An In-Depth Review of Marvel's King in Black Event: A Must-Read Crossover

Welcome to my first ever Comic Book Review, diving into what is likely the greatest crossover event we've seen from Marvel Comics in years: King in Black. As a dedicated comic enthusiast, this review will explore the artwork, consistency, writing, characters, and overall purpose of this event. Let's get started.

Artwork

Fun Fact: This image above gives me nightmares. The artwork in this crossover event isn't the best thing ever, but it's certainly pretty damn good. From the iconic and captivating visuals to the dark and gritty scenes, the artistry is a highlight that draws you into the narrative. Even the lesser spaces of artwork are pretty nice overall. I give the Artwork a 9/10.

Consistency

The consistency in this comic event is pretty dope. The first book sets a dark and hopeless tone, with Knull easily taking over Earth. The second book continues this sense of hopelessness as our heroes struggle to find a solution, with some heroes trapped by Knull in symbiotes. The Human Torch sacrifices himself to save Spider-Man and Eddie. However, it changes in the third book, where Thor's sacrifice and the appearance of Silver Surfer give a ray of hope. The fourth book brings characters together as the last line of defense, with Jean Grey and Tony Stark's plans aligned, leading to a sense of hope and victory. Book 5 brings the intense finale, with Eddie becoming the God of Light and defeating Knull. The consistency here is clear, with hopelessness in the first two books, hopefulness in the last two, and dark, gritty tones throughout. All the books are well written, and I'd say Book 2 was a bit more boring than the others, but it's still pretty good. I'd give this crossover event a 9/10 for consistency.

Writing

The writing in King in Black is excellent. In Book 3, there's talk about darkness and light, which explains the context very well. Knull is written in a pretty sick way, coming off as some nightmare brought into the real world. The heroes are written in character and fairly well. The bubbles do a great job of explaining the context of the situation. Overall, it's competent and nothing too special, but I really like how Venom and Eddie talk in books 1-5. I'd give the writing a 9/10.

Characters

Everyone in King in Black is written in character. Captain America is a leader who takes charge, not willing to go down until put down. Iron Man is cocky but desperate to keep Earth safe, and he has a bit of humor. Eddie Brock is written in character, and Spider-Man is written in character, pretty much everyone is written like they would act here. It's done fairly well. Knull, the risen darkness, is terrifying, especially when he appears. Dylan has the power to stop Knull and wants to avenge his father. He's written like a scared little child in the beginning but changes to someone who wants vengeance on Knull. Overall, the characters are written on point and fairly well. I'd give this category a 9.5/10.

Purpose

The purpose of King in Black is to have a dark and gritty tone throughout, with two halves: one full of darkness and hopelessness, and the other with darkness but with light and hope slowly coming back in. This comic run does this successfully and effortlessly. It strives to give us an incredible comic book event, which it accomplishes. It also introduces a new and powerful, scary, and memorable villain, Knull, which it does incredibly well. This comic event was exactly what it intended to be, and it did so very well. This category is honestly a 10/10.

Extra Issues

While I loved this comic event, there are a few continuity goofs, such as Sentry's supposed to be merged nowadays and Cable is a kid nowadays, not an adult. I also felt that the ending was too easy, with "Knull's Equal" demolishing the God of Symbiotes. However, these are minor issues in a larger picture of an excellent read. All in all, the issues are not significant enough to detract from the overall quality of the event.

Final Thoughts

This crossover event was amazing and I adore it. I consider it the best we've seen out of Marvel in a long time. While it might not top Doomsday Clock and Secret Wars, it's definitely in the top 3. Would I say it's the best crossover event we've ever had? Probably not. However, at the end of the day, it's still a standout among crossovers. The final score for this review is as follows: Artwork 9/10, Consistency 9/10, Writing 9/10, Characters 9.5/10, and Purpose 10/10, adding up to 46.5/50, which gives us a 9.3/10 Rating, an A- Number Rating, a 4.5/5 Star Rating, and a recommendation score of MUST READ. So, yeah, 9.3/10 Number Rating, A 4.5/5 Star Rating, and it's a MUST READ Comic Storyline.