With the new season of Game of Thrones somewhere in the near distance, how are we to get our fill of medieval violence and nudity? There’s the books, of course, but now we have comics covering the second book in the series, so let’s take a look at “A Clash of Kings” and see if it can live up to the book and show from before it.
Written by George R. R. Martin and Landry Q. Walker
Illustrated by Mel Rubi
Colors by Omi Remalante Jr.George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire saga continues in the official comic book adaptation by Dynamite Entertainment! Following the events of A Game of Thrones, Westeros is embroiled in civil war, while Daenerys Targaryen — as heir to the Targaryen dynasty, seeks to reclaim the Iron Throne. Arya, with the help of Yoren, a brother of the Night’s Watch, has escaped from King’s Landing, but the road to the Wall brings its own dangers. Meanwhile, Sansa attends a tournament on the sadistic King Joffrey’s name-day, and Bran, in Winterfell, suffers from strange dreams of wolves…
First and foremost, this isn’t an adaptation of season 2 of Game of Thrones. This is an adaptation of the book, and thus, there are characters who never appeared in the show, events that carry out differently, and designs that look somewhat different. While the characters do occasionally look similar to their live-action counterparts, it’s only so far as they match their descriptions in the books; the show itself seems to have very little influence on the comic.
As such, it is very true to the book in many ways. The dialogue is taken verbatim, and occasionally it will take an aside to go into flashbacks to provide a little more backstory about the characters. Text boxes can provide the narration from the books, albeit trimmed for brevity. Landry Q. Walker does a fine job at adapting George R. R. Martin’s book into comic form, maintaining the story, tone, and pacing properly throughout.
Thus, the story can be critiqued only as much as the “A Clash of Kings“ book itself. The pacing of the chapter is a little slow, as it takes its time to introduce characters, provide a basic overview of their backstories, and have characters argue over the right course of action, but it all serves a purpose in setting the scene and establishing character. Mind you, this first chapter is just the prologue to the main story, but it sets the scene that it needs to – we’re introduced to Stannis Baratheon and his daughter Shireen, along with Ser Davos and Melisandre, the “Red Woman.”
While “A Clash of Kings” sets up Stannis’s goals and motivations well, there are also plenty of moments that foreshadow things to come in the series. Most importantly, as with the chapter from the book, it accompanies Melisandre’s introduction with a minor demonstration of her powers, or rather, the power of her god, R’hllor. It’s one of the earlier signs that magic and the supernatural are returning, as signaled by the red comet in the sky.
Although the story can only be discussed in so much as George R. R. Martin wrote it and Landry Q. Walker adapted it, there is much more to be said about Mel Rubi’s artwork. For the most part, the artwork is fantastic; the opening shot of the red comet streaking over Dragonstone, and the way the light bounced off the carved dragons around the castle, they look fantastic. The way each panel set inside the castle shows its immensity and age, with old stone walls and stairs that stretch throughout every which way, add immense flavor and history to the scenes, and help bring GRRM’s world to life.
As mentioned earlier, the character designs are true to their descriptions in the books. Shireen is young and innocent, with stone-like patches of greyscale covering half her face, while the master of Dragonstone is old and tired but still very much detailed, down to the various chains he wears around his neck. The character Patchface, Shireen’s fool who lost his mind after surviving a shipwreck, is drawn as particularly large and buffoonish, but not to the degree that he seems unrealistic compared to the rest. (Although I notice a very distinct difference in his design on the cover compared to inside the book.)
Continued belowThat’s when the characters are in the foreground, at least. Pull back a little and place them in the background, and suddenly the details around them vanish, leaving dots and lines in place of features. While I can’t expect “A Clash of Kings” to maintain the same level of detail on every character in the background, it is a little jarring when the panels pull back just a little and suddenly their faces become faded and blank.
That issue aside, “A Clash of Kings” still looks fantastic for the most part. The panels are spaced just right to provide the pacing as characters travel, or display the enormity of scenes and locations. There’s some wonderful visual foreshadowing when we’re shown the entrance to Dragonstone’s dining hall, and we see it carved to resemble a dragon’s open maw.
Particularly noteworthy are the very last panels, and for those who haven’t read the books, I won’t spoil exactly what happens, but it ends on just the perfect note for the tone this chapter aims to set. The way it pans out in the last three panels, keeping the key image centered while the light fades away to red looks great, and the way the lines are spaced out through them adds a very nice touch. It’s excellently drawn and paced by Mel Rubi, and made all the better by Omi Remalante Jr.’s color work.
Overall, this is a passable adaptation of the “A Clash of Kings” book. Whether you’re a fan of the series in its entirety trying to absorb as many adaptations as you can, or a viewer of the show trying to get a quicker way to see how the books are different, this is a fine take on the series, and will give you the Game of Thrones fix you need while waiting for the next season.
Final Verdict: 7.1 – If you’re looking for more “Game of Thrones” to get you hyped for the show or drawn into GRRM’s world, this will more than suffice.
