relentlessly, painfully dull, locked in the amber of an antiquated storytelling style, made even more of a chore to read with the King James-ian era speech that always feels labored. It's an incredibly straightforward story told dully, shocking for its lack of energy. The art is functional but stiff, drained of any sort of passion by the tedious script.

The reader is given no cause to really care about either of the two leads or the threat to the kingdom when it feels like the story is being told at one remove. The captions do more telling and the script does less showing of the virtue (or vice) of Richard and Percy. When one loses his life, it makes very little impact because he was a caricature up to that point. When the great threat arrives, it lacks suspense because first, it's frankly visually dull and second, because there are no particularly strong stakes attached to anything in the story.

Final Word: Unless you're looking for some throwback-style writing about a fairly unused character in a dull story, keep moving along.

If you liked this review, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at Monster In Your Veins

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