Grass Kings #8B NM 1:10 Variant Cover Boom Matt Kindt T Jenkins 1stp TV Series

Description

Grass Kings (2017 Boom) #8B

Published Oct 2017 by Boom Studios
Limited 1 in 10 Variant Cover
Written by Matt Kindt
Art by Tyler Jenkins
Cover by Matt Kindt
24 pages, full color

Bruce thinks back to the town he used to be sheriff of, and how his frustration drove him to follow Robert into the Grass Kingdom.

The Grass Kingdom is a place where people who don’t fit into society – or don’t want to fit – go to live. It’s a haven, a promised land. This has the potential to attract a lot of different types of folks: people who are running; people who are hiding; people who aren’t exactly on the up and up. Like murderers.

In the last issue of Grass Kings, Robert (the leader of the Kingdom) and Bruce (who has been a Sheriff in the outside world) begin following a lead that a killer might be living among them. Matt Kindt (writer) lets the second arc of the story unfold like a thick, rich drawl as we, the readers, are introduced to various characters living within the Kingdom. In issue #8, we get to know Pike. I won’t reveal his story here – that’s for the readers to dig into – and I’ll only say that it’s intriguing and starts to give us a deeper glimpse into the world Kindt has mostly stayed on the surface of.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, Maria – the wife of Sheriff Humbert outside of the Kingdom (Oh, to be named after a detestable literary character.), came to the Kingdom looking to escape him. Robert took her in, and Humbert came in full force to get her back. Humbert and Robert didn’t seem to like each other all that much, and the confrontation between Humbert’s police force and the people of the Kingdom turned into a minor war pretty quickly. The one thing I’m missing now in this issue is a reference point that shows us the tension is still there to some degree. It might be when one sits down to read the graphic novel; that feeling will be pretty prevalent throughout. Month to month, you lose some of the gravity.

I’ve always been kind of mixed about Tyler Jenkins’ art, but it’s settled into a nice rhythm, capturing moments of sharp violence with the languidness of rural America. I’m becoming a fan. Hilary Jenkins’ watercolor-style colors make you feel like you’re stepping into a painting. A lot of the imagery feels like it could be framed and hung on a wall. One image that stands out in particular is a very simple one: a mouse running for its mouse hole. From images in previous issues, you know Kindt and Jenkins are working pretty smartly with visual metaphors – there are few comics on the market that do so with such intelligence. What happens to the mouse in the next panel, I’ll leave for you to find out, so you can decipher the potential meaning on your own.

This is one of two murder mysteries on the shelves with Kindt’s name on it. They are each incredibly different in tone and style, but both told with the even hand of a master storyteller. I didn’t feel that way right off about Grass Kings, but I’m glad I had the patience and trust in Kindt to stick around. It’s paying off.

‘Grass Kings’: Legendary TV Options Rural Mystery Graphic Novels From Boom! Studios

EXCLUSIVE: Legendary Television has optioned Grass Kings, the Eisner Award-nominated graphic novel series published by Boom! Studios and created by writer Matt Kindt (Mind Mgmt) and artist Tyler Jenkins (Peter Panzerfaust), for series development. Grant Wheeler & Ben Freiburger are attached to adapt the rural mystery story that follows the rise of the Grass Kingdom, an off-the-grid Alaska haven for outsiders that faces dark threats as it grows.

The project was brought into Legendary by VP of Television Eric Brassard. Wheeler and Freiburger will executive produce along with the Boom! Studios tandem of Ross Richie and Stephen Christy. Matt Kindt, Tyler Jenkins, and Averie Huffine are Co-Executive Producers on the project.

Wheeler & Freiburger are the team behind YouTube Red’s Lifeline, the Dwayne Johnson science fiction series Lifeline. Boom! has the Disney/Fox feature film The Empty Man now in post-production and The Woods in development at UCP/Syfy. UCP also has Matt Kindt’s comic book series Mind Mgmt in development.

Boom! Studios began publishing Grass Kings as a comic book series in 2017. The saga was collected and reprinted last year in three hardcover editions. The synopsis of Grass Kings : “A rural mystery series that follows Robert Pike as he creates a separatist society among the island homesteads of Alaska to insulate himself against the loss of his murdered daughter. With help from the fellow outcasts and misfits that join him, Robert will grow an off-the-grid community into his ideal civilization. But as his kingdom grows, so does the list of adversaries that threaten to tear down what he’s created. Only with the help of his family can Robert hold the demons within, and without, at bay”.

Near mint, 1st print. Bagged & Boarded.