DC Round-Up: C.O.R.T. #1 delivers heart and humor for all ages

THIS WEEK: DC debuts a new all-ages(?!) series, with the release of C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table #1. Also, Jason Todd takes his angst on the road in Red Hood #1, Team Ice Cream Man continues to impress in Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #2, and Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman #4 showcases Tom King’s unique brand of humor.

Note: The reviews below may contain spoilers.

C.O.R.T.: Children of the Round Table #1

Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist/Cover Artist: Daniele Di Nicuolo
Colorist/Cover Colorist: Rain Beredo
Letterer: Wes Abbott

Given the choice to highlight C.O.R.T. #1 or Red Hood #1, I am the type of person who will always highlight the C.O.R.T.s of the world. For so long now, mainline Big Two comic books have gone out of their way to not be for kids. Yes, there are exceptions to that statement. And yes, kids’ graphic novels have picked up a lot of that slack (and then some). But as a kid who grew up clamoring for the next month’s issue of The Batman Adventures, I always love to see Marvel and DC take a stab at putting out new monthly series aimed at young readers.

Which is why C.O.R.T. is such a welcome anomaly in the main DC line. As far as I know, it is the only mainline book (depending on whether you count Teen Titans Go!) that is rated ages 8+. Even the latest Krypto miniseries is rated for Teens. C.O.R.T is also set outside mainline DC continuity. And so one really has to wonder how the heck writer Tom Taylor and artist Daniele Di Nicuolo got this book approved and into DC’s monthly publishing slate.

Regardless, I’m glad they did. Because the opening chapter of C.O.R.T. is fun, dynamic, and a great hook for the rest of the series. Admittedly, I am a sucker for Knights of the Round Table lore. So this book’s premise, of Arthur and the Knights’ spirits returning to guide a set of modern kids toward becoming heroes, grabbed me from the jump. But even absent that bias, you’ll find it easy to fall into this story. Taylor, Di Nicuolo, colorist Rain Beredo, and letterer Wes Abbott kick things off at a fast pace, teasing the series’s inciting incident and then introducing readers to the book’s main cast. Very specifically here, I want to shout out that Di Nicuolo and Beredo do a great job a) rendering kids, which not all comic artists are able to do and b) setting each kid apart from the others. C.O.R.T.’s cast is large, which makes sense given the series’s premise. But thanks primarily to Di Nicuolo’s character designs and clear storytelling, it’s easy to keep track of all the kids and tell who’s who.

Earlier, I referenced Batman Adventures, which to me is the gold standard of monthly young reader comics. Part of what made that series and its successors so great, and the reason I still own all my issues of Batman Adventures today, is the series really was written for all ages. It worked for me as a kid, and it still works for me as an adult. C.O.R.T. reads the same way. If you’ve ever read a Tom Taylor comic, you will recognize the tone on display here. C.O.R.T. has that same Taylor energy, heart, and humor we’ve all come to expect from the writer’s work, and it does not talk down to any member of its intended audience. Despite this being a “kids’ book,” I expect that if you enjoy Taylor’s other work, you’ll get the same amount of laughs and thrills out of C.O.R.T.. With the added benefit that, this time around, you’ll be able to share those laughs and thrills with any young readers in your life.

My only concern about C.O.R.T., coming out of chapter one, is that six issues may not be enough space to explore the characters and world Taylor, Di Nicuolo, and co. are creating here. Upon digging around for more info about C.O.R.T., I was surprised to find it is only a six-issue miniseries. To me, C.O.R.T. has legs, and could easily run as long as some of the shonen and shōjo manga from which Di Nicuolo is clearly drawing influence. I’m sure C.O.R.T.’s creative team will craft a satisfying story within the six chapters they have planned. But if the rest of the series is as entertaining and engaging as C.O.R.T. #1, I hope this anomaly will return and become a fixture of DC’s monthly line.

The Round-Up

• • As mentioned above, Red Hood #1 is this week’s other big DC debut. Tonally, it could not be much more different than C.O.R.T. if it tried. But I contain multitudes, and therefore I also liked this opening chapter from writer Gretchen Felker-Martin, artist Jeff Spokes, and letterer Becca Carey. Spokes’s art is the star of the show here, with his paneling and color palette really selling the intensity of this “mature readers” series. (Also, nearly every man in this issue has facial hair and/or a scar. That’s how you know it’s mature, kids!) But Felker-Martin also does a good job letting Batman’s #1 Angst Boy keep angsting in an interesting new locale. While I expect this series ultimately won’t be for me, because I am not a big “superheroes with guns” guy, the quality artwork, character work, and mystery set up here will at least bring me back for issue two.
  • Last month, I gave the debut issue of Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum high marks. This month’s second chapter, which sees Superman grow to giant size after exposure to Cobalt Kryptonite, is similarly excellent and inventive. The Ice Cream Man team of writer W. Maxwell Prince, artist Martín Morazzo, colorist Chris O’Halloran, and letterer Good Old Neon serve up another heaping helping of sci-fi fun, as well as iconic takes on Superman, his allies, and his enemies. If you missed getting in on this mini last month, do yourself a favor and pick up both issues one and two this week.
  • While I’ve found Tom King’s time on Wonder Woman to be quite uneven, his and artist Belén Ortega’s Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman miniseries has been a delight throughout. This month’s issue (number four of six) sees the youngest version of Wonder Woman’s daughter drop into the afternoon before Batman and Catwoman’s “wedding,” to retrieve a time-displaced, corgified version of Damian Wayne. When discussing King’s work, people don’t often mention how funny he can be. I, however, really connect with King’s sense of humor, which is why this over-the-top miniseries has been working for me. The overarching story is a timey-wimey mess that doesn’t make sense yet, but I’m not worried about that. King’s stories often come together in the final chapters. For now, I am content to watch, for example, a flustered Bruce Wayne realize he’s stepped in dog poop just before his wedding. In that and several other moments of this issue, Ortega, colorist Alejandro Sánchez, and letterer Clayton Cowles really sell the charm and heart of this wild story.

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