The Emperor of Garat Dol has left a powerful artifact behind. It is said that the Sword of Illum the Great. It is said that whoever wields it in combat will receive total immunity from harm in combat. So why would an emperor leave it behind while his castle is being sieged? The answer to this question and more are found in E.C. Comics’ Cruel Kingdom #2. The opening story by writer Chris Condon and artist P.J. Holden is joined by two others: “Hammer of Witches” by writer Steve Niles and artist Andrea Mutti. and “Seat of Power” by writer Cameron Chittock and artist David Lapham.

Elsewhere at another point in time, a woman is being accused of witchcraft. She’s about to be burned to death when the angry colonists quickly find out what it’s like to stand face-to-face with tre witchcraft in “Hammer of Witches.” Then there’s the tale of a pair of princes who find themselbes wondering what it is that goes on in the throne room of their father and why he never seems to leave it. One of them is about to find out as their father the king staggers out of the room and diea.

Oni-Lion Forge Publishing nails the basic elements that had made the old EC comics anthology titles so popular. Each of the three stories have the plot twist stinger at the end. The trio of writers have found intriguing bits of particularly dark storytelling together. You know the. twist is coming at the end, but it’s always more than a bit difficult to see quite which direction the twist will move the plot when it finally arrives on the final page of the story in question. There are some interesting themes being explored in tight, little flash fiction stories that shoot satisfyingly across the page.

There’s something clever about P.J. Holden’s rendering of the sword-and-sorcery story at the opening of the issue. The distinct style of rendering in Holden’s work feels very much like some of the better work that had been done for Games Workshop in UK in the 1980s. Very richly-textured stuff. Mutti’s work in the second story keeps everything dark until right at the end, where radiance and magic shoot through the heart of the second story. FInally...Lapham does a solidly respectable job of drawing on traditional images of Shakespearian power in a story that feels visually drawn quite directly from the traditional appearance of kings and princes.

One might expect that a few quick flash fiction pieces might feel kind of light and flimsy under a pair of modern covers. The old EC horror and horror fantasy stories were always so totally overburdened with text that didn’t always engage the art. It’s nice to see things streamlined for contemporary audiences that still manage to feel quite intense even if they don’t necessarily have a lot going on with respect to the intricacies of the plot. Sometimes you don’t need complexity. Sometimes all you really need are a poisoning and a zombie and a crown with spikes driven into it. Fun stuff. Deliciously Dark.

Grade: A