REVIEW: ‘Kingsman: The Red Diamond’ #1 Brings the Same Charm as the Original
Despite the change in creative team, Kingsman: The Red Diamond #1 is a competent debut issue, and a deserving sequel to the original.
With a Kingsman movie coming soon, it is to be expected that a comic book release based on it to come out. However, Kingsman: The Red Diamond is not a tie-in to the movie (even though the cover is based on Taron Egerton), but a direct sequel to the original Kingsman comic book from 2012, which is rare as far as Mark Millar titles go. Only a few of Millar’s books have generated sequels successfully, even though most of them have great sequel potential.
This time, Rob Williams and Simon Fraser have taken the reigns from the original creative team of Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. My initial worry about this change in creative teams is if it’s going to capture what made the first series great. Thankfully, Williams and Fraser successfully carry the book with the same charming madness as the original.
A new threat is introduced in Kingsman: The Red Diamond #1, but that’s a bit later in the issue. Instead, Williams takes a more character-driven approach in this debut issue. After saving a kidnapped Prince Philip (whose personality might have been turned up a notch), Eggsy takes a swig at him and was subsequently forced to take a leave of absence. He then tries to spend some time with his family back home, only to realize that despite his new-found grandiose spy lifestyle, he can’t escape his working-class upbringing.
Simon Fraser’s art doesn’t compare to Dave Gibbons’ masterful pencils. On the plus side, Fraser’s pencils has a looser feel to it that matches the delirious vibe of Kingsman, especially in the opening scene with Prince Philip. There are some pages where the art gets muddy, but for the most part Simon Fraser and Gary Caldwell’s pairing still accomplishes its job.
Despite the change in creative team, Kingsman: The Red Diamond #1 is a competent debut issue, and a deserving sequel to the original. If this is a taste of what’s to come, then this series is surely going to meet the expectations made by its predecessor.