Orcini

"Any association with the grand order is forbidden."

Writer: Eric Saward

Format: Comic Strip

Released: August 2021

Printed in: Orcini #1

Featuring: Orcini

Synopsis 

Exiled from the Grand Order of Oberon, celebrated Grand Master Orcini and his brave squire Bostock traverse the Hinterland in search of honour amidst the chaos. However, it soon becomes clear that they are not alone in this strange part of the galaxy. Is the hunter about to become the hunted?

Verdict 

Orcini was a decent little comic strip from Cutaway Comics! I must admit I barely had any memory of who Orcini was but after a quick bit of a research and a picture online, his involvement in Revelation of the Daleks quickly sprung to my mind! His role in the apparent destruction of the Daleks was very good and I liked that these events here were clearly taking place prior to his encounter with the Doctor given that Bostok was still alive! Having them both back and full front in their own comic strip was quite spectacular! The niche of the Cutaway Comics releases really is extraordinary and whilst news of further releases is currently rather quiet, I do hope we get more! A one-part story isn’t exactly long, but I thought this adventure did a more than fine job of telling a solid story and bringing these familiar characters back to life. Taking them into the comic strip format was fantastic and who better than Eric Saward to be writing the script? Now, I’m not exactly sure that Orcini would have been my first choice when it came to characters for their own comic strip story, but he was a decent lead! I liked his relationship with Bostock and the squire’s desire to act brutally first and ask questions later was pretty amusing. He immediately wanted to murder Vera because he got a bad vibe from her, but Orcini knew of her from reputation which was nicely done. She also knew of him as the knight he was and he carried a strong reputation. They initially seemed to get on well and the news she brought of the theft of the Book of Living Light was good stuff. I thought the title of that bit of prose was tremendous but a little more information about it would have been most welcomed. It was clearly significant, and I know there’s only a certain number of pages available to tell the story in a single release, but some elaboration there would have been beneficial. That was especially the case with the rest of the story regarding the search for it and using Orcini’s abilities to seek things out in the Hinterland. I thought that worked very well and showcased what qualities Orcini could bring. The loose concept of the Book being either in Egypt, a city in a galaxy or the Tower of London on Earth was a little vague and not really necessary if we weren’t going to visit them all. In saying that, I thought it was fun for Orcini to encounter the Warriors and quickly help them when Vera’s true intentions were revealed. Getting some background on the Grand Order of Oberon was excellent and I definitely think there’s potential there for future stories. I’m not sure I’d encourage more Orcini stories by himself, but if you throw the Doctor in then we could have a lot of fun! The loose comment about Orcini not enjoying his encounters with men called Smith was amusing though! I thought the artwork was really funky in this comic strip which certainly helped in my enjoyment of the reading. It was pretty striking and very colourful which never failed to help catch the eye. The lettering though did seem a little stocky in parts and probably just a bit too big and clunky, but the one speech bubble that was warped and spiralled was a thing of beauty. It’s simple for a comic strip but it really had a positive impact on me. I was a huge fan. The involvement of the Supreme Galactic Court was a fun way to bring about the conclusion and I must admit I wasn’t expecting that the Book of Living Light was actually initially stolen by the Grand Order of Oberon! That was a good little twist that I didn’t see coming. Vera showing her true intentions was good and it was clear that she had her own motives, but Orcini was loyal to the cause of good and that’s somewhat refreshing! He ensured the Book of Living Light was returned to its historical owners to tie things up nicely, albeit in ultra quick circumstances which was my only qualm with the conclusion. It happened all very suddenly and could’ve done with an extra page or two to really flesh it out. Regardless, it was still a good read!

Rating: 7/10