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“Orphan and the Five Beasts” #1

By | March 19th, 2021
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Martial arts movies and other media are big business all over the world. They’re commitment to high flying action, storytelling through violence, and blend of Eastern and Western themes have made them hugely influential to all sorts of action filmmakers and we live in a world where even the most esoteric and random martial arts epic can develop a cult following.

Now, I’m don’t like to make assumptions about a creator’s mindset when talking about why they decided to create a certain work of art, but I get the feeling that the comic “Orphan and the Five Beasts” is a comic created by a fan of some of the oldest and most over the top kung-fu films ever created.

Cover by: James Stokoe
Written, illustrated, and lettered by James Stokoe

A brand-new kung-fu epic from James Stokoe, the creator behind Orc Stain and Aliens: Dead Orbit!

Spurred on by her master’s dying words, the adopted warrior “Orphan Mo” seeks to find and kill five former disciples who now threaten the land with corruption from their demonic powers. Part Five Deadly Venoms and part surreal grindhouse, James Stokoe brings his knack for ultra-detailed fantasy imagery and over-the-top violence to this classic tale of revenge.

“His artwork is astonishingly detailed, with an infectious, monstrous energy and dynamism that needs to be experienced by every fan of comic books.”-SyFy Wire

“Orphan and the Five Beasts” #1 is a classic kung-fu movie adapted for the medium of comics. A student known only as Orphan Mo is the last remaining pupil of an old master who has taught her the secret and deadly arts of kung-fu. Sadly, an old mistake from the master’s past has come back to haunt him and it is up to the young Orphan to fulfill her dying master’s request and stop the Five Beasts from terrorizing the people and bring peace to the valley once more.

The script for “Orphan and the Five Beasts” #1 comes from writer and artist James Stokoe, who clearly has a keen grasp and love of the kung-fu genre and everything that makes it great. Stokoe doesn’t write the characters like people, he writes them as mythic heroes who have gained such mastery of their bodies and fighting styles with strange names like “Two Trees Bearing Heaven” that they have become superhuman and capable of incredible feats of strength and control. The love and homage to the old grindhouse kung-fu films are there, along with a strong desire to take the genre and make it better. It is a comic that understands that kung-fu isn’t just a way to fight, it’s a lifestyle and spiritual journey as well.

Sadly, there is one big problem that keeps a good comic like “Orphan and the Five Beasts” #1 from being a great comic, and it’s the pacing of the issue. It’s not that the comic is boring or lacking in material, it’s just that the comic devotes a lot of page space to things like a backstory that could have been taken care of in a full page or some pre story text. Granted, it’s a good backstory that is delivered in an engaging way, but it has the downside of not leaving any space for character development. Orphan Mo feels like she could have a really interesting backstory or some hidden destiny, or maybe she just holds a grudge against the people that left her to die and plays the part of the reluctant hero. Instead, all we get is a nameless protagonist who is simply out to fulfill the last wishes of her dying master. On top of that, while the plot isn’t lacking in action, it does feel drawn out and there is a sense that Stokoe is just treading water while waiting for the next issue.

While the story might have some flaws, the artwork of “Orphan and the Five Beasts” #1 is amazing and an absolutely wonderful feature of the book. Once again, the artwork is provided by Stokoe who’s blend of Saturday morning cartoon art style mixed with hyper realism and an obscene amount of detail all for sweeping vistas and full body shots that a Shaw Brothers film was given an absolutely lavish set and a greater emotional range. It’s not just a comic that pays homage to the stories it took its inspiration from, it does its best to try and elevate the source material as well to beyond what it is now and what it could be. “Orphan and the Five Beasts” #1 isn’t just a comic that feels different, the artwork takes the flaws of the script’s pacing and does a fantastic job covering them up with amazing action scenes and visual spectacle. No matter what happens, the artwork allows the story to feel like a symphony of action, motion, and violence that isn’t just a fun fight to play, but a gorgeous fight to watch.

“Orphan and the Five Beasts” #1 shows the upside and downside of a creator owned passion project. On the downside, if the artistic vision of every aspect of the project isn’t perfect the whole thing can suffer, which can lead to a good comic being hampered a little bit by questionable pacing and storytelling issues. On the other hand, James Stokoe has created something so indicative of the stories he loves and has injected so much passion into the artwork of every page that many of the book’s flaws can be overlooked in the name of epic action, glorious artwork, and strange and powerful kung-fu magic.

Final Verdict: 8.5- A comic that evokes the classic Shaw Brothers films with an incredible aesthetic and gorgeous art and a plot that is okay, but feels like it’s stalling for time.


Matthew Blair

Matthew Blair hails from Portland, Oregon by way of Attleboro, Massachusetts. He loves everything comic related, and will talk about it for hours if asked. He also writes a web comic about a family of super villains which can be found here: https://tapas.io/series/The-Secret-Lives-of-Villains

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