The Crude Knight #4

Review copy from the publisher.

Title: The Crude Knight
Issue: #4
Date: 2020
Publisher: Ryan Little / Plastic Sword Press (current Kickstarter for Crude Knight #4 is here)
Writer: Ryan Little
Artist: Yusuf Idris
Colorist: Nick Warner
Letterer: Nikki Powers
Editor: Cody Coloumbe

The zombie-like Avalon warriors of Merlin have control of the oil fields are besieging Jonathan's family home as they prepare for a final assault.

Much of this issue is setup for that upcoming final battle, but there is some good character development and a bit of extra backstory revealed by Jonathan and his father.

There is also a huge plot twist, with some excellent visuals and what is sure to be a gigantic impact on the conclusion of the story.

The story continues to be relatively contained and straightforward, and the pacing never lets up. This definitely had me excited to see how things will go down in the conclusion.

Rating: 8/10

The Crude Knight #3

Review copy from the publisher.

Title: The Crude Knight
Issue: #3
Date: 2019
Publisher: Ryan Little / Plastic Sword Press (current Kickstarter for Crude Knight #4 is here)
Writer: Ryan Little
Artist: Yusuf Idris
Colorist: Nick Warner
Letterer: Nikki Powers
Editor: Cody Coloumbe

Merlin's rapidly-growing force has taken control of the Avalon Oil Fields while Jonathan, Maria, and their forces try to find a an effective way to attack. A contest of champions sees Maria take on the newly-reborn Sir Kay, but that only leads to further mayhem, and Merlin continues to hold the upper hand.

First of all, the action and fight scenes in this continue to be great, especially in Maria's fight with Sir Kay.

There is a thematic element here of persistence, the need to keep attacking and keep fighting in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, and the theme gets pushed hard, especially in dialogue directed at Jonathan, who seem less sure, but may also be a bit more flexible in his thinking.

This does come somewhat at the expense of explanation of what Jonathan's father's actual strategy is here. The contest of champions is never really explained. What does either side gain if they win? It's not clear. It it just a setup to give Jonathan another chance at pulling the sword from the stone?

Likewise Merlin's dialogue shows a lot of righteous rage, but doesn't give much idea of exactly what his end-goal in all of this is.

This is where the very fast pacing of the story becomes, well, a double-edged sword. This was an enjoyable read with lots of fun action, but could have used a step back to make everyone's motivations a bit more clear.

Rating: 7/10

The Crude Knight #1

Review copy from the publisher.

Title: The Crude Knight
Issue: #1 (also includes #2)
Date: 2018
Publisher: Ryan Little (current Kickstarter for Crude Knight #4 is here)
Writer: Ryan Little
Artist: Yusuf Idris
Colorist: Nick Warner
Letterer: Nikki Powers
Editor: Cody Coloumbe

The Arthurian saga plays out in modern times on the Avalon Oil field, where every thirty years the sword Excalibur appears and must be melted down and thrown back into the oil to prevent the forces of Avalon from being unleashed on the world.

The heir to the Avalon oil empire is Jonathan Moore, capable, but a bit of a slacker. He's been kept in the dark about the family secrets, but things escalate quickly once the sword reappears and the first worker who approaches the weapon becomes possessed by the spirit of Merlin Ambrosius.

The concept here is clever, and the pacing of the story is great. Artist Yusuf Idris does a nice job with the action scenes, which quickly take on a zombie-apocalypse vibe as the Avalon oil turns anyone who touches it into a warrior of Avalon.

Jonathan's family has an army of hired mercenaries, but they are being quickly overrun, and Jonathan's friend Maria seems to be the only person capable of holding things together. Jonathan's oil-baron father provides some backstory but little guidance except for wanting Jonathan to pull the sword from the stone.

I would have liked to see more Arthurian lore incorporated into this, but the story still has time for that. This issue, which is really the first two issues of the story as a result of the Kickstarter stretch goal meeting its mark, does an excellent job of getting the story off to a fast start and never letting up on the action.

Rating: 7.5/10