Orc Stain - Colours, design, and creativity,

Orc Stain is a new comic from Image Comics, probably the biggest "independent" comic book company there is. The first issue was released last month, and there's only one man behind it: James Stokoe. He created, wrote, drew and coloured Orc Stain. There's a theory amongst comic book artists that one man crews do a better job at creating comics than the classic writer/artist duo. The theory comes from quite a long series of examples, like Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes, Denis Bajram, and Eric Hérenguel, just to name a few. The idea is that when you work alone, there's no comprise to be had with the creative idea behind the comic book, but that seems to be a debate that has been going on for as long as "art" has been around.

Moving on from this one man crew system, Orc Stain is without a doubt in my mind the most creative American comic book released this year. I am trying not to get too caught up in my enthusiasm about this comic book. To be fair I did wait until issue 2.

Orc Stain is full of colour, the shades are incredible, and the design of every single creature and scene in this comic is absolutely amazing and represent a source of creativity which I have rarely seen in American comic books. The fact is that, by "tradition" most creative and experimental comic books have been European. American comics are still under the influence of DC and Marvel Comics. Paul Gravett, comic book publisher, curator, artist, and critic talks about this overwhelming reign of influence of Marvel and DC as a very negative movement and influence in the comic book world. The American comic book world is extremely oriented around superheroes. The industry is so caught up in the superhero business, especially with Hollywood buying all the superhero films rights. So much so that non-superhero American comics have become rare.

"Why is Orc Stain so special?" might you ask. In this comic, in addition to the design and colour work James Stokoe brilliantly created, there is a brand new imaginative world with an original story, great characters, and overall a comic that knocks down all boundaries. A one-eyed orc safe cracker as a main character is brilliantly imaginative, especially when you learn that the safes are big bear-like creatures with an ancient safe-lock system on there stomach. Need I say more?