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Thieves & Kings #1
Thieves & Kings: The Red Book
Volume one of Thieves & Kings collects the first six issues of the original comic book series under one cover, introducing the story of the young thief, Rubel. Making his way amidst the powerful events changing his world, soldiers and pirates, kings and princesses, and a Shadow Lady of the Sleeping Wood fill his life with gambles and adventure.
154 pages, Paperback
First published September 25, 1998
4 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Mark Oakley
30 books17 followersMark Oakley, born in Montreal in 1970, has lived in cities all over eastern Canada and currently calls Halifax, Nova Scotia, home.
Oakley’s early background was in commercial animation, and he is today best known for his work on the independently published all-ages comic book fantasy adventure series Thieves & Kings, which he spent more than 10 years creating and publishing from his home studio.
Oakley’s early background was in commercial animation, and he is today best known for his work on the independently published all-ages comic book fantasy adventure series Thieves & Kings, which he spent more than 10 years creating and publishing from his home studio.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 17, 2023
I had forgoten just how sweet and wholesome this comic is, and why I associate it strongly with Bone, another indie black-and-white of the same indie boom time-period. The artwork is lovely, comic-booky, and pleasingly detailed, especially the backgrounds. The only weak point is the pirate captain in the early pages who looks oddly wooden in several of the panels. The story telling mixes traditional word balloon style sequences, with sections containing prose set over a background frame. The world is richly detailed and it feels like there is a well-thought out background. The characters are engaging and realistic, whatever that means for a fantasy world.
For some reason, I only ever read the first couple books in the series, even though I own the complete run, and now I plan on reading the entier thing. From the into it seems that Oakley had plotted out a 100 issue run, but only 45 issues were ever published in TPB. I wonder what happened. Perhaps there will be an answer in the final volume.
For some reason, I only ever read the first couple books in the series, even though I own the complete run, and now I plan on reading the entier thing. From the into it seems that Oakley had plotted out a 100 issue run, but only 45 issues were ever published in TPB. I wonder what happened. Perhaps there will be an answer in the final volume.
November 30, 2016
To start with, Oakley's art is beautiful. It's got a casual cartoony feel to it, but it also includes tremendous depth, as he doesn't stint on deep, detailed backgrounds. The result gives the comic a feel that nicely balances simple foregrounds and complex backgrounds. Oakley also has a real knack for showing action well.
Oakley intersperses full-text pages with his artwork, and they're quite well written. They have a casual, whimsical feel to them that's delightful to read, but it never feels forced. I'm never entirely comfortable with the introduction of full text into a comic, but Oakley convinces me I want to read that text more than anyone else.
The setting of the comic verges on an authentic-feeling Medieval world, but Oakley peoples that with elements from his own imagination, including the Shadow Lady and the Iron Guard. The result feels both familiar and innovative.
Finally, we have the characters. Our protagonist, Rupel, is just wonderful because of his
optimism and his unflappability. No one else comes across as strongly, but even many of the minor characters are endearing for some of the same reasons.
This first volume spends a lot of time on setup, and perhaps too much time on Rupel being chased. As a result it doesn't feel like we make as much progress as I'd like. But those are my only complaints for a comic that's otherwise unique and intriguing.
Oakley intersperses full-text pages with his artwork, and they're quite well written. They have a casual, whimsical feel to them that's delightful to read, but it never feels forced. I'm never entirely comfortable with the introduction of full text into a comic, but Oakley convinces me I want to read that text more than anyone else.
The setting of the comic verges on an authentic-feeling Medieval world, but Oakley peoples that with elements from his own imagination, including the Shadow Lady and the Iron Guard. The result feels both familiar and innovative.
Finally, we have the characters. Our protagonist, Rupel, is just wonderful because of his
optimism and his unflappability. No one else comes across as strongly, but even many of the minor characters are endearing for some of the same reasons.
This first volume spends a lot of time on setup, and perhaps too much time on Rupel being chased. As a result it doesn't feel like we make as much progress as I'd like. But those are my only complaints for a comic that's otherwise unique and intriguing.
