Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Niculo’s C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table has been a fun all ages title that, when looked at from the lens of a 7-10 year old, is definitely mind blowing. It’s clearly designed to fill the Animorphs/Goosebumps young adult spot in comics, and the manga-influenced art from Di Niculo only heightens that appeal. But much of the previous four issues have been a lot of setup, and with two issues left, I’ve been starting to wonder if Taylor and Di Niculo will have the runway needed to bring this story in for a satisfying landing. After reading the possibly penultimate issue of the series with C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table #5, my confidence in the two has grown tenfold.
Now deep within Camelot, Fel, Conor, and the rest of the C.O.R.T. fully know the stakes of their mission to save Conor’s grandmother. Not only is she kidnapped by the forces of Mordred, but Mordred is in the hands of the President of the United States, a move that puts an already out of their depth team of kids even further into the deep end. With time running out, Merlin and Gwen inform the kids that they are actually at an advantage, as time moves faster in Camelot than it does outside. This allows them ample time to learn more about their weapons and abilities, and get the training they so desperately need to put up a fight against Mordred’s forces. But getting into the White House and into the Oval Office is easier said than done – unless you’re Fel, and have a secret of your own.
C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table #5 is a fast-moving book. There’s a propulsion to Tom Taylor’s script that moves the events of the comic into an almost breakneck pace, but surprisingly it never completely breaks the story. Taylor’s decision to have time move differently in Camelot gives him a good “out” for getting the kids battle ready, and allows for more moments with the other members that aren’t Conor or Fel. For the first time in the series, there’s a focus on more of the members (mainly Kevin), but it’s hard not to feel like we should have had these moments with the other kids earlier than now. There are great bits throughout Taylor’s script that shows the friendship and love they all have for each other, but it’s hard not to wonder if these moments, and the drama of the reveal of their potential futures, would have hit a little harder had Taylor spent more time on these other members in earlier issues.
DC
In what’s becoming a major theme with this series, artist Daniele Di Niculo really shines in this issue. While Di Niculo’s art has already shown great promise in the past, in this one we finally get to see the various members of C.O.R.T. let loose with their weapons in training, with a splash page reveal that will go down as one of the highlights of the series. The frenetic feel of these pages really adds to the dynamic and unique appeal of the series, and as I mentioned earlier, it’s the type of style that I think younger readers will truly eat up.
C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table‘s latest issue is setting the stage for a major confrontation in the next issue, and while the end panel cliffhanger left me with a few more questions than excitement, I’m curious how Taylor will address it. Despite the almost breakneck pacing of the issue, there’s enough setup here, and the contents of the issue itself were so enjoyable, that it’s hard not to be excited for what comes next.
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