Arcade Kings #3: Round Three

RECAP

Unable to match his brother Joe's power and skills, Ken discovered a new place to train: the Row, home to the most highly competitive arcades in Infinity City. But when Victor McMax's bid to take over the entire city brings his high-powered goons there, Ken has no choice but to protect his new home - and put his fists to work.

CREATIVE TEAM & COMIC INFO

Author: Dylan Burnett
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Colorists: Walter Baiamonte, Sara Antonellini, Simona Iurato, Sharon Marino
Letterer: AndWorld Design
Publisher: Image Comics, Skybound Entertainment
Genre: Action, Game, Mystery, Otherworld
Published Date: 07/19/2023

REVIEW

The anime-gaming-based, nostalgia-invoking series from Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment is halfway through the series, and it continues to deliver punch after punch with fun, action, and mystery. The first two issues focus on Joe, the son of famous fighter Vic McMax who becomes a fighter and arcade gaming expert looking for his long-lost brother, Ken. It isn’t clear what happened that separated them (or why Joe ended up having a head that’s shaped like a dragon fruit), but in the latest issue of Arcade Kings, readers finally see what Joe has been up to, now that he’s in (or at least near) adulthood.

Cover Art

The main cover is drawn and colored by the series author and artist Dylan Burnett (X-Force, Weavers). It depicts a low-shot, high-angle view of Ken standing in front of his arcade building with many advertisement signs while he stands in his suit looking at the reader, wrapping his left fist in boxing tape that becomes a staple of his costume in the issue. The art is vivid with bright colors and gives the reader a sense that Ken is not on to trifle with.

Variant Cover B is drawn and colored by Nuri Durr (The Avengers, Miles Morales: Spider-Man). The art depicts Joe in a fighting pose, looking at the reader and taking up the bottom half of the page with most of his body. He is standing in front of Vic McMax, who is in his karate gi, facing away from Joe in the shadows. The use of colors and tones emits a sense that one is about to step into a stadium in front of a cheering audience as he is about to fight.

Variant Cover C, entitled “1:10 Incentive Gibson Variant,” is drawn by Jordan Gibson (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Dial H for Hero). This cover leans into the nostalgia hard, showing a classic late 80s/early 90s arcade game in the same style as Street Fighter but replacing the name and characters with those of the Arcade Kings comic, and the name of the company is replaced with “Skybound USA.” The main screen where the fighting takes place recreates a scene from the comic to fit the arcade style of a fighting game of this theme. Readers in their 30s and 40s will probably gravitate to this cover the most.

Story & Writing

The issue starts with a flashback memory between Joe and Ken, where they just finished a round of a video game and have a frank conversation about whether Vic is their dad and how his condition is worsening. Joe finally gives in and agrees to play the game that Ken wants to play (Armored Gear, which looks a little close to Metal Gear Solid) when Vic shows up and tells Joe to train immediately.

Flash forward to the present. Ken is running a local arcade in the middle of an area called “The Row.” He shows up to work with a dress suit without a tie and one-half of his dress shirt tucked in, hands wrapped in boxing tape. The day consists of him fighting various battles, from physical to mental, external, and internal. But after encountering what seems to be an endless string of physical fisticuffs for the day, Ken’s inner being transforms, making his foes second guess if they want to continue to fight with him.

Burnett’s writing in this series has been structured, consistent, and engaging. Each issue follows the same format: start with a flashback, jump to the present-day predicament that is located in or around an arcade in a different part of the town, follow up with a round or series of fights, then end the issue with new details that serve as a cliffhanger to set up the next issue. Although it’s been the same setup, it has worked well, allowing the reader to know the format and flow and what to expect with the story while at the same time providing new details and events that move the story forward. Few series can pull something off at this level, and Burnett does a fantastic job.

Artwork

As with the previous issues, the artwork by Burnett is a lot of fun and fits the series’ theme very well. Using anime influences with vibrant, action-packed scenes and vivid scenery. He even took opportunities to go all out, using shading and highlighting to show the various emotions and attitudes of characters, especially the mischievousness of some of the bullies in the issue. The framing of the pages is still mostly boxed inside of the panels, which makes it feel very stiff and could use more panel breaks to bring the action more alive with the story. Having it inside the panels could be seen as trying to go with the theme of classic arcades having that boxy feel, but not everything needs to reflect that theme to tell that story.

The coloring by Walter Baiamonte (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Seven Secrets) and Sara Antonellini (Power Rangers, Mighty Morphin) was phenomenal. It had a wide range of colors that reflected the comic’s 80s/90s feel, which works well in telling the story, mainly when it contains characters and moments that require suspending their disbelief. Lastly, the lettering by AndWorld Design (Something Is Killing The Children, Nightwing) was done well. The sound effects written in the issue work well with the story and emphasize the style of the comic, and gives those details to the class an extra layer of excitement to the story.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There is not a series like this that takes a subgenre inside a niche style and makes it work as an exciting story. Arcade Kings is one that any fan of arcade, anime, or the 80s/90s would definitely enjoy.