September 24, 2022
I think I was in middle school when I first read this. I know it was a family vacation, and I know we stopped going on vacations by the time I was a junior in high school. Reading didn't make me car sick, so between my Game Boy Advance and portable CD player (I'm an old), I would check out a bunch of books from the library. I'm pretty sure the library only had the first 3 volumes, so I never finished the series (of course, neither did Mark Oakley, that bastard!), but I absolutely loved it. I was enthralled by the worldbuilding, fascinated by the mix of illustrated prose & comic spreads, and the story, of course, was amazing. I desperately tried to find the other out-of-print books in the series, but in a world before ecommerce and Half-Price Books, I didn't have many options. Time passed and eventually the tales of Thieves & Kings drifted from my conscious mind... until last month, when I found this at Half-Price Books. Once again I was taken into the story, appreciating it even more than before, so now I'm torn between trying to hunt down the remaining volumes, knowing full well that the story was never finished, or stop now before I get too reinvested. But if I can handled the abrupt end of Berserk, I can handle this.
One last thing I want to say about Thieves & Kings: Growing up, I was much better at art than most of my peers, but much worse than my friends who could actually do art. Because of that, I mainly focused on sketching and doodling rather than elaborate, full pieces. And for I don't know how many years, Mark Oakley's style of drawing people influenced me greatly. Earlier in life, I drew the same sort of influence from Invader Zim, and these days I do a weird mix of both, but somehow I made it work. I had forgotten all about the influence I took from Thieves & Kings until I started rereading volume one, so I'm grateful for that, too.
One last thing I want to say about Thieves & Kings: Growing up, I was much better at art than most of my peers, but much worse than my friends who could actually do art. Because of that, I mainly focused on sketching and doodling rather than elaborate, full pieces. And for I don't know how many years, Mark Oakley's style of drawing people influenced me greatly. Earlier in life, I drew the same sort of influence from Invader Zim, and these days I do a weird mix of both, but somehow I made it work. I had forgotten all about the influence I took from Thieves & Kings until I started rereading volume one, so I'm grateful for that, too.
November 24, 2019
This is the beginning of a fantastic (in all senses of the word) series. The blend of cartoonish and realistic art works very well - M'Oak is a brilliant illustrator. This specific book sets the stage for a story that will be magnified in a big way in books to come, but all the foundations are here. Little throw-away lines in this book get followed up on in later books, and have much more weight than I initially thought.
The only reason I could ever think of against recommending this book to someone is the fact that the story isn't finished, and I'm not sure if it will be. With that caveat in mind, I cannot stress enough how much I love this series!
The only reason I could ever think of against recommending this book to someone is the fact that the story isn't finished, and I'm not sure if it will be. With that caveat in mind, I cannot stress enough how much I love this series!
June 21, 2018
I decided to do a reread of this series to see if I wanted to keep it. Although, I dislike text pages in most comic books, the nice fantasy feel and YA themes are enough to make me happy. I was surprised to remember how linear the storytelling was at the start of the series --- that will change.
January 27, 2025
It's something magical
March 2, 2017
Thieves and Kings was a challenging book for me to read. I don't really get into comics very much, but I am glad I chose this one to read. I would choose this to use with my younger elementary aged speech clients. They could use cause and effect/ and "what comes next" during therapy. This could help strengthen any receptive and expressive language skills.
This is very imaginative with the story line of the prince and the princess, and also a little bit of a love story. How will he get the girl to love him?
This is very imaginative with the story line of the prince and the princess, and also a little bit of a love story. How will he get the girl to love him?
November 11, 2021
Reprints Thieves & Kings #1-6 (1994-1995). Rubel is a thief and due to a surprising set of circumstances, he’s actually the Princess’s thief. After years of being at sea, Rubel is returning to Oceansend, the city of Highborn, and his princess…but he finds things aren’t as he left them. Rubel’s grandfather has been lost in a shipwreck and his wizard friend Quinton Zempfester is also missing. Rubel discovers that the Shadow Lady of the Sleeping Woods seems to want him and he and his imp friend Varkias are constantly on the run. What is worse to Rubel are the rumors of Princess Katara madness…Rubel must set things right!
Written and illustrated by Mark Oakley, Thieves & Kings—Volume 1 is an action-adventure comic book. Published in black-and-white, the issues in this collection were released by I Box Publishing irregularly between 1994-1995.
There was a big boom of independent books in the mid-1990s following the creation of Image Comics and the comic book crash. If one searched at this time, you could find different styles and comics at most shops and stores…and Thieves & Kings was one of the better (and odder) titles that left off the independent shelf.
