Superhero Media: Kings Watch

Ever wonder what a potential, big-budget, Hollywood Defenders of the Earth would look like? Wonder no more, as Dynamite Comics has given us Kings Watch, a thoroughly modern take on a Flash Gordon/Mandrake/Phantom team up that is... pretty good, I guess? Look, the problem with comparing smaller comic production houses like Dynamite to the "big boys" of Marvel and DC is that they don't have the same deep pockets and pools of artists and writers to work with, so rarely deliver work of the same level. For example, whilst Kings Watch has a great plot and decent art, the character dialogue is patchy and the art doesn't always match what the characters are saying. The first time I read the trade, the flaws didn't bother me that much, but each time I go back to it, they're a little more pronounced and spoil my enjoyment that touch more. Ok, so maybe I shouldn't have read Kings Watch right after Invincible, but my point still stands. 

Flash Gordon, Hans Zarkhov, Dale Arden, The Phantom and Lothar are separately investigating strange occurrences across the world when fate brings them together to combat Cobra, a doomsday cult intent on summoning the great god Ming from the nether-realm of Mongo using an ancient device known as the Kings Watch. Even with the help of, possibly immortal, master wizard Mandrake, these impromptu "Defenders of the Earth" are unable to prevent the opening of the portal and the Armies of Mongo invade the world. A war erupts across the face of the planet, with Mandrake, The Phantom and Flash Gordon leading the charge. After some success battling the invaders, our heroes learn that this is only the beginning and that they must go to Mongo and confront Ming themselves. Kings Watch is pretty decent, despite the flaws that hurt the readability, there's some odd plot twists towards the end that I won't spoil, but the real sticking point for me is how this just kind of reads like a script for a film. 

Yes, I admit, I'd nerd-out pretty hard for a big-budget Hollywood Defenders of the Earth film, and I spent way too much time and effort on this blog discussing that very idea in the past, but this kind of "soft-pitch" comic, as a phenomenon, is starting to get on my nerves. Elements like the presentation of The Phantom, Mandrake being played like Doctor Strange and the "epic destiny" of the characters comes across as someone who knows about the characters, but not what makes them beloved, so has fit them to popular film archetypes instead. The adventures of Jungle Batman, Doctor Strange and Batman but just the rich guy part is not what I want from this franchise, I want Mandrake's "Fast Hypnotism", The Phantom calling on the power of ten tigers and Flash Gordon killing bad guys with a spaceship to the heart. Kings Watch is still a good read and worth it for those interested in the characters, but I wonder if it's a sign of things to come for this franchise.