The Royals: Masters of War #3

By: Bob Williams (story), Simon Coleby (art), JD Mettler (colors)

The Story: Who needs military strategy when you’ve got a sea colossus?

The Review: I wasn’t lying when I said I liked the concept behind The Royals, but at the time I was really thinking of the metaphysical and social implications when the people holding themselves as superior to their fellow man are actually superior to them. At the very least, I thought Williams would address how this situation came to pass, but none of the characters seem even remotely curious about it. To them, this is how things have always been; any need for questioning is long past.

Instead, their attention is entirely fixed on the conflict before them, which reduces the Royals to nothing more than superheroes by another name. Applying them to WWII makes for a somewhat entertaining story, of course, but there’s little reflection on the broader impacts of their existence. In terms of “What if…” scenarios, it’s more Rome, Sweet Rome than Superman: Red Son. The former is an interesting way to pass the time, but the latter will give you something to think about long afterward.

But the Royals really bring nothing new to the WWII conversation. If anything, they make the historic war of nations shallower, a tabletop game on a global scale, with outcomes determined as to who has the most powerful game pieces. That being the case, it’s not surprising that Japan eventually closes the Pacific theater of the war in their favor, though Emperor Jimmu is kind enough (or bored enough) to halt his advance only as far as Midway, allowing the Allies to focus their efforts on Europe. It’s a major change in history, supposedly, but Williams doesn’t bother exploring it—probably because the only people who’d really feel the effect are third-worlders living in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Perhaps if Henry actually carried his demoralized train of thought to some kind of destination, we’d have a weightier story. Instead, he just wonders why he’s bothering to participate in this seemingly fruitless war, conveniently forgetting that he was the one who chose to enter and thereby escalate it in the first place. In his final (and only) act of usefulness, Jimmu reminds Henry of this point at the end of the issue, twisting the knife further by revealing the Royal pact which Henry unintentionally broke. By doing so, Jimmy defeats Henry’s attempt to cast the war as one between Americans and Japanese, pushing the burden of all who have died since Henry first flew out to meet the German bombers onto Henry’s head.

At this point, Henry’s already got so much weighing on his head that he’s about ready to keel over. Besides his general exhaustion of the conflict he’s become entrenched in, he’s disturbed by even greater problems from his siblings. For one, he still doesn’t deny Arthur’s increasingly graphic accusations about his love for his own sister, a gross sort of plotline that has little going for it other than its scintillating nature. For another, Arthur remains a thorn in Henry’s side, demonstrating an even greater moral vacuum than before. Besides a malodorous personality and drunkenness, Arthur can now add “murderer” to his list of vices, decapitating War Effort for no better reason than “[h]e annoyed me.” At this rate, he might as well be the Nazi spy everyone’s worrying about; he doesn’t have much left of his character to redeem.

Coleby’s art is fine, but more suited to pin-ups than the rigorous storytelling required of a comic book. The photorealistic style is always a difficult one for me to talk about because that level of realism removes a lot of the qualities that give an artist what’s called style. Drawing things accurately is one thing, but Coleby leaves almost no subjective imprint or emotional resonance on his work. It’s simply the script, translated literally into a visual, more workmanlike than artistic.

Conclusion: Bland and almost completely lacking in introspection. I have no confidence the story can become much more in only three remaining issues. Dropped.

Grade: C+

-Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: - On the plus side, it’s good to see the blue-bloods working, for once.