PopCultHQ received a review copy of the trade paperback release of ROYAL CITY Compendium from Image Comics. Available Wednesday, July 12th, the creators in this collection feature writing & illustrations by Jeff Lemire, and letters by Steve Wands.
Here’s PopCultHQ’s spoiler-free review of…
ROYAL CITY Compendium TPB
Written by Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by Jeff Lemire
Letter by Steve Wands
Edited by Will Dennis
Cover Art by Jeff Lemire
Diamond ID: MAY230164
eISBN: 9781534399655
Age Rating: M
SRP: $29.99
Release Date: July 12th, 2023
Collects ROYAL CITY #1-14.
In a return to the literary and thematic territory of JEFF LEMIRE’s breakthrough graphic novel Essex County, ROYAL CITY follows Patrick Pike, a fading literary star who reluctantly returns to the once-thriving factory town where he grew up. There, Patrick is quickly drawn back into the dramas of his two adult siblings, his overbearing mother, and his browbeaten father, all of whom are still haunted by different versions of his youngest brother, Tommy, who drowned decades ago.
ROYAL CITY is a sprawling, ambitious graphic novel that charts the lives, loves, and losses of a troubled family and a vanishing town across three decades.
PopCultHQ’s Comic Book Review:
ROYAL CITY Compendium TPB
Family dramas are a subject that has been a mainstay of storytelling for centuries. Whether it is the tragedy of Oedipus or the heartwarming saga of the March Sisters, we gravitate towards family stories to find something of ourselves within those tales or because of the powerful connection we already feel with the source material. Fans of Jeff Lemire’s work will enjoy this comic not just because it is another notch on his belt of excellence, but because of how much the Pike family stands out and leaps off the page.
Writing: Jeff Lemire is a household name in the comics game. As a storyteller, he has captivated the hearts and minds of audiences with his scripts, whether within the fables halls of Marvel and DC or stuff such as Sweet Tooth and Essex County. With Royal City, fans will get that same deep dive into a world that is Jeff’s own, with characters and problems that people deal with daily. What makes this unique from other sagas is that there is the overarching ‘ghost’ of Tommy, whom Jeff has represented in different lights by the members of the Pike family. They are all affected by Tommy as he appears to them throughout the story, pushing them on their own individual journeys.
Illustrations: What Lemire triumph would be complete without another dip into the well of artistic excellence that has become synonymous with Jeff and his brand. He has an eye for detail and a flair for facial expressions that one can’t help but notice across every page of art. Even the little things, such as the closeups on the various radios, pop up as a small but key aspect of character development throughout the story. Big or small, major or minor, Jeff doesn’t skimp out a single thing artistically.
Letters: Providing lettering for a book where every character stands apart and has a voice can be challenging. Some can receive a stronger personality than others, while other figures may start to sound flat. Steve Wands does a brilliant job taking Jeff’s script and ensuring that each member of the Pike family is their own unique person, and the same goes for the secondary characters that pop up throughout the book. The lettering had me hearing different voices from various noteworthy actors in my mind, as if, thanks to the efforts of Steve, a fancast was developing inside my conscious self.
Overall Assessment:
Jeff Lemire is a brilliant master in the art of storytelling. The worlds he has become a part of, and created, are utterly fantastic places to roam around. Everything about Royal City is vibrant and alive like it was happening in reality and not within the pages of a TPB. Lemire and Wands work well together and should they ever work together again on a project, there is no doubt it will be a smashing success like Royal City.
PopCultHQ’s Rating:
5 out of 5 Stars
Publisher – Image Comics
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has six individuals on the Board of Directors: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Jim Valentino, and Eric Stephenson. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.
