A common criticism of modern comics is the lack of original all-ages titles. While the racks are still plentiful with Archie, Sonic, Adventure Time, and other titles for kids, they’re all based on familiar IP. Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo are looking to change that with C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table, a brand new six issue series designed for younger readers, but still fun for ancient ones like yours truly. And wouldn’t ya know it, it’s a pretty solid debut!
After a mysterious stone vanishes from the secret location “The Hill” in Cornwall, England, the security staff are on high alert. With no leads to where it is headed, they can only wait for readouts on when and where it will show up. What they don’t expect is for that “where and when” to be Los Angeles, and for a group of kids to be there when it arrives. Fel, Connor, Ash, Randall, Kelly, Kevin, and Hanan are a group of kids who get together to complete different playtime “quests”, but this time, a real one has arrived. After a bit of minor exposition, the stone delivers each of them a mystical weapon that conveniently has the power of speech as well. These seven kids (and their dog) have been chosen by Arthur Pendragon and the knights of the Round Table to pick up their mantles and protect Earth from the evil Mordred. But first, they have to train.
Tom Taylor’s made a name for himself the past few years with both DC and Marvel, but he’s yet to tackle something all ages like this. In fact, a majority of his work has been older teen books like Nightwing and the current Detective Comics, or really hardcore stuff like Dceased and the Injustice books. Which is why it’s so surprising how well Taylor nails the “Saturday Morning Cartoon” vibe that a book like C.O.R.T. should have. While Taylor puts the biggest focus on Fel, we get enough snippets of each of the kids’ personalities that we can get a good idea of what type of person they are beyond their typical archetypes. That being said, it is a little frustrating not getting an idea of each kid’s personality in the first issue, but when viewed through the “8+” rating on the cover, it makes sense. Taylor makes it a point to get to the action and driving force of the issue as soon as possible to engage the reader, even if that means we’re left wanting a little more by issue’s end.
DC
Speaking of the action, Daniele Di Niculo is fantastic here. His style is a mix of manga, Scholastic Graphix, and something you’d see on Cartoon Network, and fits this book perfectly. While the action in the book is primarily around an introductory soccer game between Fel and Connor, it is so frenetic and well paced that it bodes well for when the kids get to use their weapons in real time. Di Niculo’s art also shines when the kids are all just hanging out as well, leading to some really hilarious visual gags that will have kids and adults chuckling alike.
While C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table does leave a little too much mystery by the end of this opening issue, I’m extremely charmed by it and can’t wait to give it to my nephews to check out. Mixing Arthurian Legend and Power Rangers is such a great idea that I’m shocked no one thought to do this before. It’s also nice to see one of the big two really give an all ages title this kind of push. While it may end up working better in a trade collection (and survive the wear and tear of rereading from kids), C.O.R.T. looks to be a great way for adults to introduce a younger generation into the world of comics.
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