Trumps - a Silverline Comics mini-series

This is now the second series I have read from the Silverline comics company, and I must say, I have been impressed with everything I've read so far.  Silverline may be a small company at this point, but if they keep publishing things like this and Twilight Grimm, I have no doubt they will begin to pick up steam.  And before we go any further, let's make it clear that the name of this series has absolutely nothing to do with the 45th President of the United States of America.  No doubt, some who see the title will immediately think that, particularly since there have been some comic companies who have published parody comics utilizing Donald Trump as either a hero or a villain.  No, this comic has nothing to do with Donald Trump at all - the title comes from ... well, let's get to that later ...

Trumps is a four-issue series written by Roland Mann, the former editor of the Malibu line of comics back in the day.  Interestingly enough, the four issue series has four different artists - Athony Pereira pencilled issue one; Thomas Hedglen pencilled issue two; Quintin Bedwell provided the art for issue three; and Peter Clinton pencilled issue four.  It may seem odd that such a short series would utilize four different artists, but when you consider the concept for the book, then it makes sense.  As Mann explains in the introduction on the inside front cover of the first issue:

The Trumps title actually comes from card playing games ... many games include the use of "trumps," a suit that has the ability to win against other suits when it comes to catching the cards in a hand for points ...

Thus, the series deals with the four kingdoms residing on a world known simply as "The Deck." There are, of course, the kingdom of diamonds, the kingdom of hearts, the kingdom of spades, and the kingdom of clubs - four kingdoms, or houses if you will, that are waiting for the next shuffle, at which time a new house takes over as Trumps.  And the new Trumps maintain power until the next shuffle ... but, as with any world, some people don't want to wait for that power, and if that means fighting to attain status as Trumps, then let there be war!  As with any kingdom, there is a hierarchy - the king, the queen, the jack, and so on down to the lowest man on the totem pole, the deuce.  And each house has its own Ace, who is the highest power of all - but in this tale, the Aces aren't particularly fond of the petty battles among the houses, so they hang out with the Joker in a castle that maintains neutrality (or so they think...)

While Mann says the story incorporates references to the game play of Pinochle, Shanghai Rummy, Kings Reverse, and other card games, I'll admit that I did not really catch any of those.  My card game of choice is Canasta, which does not have any "trump" cards.  But that did not take away from my enjoyment of the story at all.  Aside from all of the card references, the story is one of human nature - love and loss ... battle and betrayal ... war and weaknesses.  One king must face the death of his queen, as his jack lies in bed with the queen of another house.  One queen is disgusted by her king's lackadaisical attitude and must force her jack into battle before he is ready.  One king is determined to take the power of the Trump.  And amidst the battles and confusion, one Joker has set a plan in motion that could result in an unexpected turn of events.

 

Now, with these things in mind, it is easy to see why Mann decided to go with a different artist for each issue - four houses, four issues, four artists.  The artists are each unique, but their styles are not so different that it distracts from the story.  Of them all, I have to admit that Pereira (issue one) and Hedglen (issue two) are probably my favorite, as their styles are very clean, with facial expressions so exact, you don't even need dialogue or text boxes to know what a character is thinking or feeling.  But I give them all credit, as the costumes and the backgrounds stay consistent throughout all four issues, and as the series progresses and the battles become more intense, the art becomes a bit grittier and darker to fit the tone of the story.

 

In a way, this series reminds me somewhat of DC's Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld series from back in the '80s. That comic dealt with the various houses of Gemworld - such as Amethyst, Topaz, Sapphire, Onyx, Opal, etc. and told stories of the battles among the various rulers in an effort to keep the peace and defeat those who would usurp power out of turn.  In this series, we get the four suits from a deck of cards facing similar situations, and while there are no plans at present for more stories, I would definitely love to see future tales set on The Deck.

If you haven't check out Silverline's line of comics, I would definitely recommend you do.  Great stories and art that deserve notice!

RATING:  9 unwanted crowns and scepters out of 10 for a fantastic new comic that takes readers on a fun ride through a world of diamonds, hearts, clubs, and spades!  (And we're not even in Wonderland!)