Matt Kindt teams up with artist Tyler Jenkins for a new original series from Boom! Studios about identity, loss and family. Find out why “Grass Kings” #1 is our Pick of the Week.
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated by Tyler JenkinsFrom The New York Times bestselling writer Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT) and Peter Panzerfaust artist Tyler Jenkins comes a rural mystery series chronicling the tragic lives of the Grass Kings, three brothers and rulers of a trailer park kingdom, a fiefdom of the hopeless and lost, of the desperate poor seeking a promised land. Eldest brother Robert leads a grief-stricken life, having lost his daughter to a tragic accident, followed by his wife disappearing one morning never to return. When an enigmatic young woman named Maria flees to their community in search of safe haven, Robert takes her in. Will his decision lead to ruin and retribution dooming the Kingdom? Perfect for fans of True Detective Season One or Scalped. Oversized, prestige format first issue featuring 30 pages of story!
Spanning hundreds of years of history within just the first few pages, it’s clear that “Grass Kings” is shaping up to be as much about the Grass Kingdom as any of its inhabitants. By taking us through centuries of occupation, charting the previous inhabitants of the area as the years fly by between panels, Kindt is ensuring that, much like the characters, our primary connection is not with any of the cast but with the land itself. Flying through time in such a swift manner gives us a detachment from everything except the only constant throughout, and it’s an interesting sensation to then be brought to the present and have time slow to normal as we’re introduced to the community ruled over by the Grass Kings.
Much like when a trailer ruins the movie itself, we’re presented with one of those frustrating occasions where the solicitation tells us more than the actual issue does. The mention of Maria fleeing to their community is not only something that happens near the end of the book, but Kindt’s writing seems intended to leave her real identity vague until at least next issue. A shame then to have that spoiled by the solicitation, as that information detracts from a real emotional moment concerning the current ‘King’ Robert. The majority of the book is centred around his elder brother Bruce providing us the reader (via a lecture to a trespasser on their land from neighbouring Cargill) with all the information we need about just how a privately governed kingdom works in modern America, however through carefully choreographed flashbacks our real emotional connection lies with Robert. The tragedy of losing his daughter – and again, thanks to the solicitation spoilers we find out his wife has disappeared too – is highlighted in such a way as to make his current state completely understandable and makes him by far the most compelling.
Again though, this character is made all the more compelling because of his connection to the true main character: the Grass Kingdom. How has this man come to rule as a king in the modern day? How does he carry out those duties despite the tragedy he’s suffered? How important is he as a leader to the development of this community? Most of our knowledge at this point comes from his brother, the very definition of an unreliable narrator, and thanks to the aforementioned trespasser we get a glimpse of a very different opinion of the Grass Kingdom held by those outside the insular community, so sifting through the voices of the characters to uncover the real truth is going to be the challenge moving forward.
The gorgeous, watercolor style of Tyler Jenkins is truly capturing the poignant beauty of the Grass Kingdom. Throughout the early pages of the issue we are witness to violence and abuse and death and the inevitable march of progress as the centuries pass, all of which is portrayed in Jenkins’ painterly style, opening with a double page landscape shot of the earliest settlers of the land, their camp nestled alongside an impressive lake, the scene easily belonging in an art gallery rather than a comic. As we move through time across a series of widescreen, 3 panel pages, Jenkins keeps a static camera and uses the similarities between the images to demonstrate the difference time makes, with only a small caption to explain where or when we actually are.
Continued belowThe tone of the book is quiet, but not sombre, and when we move to the modern day there’s a lot of information passed to us via Bruce, but it never feels like exposition. Rather, this is a tale that draws you in and gives you just what you need to want more. Kindt’s script is involved and involving, but his characters all speak with distinct voices. Likewise Jenkins paints more than one double page spread of the land and community, ably conjuring an atmosphere, a real feeling of the town, but his character work, the way they act and move, are where his skills shine. Each member of the cast is subtly expressive and it’s here that his language on the page gives us more than words ever can. There won’t be any spoilers here, but the final page is an especially strong example of this. Jenkins also switches from detailed backgrounds when, for example, Bruce is giving a guided tour of sorts through the town, to merely washes of color when it’s the characters and their emotions that are the main focus of the panel. This technique is employed strongly in a scene with Robert. Three similar panels of him change drastically due to a change in background color, a symbol of both the setting of the sun and of him stirring out of a daydream.
One of the things the solicitation does get right is its comparison to shows like True Detective; both have that slow burn drama with underlying tension and mystery. Here though, Kindt and Jenkins bring us a book about the strength of identity (especially when that becomes all you have to live for,) the importance of family, and the consequences of loss. In future issues further themes will undoubtedly be explored, but throw in centuries of story development, an entire town’s worth of engaging, complex characters and a final few scenes that tease the mystery yet to come, wrap that all in stunning artwork, and “Grass Kings” #1 is a hell of a strong debut issue.
Final Verdict: 9.3 – Not only the Pick of the Week, but if the series stays this strong, this will arguably be one of the best books of the year.
