Arcade Kings Makes (re-)Debut
About two months ago, give or take, some comic book stores were lucky enough to get debut issues of Dylan Burnett’s Arcade Kings. Though those were very limited, the series has now had its official widespread release with issue #1. Burnett, who’s done covers for another Image title, Radiant Black, has also spent plenty of time with Marvel working on series such as Ant Man and Cosmic Ghost Rider. With Arcade Kings, however, this is Burnett’s baby as he created, wrote, and did the artwork. So what’s this new, colorful series about anyway?
Colorful indeed! While Burnett may have done the artwork, Walter Baiamonte (Heavy Vinyl) and Sara Antonellini (Power Rangers), provide a wonderfully lush, eye-popping palette on the pages of Arcade Kings. The pastel-heavy look patterns a story about a mysterious kid, Joe, with a head shaped like a dragon fruit who is uncannily good at arcade games and actual fighting. When a new challenger comes to town and exposes Joe’s intentions, the pink-faced puncher feels the need to skip town and chase his destination.
The story has a noticeable Scott Pilgrim feel to it. Whether Pilgrim is an influence or not, who knows but the debut issue is a fun, quick read nonetheless. There are plenty of bone-jarring hits here in the first issue, which comes with a $7.99 price tag, but is also nearly two comic books thick which arguably justifies the cost. Arcade Kings is definitely worth a look, while issue #2 is due to be released June 21st.
