Grass Kings

Grass Kings is a lushly drawn graphic novel that is a mix of crime/mystery/drama. In Grass Kings, Robert and his brothers rule the Grass Kingdom, a sovereign nation somewhere in modern-day rural America whose residents consider themselves independent from the government and outsiders (sound familiar?). Things get wild when Robert takes in Maria, a woman on the run, and a standoff develops between the Grass Kingdom and the neighboring town of Cargill, whose corrupt sheriff has been waiting for an excuse to organize a raid. The conflict between outlaw homesteaders and lawmen bent on vengeance has the form of a modern-day western, but Kindt lends a broader scope with flashbacks across the violent history of the area and the sense that, over the centuries, “this patch of earth has been earned.” Though the Grass Kingdom is a weedy trailer park community, Jenkins’s carefully observed,pastel-toned watercolor art imbues a sense of magic, as the inhabitants see it: a fantasy kingdom of woods and fields, sunset-drenched farmhouses, and eccentric makeshift homes such as a houseboat lodged in a tree. The first volume also sets up a mystery around a long-missing serial killer to carry the story into future installments. Grass Kings is emotional, intimate, violent, and one of the best graphic novels out there.

The Grass Kings is a fifteen issue limited series concerning a squatter's outpost and the mysteries therein. The small community is called the Grass Kingdom, and its inhabitants are people with troubled pasts who want to be left alone. The sheriff in the next town over does not like the citizens of the Grass Kingdom and is concerned about a potential killer in the area, which the Grass Kingdom might be harboring. Vol. 3 wraps up the 15 issue arc, in a satisfying if predictable manner. And while the Grass Kingdom does come under siege from the Federal Government, the real concern surround the serial killer mystery. Tyler Jenkins' art and Hillary Jenkins' coloring are brilliant standouts. Tyler is able to highlight the gritty, pulpy type of art that this type of story needs quite nicely.