It’s taken a while for me to review the first issue of Brett Bean’s new fantasy series, D’Orc. That’s because the hype around this comic has been absolutely wild, and its seemingly endless parade of printings and variant covers is showing little sign of slowing down; it’s been difficult to approach this without simply thinking about how overrated it is, or wondering what the excitement is about. Which was exactly my reaction when I initially read it!

So what is it about, and is it worth reading?

D’Orc is about the titular character, a half dwarf, half orc orphan who is the subject of a major prophecy in the world of Sunderaine. With his heritage giving him one foot in the light and one in the dark realms, he is supposedly going to bring about the end of the world. Accompanied by a talking shield (with a bulging eye and a very murderous nature), D’Orc wants nothing to do with the prophecy, but escaping his fate might not be the easiest quest to take on.

So, first things first: it really is difficult to see why D’Orc has caused the stir it has; I think that perhaps people are trying to jump on board the next big thing early, and it feels like a circle of self perpetuating hype at this point.

That said, in this first issue, Brett Bean (writing and illustrating) delivers a fast-paced, surprisingly violent story, with very appealing world-building. The D’Orc himself is a likeable character, caught between trying to do the right thing and keeping his head down, and this issue does a fantastic job of setting everything in motion.

I’ve read more enjoyable and entertaining, small(ish) press comics this year, none of which have garnered anywhere near the attention that D’Orc has, but I don’t want to diminish or be negative about Bean’s success here. It’s great to see a creator owned property gaining such huge traction and getting so much attention, and even though it can’t measure up to the hype, I don’t think it ever could have.

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