The story is a blend of fantasy and pirate tales. The land of Oceansend is inhabited by people but it also is the home to imps, witches, and warlocks…it is almost a less dangerous world of Conan the Barbarian. The basic set-up in this volume is a quest for Princess Katara which (as fantasy readers know) is a common theme in fantasy.
What is different about Thieves & Kings is Oakley’s writing and art style. The book is black-and-white which I always kind of feels hurts a fantasy like this which is out to create a beautiful and lush world. The cover art and style presented on individual issues reminds you what Rubel’s city looks like…and it is fantastic. Oakley stands out in that he combines the art with a lot of written pages. The book frequently dips into prose writing and loses the panel approach (though even on those pages, Rubel and friends often can be found mixed in with the writing. It is a strange experience and works. Oakley gets to provide a bit more depth that a number of panels of comics couldn’t accomplish and he can also create some more emotion expansion to the characters.
This volume of Thieves & Kings is an interesting start to the story which unfortunately I don’t believe was ever finished. Oakley had a target of one hundred issues and it only ran forty-eight issues…that is a problem going into a comic book series. The first collection provides enough mirth and mayhem to show that the series could have a long life, but readers (and independent publishers) are fickle and sometimes hard to keep going. Despite this, give Thieves & Kings a chance…it is a unique take on comics and something that should be emulated by other writers. Thieves & Kings—Volume 1 is followed by Thieves & Kings—Volume 2.
Written and illustrated by Mark Oakley, Thieves & Kings—Volume 1 is an action-adventure comic book. Published in black-and-white, the issues in this collection were released by I Box Publishing irregularly between 1994-1995.
There was a big boom of independent books in the mid-1990s following the creation of Image Comics and the comic book crash. If one searched at this time, you could find different styles and comics at most shops and stores…and Thieves & Kings was one of the better (and odder) titles that left off the independent shelf.
The story is a blend of fantasy and pirate tales. The land of Oceansend is inhabited by people but it also is the home to imps, witches, and warlocks…it is almost a less dangerous world of Conan the Barbarian. The basic set-up in this volume is a quest for Princess Katara which (as fantasy readers know) is a common theme in fantasy.
What is different about Thieves & Kings is Oakley’s writing and art style. The book is black-and-white which I always kind of feels hurts a fantasy like this which is out to create a beautiful and lush world. The cover art and style presented on individual issues reminds you what Rubel’s city looks like…and it is fantastic. Oakley stands out in that he combines the art with a lot of written pages. The book frequently dips into prose writing and loses the panel approach (though even on those pages, Rubel and friends often can be found mixed in with the writing. It is a strange experience and works. Oakley gets to provide a bit more depth that a number of panels of comics couldn’t accomplish and he can also create some more emotion expansion to the characters.
This volume of Thieves & Kings is an interesting start to the story which unfortunately I don’t believe was ever finished. Oakley had a target of one hundred issues and it only ran forty-eight issues…that is a problem going into a comic book series. The first collection provides enough mirth and mayhem to show that the series could have a long life, but readers (and independent publishers) are fickle and sometimes hard to keep going. Despite this, give Thieves & Kings a chance…it is a unique take on comics and something that should be emulated by other writers. Thieves & Kings—Volume 1 is followed by Thieves & Kings—Volume 2.
December 15, 2018
These books are brilliant and beautiful. I wish more people knew about them.
June 13, 2013
Reason for Reading: I'm visiting family in Edmonton and I asked my 14yo niece if she had any graphic novels I hadn't read and she pulled out the first three books in this series which I eagerly accepted after giving them the once over.
I have never heard of this series or author before and feel like I've discovered a hidden gem. Canadian cartoonist Mark Oakley has been independently publishing this delightful series since 1996 and I'm surprised it hasn't become one of those cult hits. It is simply splendid! Unique in format this book is what I believe is being called a "hybrid" (a combination of text and sequential art). The book is text heavy, especially at the beginning with long graphic sequences interspersed between these sections. The graphic sections become more frequent as the novel progresses but it is still about a 50/50 presentation.
