Ooo’s most polarizing ruler gets a chance to tell his own side of the story, and it’s every bit as frustrating, far-fetched, and fun as you’d hope!
Written by Pranas Naujokaitis
Illustrated by Natalie AndrewsonIce King wakes up one morning to find Gunter missing and a ransom note from someone called Dark Magister Templi Marble! Panicking over his sweet Gunter, Ice King goes to Wizard City to find help and discovers the coolest, most intimidating secret society of wizards who are also looking for Marble.
The Ice King started off life as a pretty straightforward villain for adventurers Finn and Jake but, over the years, he’s evolved into something much more complex, quixotic, and neurotic than a simple antagonist. This mini-series capitalises on the nuanced nature of the modern Ice King to tell a self-contained story that, while it makes nods to other characters in the ‘Oooniverse’, is wholeheartedly centred around Ice King and his life.
Issue one opens with a pretty chilled out day in the life of the Ice King, but quickly devolves into panic as he realises that his best friend/prized possession/seemingly indentured servant Gunter is missing. Flying into a characteristically petulant rage, Ice King storms his way through some of the most recognisable places in Ooo in a brilliant extended montage sequence from Andrewson, before discovering a ransom note that suggests Gunter has been the victim of some nefarious magical plot. In search of answers, Ice King heads to Wizard City, but the rumours about Dark Magister Templi make them seem like a foe too fierce for even the Master of Ice to face.
Naujokaitis has been on the peripheries of the Adventure Time world for a while now, contributing art to previous issues, but it’s clear that he’s just as comfortable on writing duty as he is as an illustrator. Naujokaitis’ interpretation of Ice King as a kind of demented Brian Mills, hell-bent on recovering his lost progeny, fits nicely with the canonical character, while still exploring a more selfless side of the King that we don’t usually see when he’s acting as a villain.
That being said, “Ice King” #1 definitely isn’t a redemptive arc for our favourite frosty foe. While this issue might mark the longest time Ice King has ever focused on a plan that doesn’t involved the kidnapping and marriage of a princess, his brash, selfish mannerisms are on full display here, and Naujokaitis deserves credit for capturing the exact blend of frustrating arrogance and insecurity that makes Ice King so enjoyable to watch and read about. Naujokaitis also seems to have captured the tragic flaw that will not only drive the King forward through the book, but likely be his downfall. Even though he already has access to limitless Icey powers and a Kingdom at his command, the Ice King wants desperately to be liked, to the point that he’ll dive headlong into situations that seem more than questionable, if asked by the right person.
Andrewson manages to capture the manic energy of the Ice King from pretty much the first panel. Her pacey panelling, combined with the flighty way that Ice King leaps from one setting to another, mirror the scatter brained contents of Ice King’s mind, and drag the reader along on a visual journey that feels like it barely let’s up from the word go.
One of the most enjoyable features of the ‘Adventure Time’ books for me has always been the way they incorporate and experiment with every element of comic book content. This is on full display in ‘Ice King’ #1, with even the speech bubbles finding themselves co-opted to further illustrate Ice King’s heightened emotional state in places. Whenever the Ice King is riled into a magical rage (which happens more often than might be strictly necessary) his shrieking speech seems to force its way from the confines of the bubbles and into the world of Ooo itself.
Ice King is a difficult character to structure a whole story around. His history and state of mind are more fractured and convuluted than most golden era heroes and his brashness and tome make it very easy to dislike him. But I think ‘Ice King’ #1 manages to overcome this obstacle nicely by simple switching it’s goal slightly. It doesn’t ask you to like its titular character, simply to empathise with him. By investing so heavily in Ice King’s mood swings, his powers and his mercurial mind, this issue takes you on a journey that feels like a truly revealing romp. Even if, as the book itself acknowledges, it’s leading man is ‘Just a Jerk’.
Final Verdict: 7.7 – The finest villain in Ooo finally gets to tell a story of his own.
