Creative Team
Writer: Patrick Kindlon
Artist/Colourist: Ludovic Lalliat
Publisher: Image Comics
Killing kings is a dirty business, but luckily a well-threaded one. It could require infiltrating their trusted cloister, perhaps a knife in the dark, or a dash of poison to flavour the wine? But like we said, it’s a dirty business, you need experience, someone willing to get their hands mucked. You need a farmer.
Regicide is brought to us by writer Patrick Kindlon (Antioch), and artist/colourist Ludovic Lalliat (Akutezoïde) and wastes absolutely no time fronting its premise.
This world the characters inhabit is rotten to the core, the Voivode, is a tuber, infested with blight, and must be culled to save the crop. From the moment we’re introduced to Mihas, our proletariat hero, Kindlon makes it clear he believes subtext is for cowards; “The sun used to throw golden light across healthy crops and honest men. Now it extends a sickly piss-colored haze on marginal land and a compromised people”. Alongside the mysterious Doru, he is charged with the task of regicide.
Kindlon’s narration and Lalliat’s artwork dance in perfect harmony throughout the issue. There is a beautiful grotesqueness to the steps they take together. On their journey, Doru begins to educate the simple Mihas of the world beyond the farm. Kindlon exercises great skill as he manages to make his writing feel detached here, as though it was never him speaking but instead, always Doru–Doru is a particular fan of the visual metaphor, and all of them go down well. It’s refreshing as well that humanity is not portrayed as inherently evil once the chips are down, it’s the parasites and demons who have slithered into high society that cause the rot, not those who work the land.
Regicide doesn’t rejoice in its violence, instead, the fights are treated almost as monotonous tasks of which Mihas must overcome, no different from simply tending to his fields. That isn’t to say there is nothing to revel in here, as Lalliats staging makes fights beautifully simple to follow, and his colouring leaves the panels looking almost putrid. The more stripped back artwork does mean that Kindlon has to fill in a few gaps for the reader, especially the feel of it all, but the pair make it work and Regicide doesn’t come out any duller for it.
Regicide is rich with opportunities to delve deep into its protagonists, Mihas is portrayed as an empty vessel, used by Kindlon to have Doru explain the world to him and in turn to us. But, there are events Mihas is witness to that suggest Doru may actually be the empty vessel of the story. Mihas may be simple, but at least he is sure of who he is. Doru, criticises the parasitic nature of those above him, but he still sinks to their level, an ingrained hypocrisy and a mystery that’s strong enough to want to see where it goes.
Final Verdict
Regicide, despite taking place in a world that is not our own, and a time long gone by, is dripping with reality, Kindlon is not afraid to make a statement in these pages, and pairing him with Lalliat the two have painted a rather brutal truth. Regicide may teach a simple lesson, but perhaps that's what's needed now.
| Criteria | Score |
|---|---|
| Writing | 8 |
| Story/Plot | 7.5 |
| Art/Line Work | 8 |
| Colors | 8 |
| Final Score | 8/10 |