Very much the beginning of a tale the reader can tell we've only just hit the surface of an epic tale, a quest, a journey. Standard fare of two siblings both claiming to be the rightful heir of the throne. However, here we only get the background story and this volume is very much the story of Rubel, the thief, who meets Princess Katara in the woods and becomes bonded to her as the Princess' Thief. It has been some years now and he is on his way to her to be of service; along this journey he is hunted by soldiers, captured and fights with pirates, gains an imp for a companion and is constantly followed and threatened by the Shadow Lady of the Sleeping Wood, the woods where once upon a time Rubel was born. An exciting tale full of derring-do. Rubel is a fun character with a sense of humour and adventure, ready to take on any challenge yet victim to human foibles such as fear, though he is very brave. At the end of the book we are treated to an extra of a short story published in an anthology which stars the princess giving us a delightful taste of her feisty personality while telling what happened to her after the fateful meeting with Rubel. I can't wait to read the next book!
I have never heard of this series or author before and feel like I've discovered a hidden gem. Canadian cartoonist Mark Oakley has been independently publishing this delightful series since 1996 and I'm surprised it hasn't become one of those cult hits. It is simply splendid! Unique in format this book is what I believe is being called a "hybrid" (a combination of text and sequential art). The book is text heavy, especially at the beginning with long graphic sequences interspersed between these sections. The graphic sections become more frequent as the novel progresses but it is still about a 50/50 presentation.
Very much the beginning of a tale the reader can tell we've only just hit the surface of an epic tale, a quest, a journey. Standard fare of two siblings both claiming to be the rightful heir of the throne. However, here we only get the background story and this volume is very much the story of Rubel, the thief, who meets Princess Katara in the woods and becomes bonded to her as the Princess' Thief. It has been some years now and he is on his way to her to be of service; along this journey he is hunted by soldiers, captured and fights with pirates, gains an imp for a companion and is constantly followed and threatened by the Shadow Lady of the Sleeping Wood, the woods where once upon a time Rubel was born. An exciting tale full of derring-do. Rubel is a fun character with a sense of humour and adventure, ready to take on any challenge yet victim to human foibles such as fear, though he is very brave. At the end of the book we are treated to an extra of a short story published in an anthology which stars the princess giving us a delightful taste of her feisty personality while telling what happened to her after the fateful meeting with Rubel. I can't wait to read the next book!
September 19, 2010
Thieves & Kings volume one contains the first six issues of the series.
The events are set in a land called Oceansend, the capital city is Highborn, I suppose during the sixteenth century.
Rubel, the main character, is a young thief escaping from soldiers and other elder people. Thief with the meaning also as paladin of some important ideal.
Rubel has a friend and companion: his imp, a small devil. At the beginning of the third chapter they explain what an imp is.
The other characters are: Katara, the princess; Kangar, her brother; and the Shadow Lady of the Sleeping Wood.
Rubel helps Katara to find the crown, the king had hidden it previously, and so begins the friendship between a thief and a princess.
After four years of navigation, Rubel comes back wanting to meet again the princess. Is Rubel willing to meet the princess at the end? Maybe after a lot of troubled events, and many runs on the roofs.
This graphic novel is different from the usual because there are traditional drawings and many parts of prose; the best of the novel are the last one.
The drawings about buildings, ships, and general surroundings are very well done. I liked one in chapter three illustrating a street with the port in the background. Faces’s drawings are less accurate.
‘At the time when they are small and struggle to please their parents and older brothers and older sisters and all the elders in the worlds that they trust or fear ... At that time when they are very young, all mortal souls seek to be pure and good, and by this way they so perceive imperfections upon the world, and they learn to despise that which causes hurt and illness of body and soul. ... with noble heart they go.’ (almost at the end of the novel)
At the end of volume one: Katara meets a Bridge Troll. Who knows the answer of the Troll’s riddle?
‘What glides over water, and rolls over stone, What sits on its haunches and ...?’
The events are set in a land called Oceansend, the capital city is Highborn, I suppose during the sixteenth century.
Rubel, the main character, is a young thief escaping from soldiers and other elder people. Thief with the meaning also as paladin of some important ideal.
Rubel has a friend and companion: his imp, a small devil. At the beginning of the third chapter they explain what an imp is.
The other characters are: Katara, the princess; Kangar, her brother; and the Shadow Lady of the Sleeping Wood.
Rubel helps Katara to find the crown, the king had hidden it previously, and so begins the friendship between a thief and a princess.
After four years of navigation, Rubel comes back wanting to meet again the princess. Is Rubel willing to meet the princess at the end? Maybe after a lot of troubled events, and many runs on the roofs.
