Since we’re now at the halfway point of C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table, it makes sense for the stakes to be raised. Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo’s all ages series has been setting up the pieces for two issues now, doling out the lore in fits and starts for this new take on King Arthur and his knights. With C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table #3, our leads Fel, Kevin, and Conor come face to face with the forces of Mordred, but not before they get an assist from the legendary wizard himself, Merlin. With Merlin’s arrival, C.O.R.T. gives us a few more teases of the overall story, but also sidelines much of the supporting cast.
As the forces of Mordred surround the C.O.R.T., the weapons of Camelot spring into action. Despite still being untested with their weapons, the kids are able to shoot down a helicopter, deflect and reflect a firing squad attack, and keep Mordred’s goons at bay. As a fog enters the field, the kids start to wonder which one of them has a weapon with this ability. Unfortunately, none of them do, as the fog is started by Merlin, making his long awaited C.O.R.T. debut. Looking less like the famed bearded wizard and more like a cross between John Constantine and Goku from Dragon Ball Z, Merlin whisks the kids and their families off to a secret base in Cornwall, where the Camelot Corps (the group that has been monitoring the weapons since issue #1) are waiting for them. It’s here that they will learn to fully utilize and control their weapons to fend off Mordred. But Merlin tells them it will take weeks for them to master their weapons, and with Conor’s grandma kidnapped, that’s time that they don’t have. Until Fel is instructed to create a rift between the veil between worlds, uncovering the lost land of Camelot itself!
One of the things that has impressed me with Tom Taylor’s scripts for C.O.R.T. is how well he’s able to present these ideas for all ages. Obviously there’s a focus for DC to get younger readers into comics with this series, and they’ll have plenty to like here, but I will say that there’s a lot of untapped potential with the rest of the members of C.O.R.T.. The plotting for the series is great, and moves along at a pace that younger readers will love, but for anyone older reading the series (either with the younger readers or solo) will find some of the character work that Taylor has made a name for himself with a little lacking in this issue. Since we’re at the halfway point of the series, that’s a bit to be expected, but I have to wonder if shrinking the roster of the Knights of the Round Table for this series would have helped the script out or not.
DC
One area where C.O.R.T. doesn’t disappoint is with Daniele Di Nicuolo’s art, which is possibly the best it’s looked in the series with this issue. Di Nicuolo’s anime influences are in full effect here, with the abilities of the weapons laying waste to Mordred’s forces in fun and ingenious ways, even though I still wish Mordred’s army looked more interesting than Agent Smith clones. Di Nicuolo also does a great job of mixing up the panel layouts during this sequence, which offers a really awesome and kinetic feel to the action. Colorist Rain Beredo really shines here as well, crafting some of the most beautiful magical color effects I’ve seen in quite some time.
C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table’s third issue isn’t going to throw off those of us who have been following from the beginning, but I think it may have some people wanting more from the characters we’ve yet to be introduced to. There’s a lot of potential stakes that are missing from the book because we only know the backstories for two of the characters in the book. Having Conor’s grandmother be one of the kidnapped parental figures raises the stakes for sure, but I have to wonder if we had another issue where we followed the other kids if those stakes would be even higher. That being said, C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table is still a really fun Saturday morning cartoon in comic form, even though it may start to feel better to read as a collected edition.
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