Stokoe’s colors might be my favorite thing about Orc Stain. I can’t decide. This issue is so incredibly luscious with the colors–One-Eye runs into a swamp witch who gets ends up getting into this poison battle with his pursuers. The colors in this battle are just amazing–Stokoe utilizes color in a popular comic in a way I’m not used to seeing.
Clearly, calling Orc Stain a popular comic has more to do with intent (I’m assuming, with that statement, Stokoe isn’t using the colors to convey specific meaning) than sales. It’s way too good to be popular.
Even this issue, with Stokoe’s almost constant exposition–there’s some more orc technology at the beginning, but it’s introduced instead of just emerging in the narrative, and then the whole poison thing (in orc world, poisons are very important).
But the writing’s strong; though it could use another sympathetic character.
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