This graphic novel is different from the usual because there are traditional drawings and many parts of prose; the best of the novel are the last one.
The drawings about buildings, ships, and general surroundings are very well done. I liked one in chapter three illustrating a street with the port in the background. Faces’s drawings are less accurate.
‘At the time when they are small and struggle to please their parents and older brothers and older sisters and all the elders in the worlds that they trust or fear ... At that time when they are very young, all mortal souls seek to be pure and good, and by this way they so perceive imperfections upon the world, and they learn to despise that which causes hurt and illness of body and soul. ... with noble heart they go.’ (almost at the end of the novel)
At the end of volume one: Katara meets a Bridge Troll. Who knows the answer of the Troll’s riddle?
‘What glides over water, and rolls over stone, What sits on its haunches and ...?’
Read
May 31, 2013This is the first book of the series and it contains the first six parts to the story. The main character’s name is Rubel. He is a thief and he is on the run from some soldiers along with other people. His companion in this book is an emp (or a little demon). In the story Rubel helps another character named Katara to find the Kings crown which had previously been hidden by the king himself. However, Katara is the princess. There is a bit of a spark between Rubel and Katara, but n nothing signifigant really happens, other than the reader finds out that Rubel has feelings for Katara. He wants to come back for her because he has to go. However, Rubel has many interesting adventures and dangers ahead. Will Rubel make it back to Katara? Will he be able to finally be with, what he believes is, his true love? You must read the grapic novel yourself to find out!
February 28, 2014
This graphic novel has everything. It has love, adventure, and action. This is a great book and makes you want to keep reading the series. This I would say should be more for 6th grade and up because of the amount of content in the book. In relation to other books this adventure book is different from other longer adventure books because it has a ton of pictures along with it which help tell the story. I myself love adventure novels and plan on buying the other books since I have to know what happens! This book grabs my attention and makes me want more. In relation to the world I feel as though everyone has wanted to read a book that has either love adventure or action and with this one having all three it appeals to all people. Unless I teach 6th grade I will probably not use this book but I think middle and high school would love it!
July 24, 2007
My kids and I got hooked reading the online demo of this on [http://www.iboxpublishing.com/] his website. The drawings are not perfect but are very appealing. We love anime and manga and found this to be the perfect style--inspired by anime and manga but very western in its outlook. The story is fun and makes for a great fantasy with just enough magic to be fairytale like without being over the top. My only issue is with the "thief" being the good guy but in this case it just works.
May 16, 2007
this guy from canada really knows how to leave you on the EDGE OF YOUR SEAT!!!!
with a mix of black and write drawings with dialogue bubbles and some pages of prose the beautifully crafted story will leave you hard.
hard pressed not to go out and buy the next one!!!!!
with a mix of black and write drawings with dialogue bubbles and some pages of prose the beautifully crafted story will leave you hard.
hard pressed not to go out and buy the next one!!!!!
November 13, 2009
A wonderfully fun, swashbuckling, creative Fantasy thats a combination of sketchy, energetic indy comic art and beautifully written text. I've read a lot of fantasy and a lot of comics and this series is among the best of them all, easily. Highly Recomended for all ages. :)
November 26, 2008
I would give this series ten stars if I could! One of my absolute favorite fantasy stories EVER.
September 29, 2009
The mix of text and graphics is amazing, with a wonderful fairy-tale-like quality to the story.
April 18, 2011
These books are full of magic and wonder.
September 30, 2010
it was a great adventure book with lots of more books after it
October 1, 2010
it was a good adventure
January 10, 2011
There is so much detail flourishing in the playful illustrations, and such finely crafted prose.
May 7, 2019
One of my very favorite indie comics of all-time, one I like so much I have both the original comics and tpbs for the first 4 volumes.
It’s a ripping fantasy yarn in a really interesting world filled with magic that seems to be right around every corner, but still so difficult to understand or control.more importantly it’s about the anarchic power of freedom shown through the eyes of a Thief.
This is a very good intro to a fine series. Recommended.
It’s a ripping fantasy yarn in a really interesting world filled with magic that seems to be right around every corner, but still so difficult to understand or control.more importantly it’s about the anarchic power of freedom shown through the eyes of a Thief.
This is a very good intro to a fine series. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews