I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The creatures beyond the ORCS were great. Humorous and bawdy! The art was great too. A lot of detail especially the coloring. Will definitely continue with this series if I am able. ( )

Mindlessly grotesque genital vendetta as stated by one of the characters, river orcs with motorcycles made of octopi, reminds me of the Flintstones animal devices.Gorgeous artwork by the author who's doing everything on the book, my favorite panel is Mondo Pass in chapter 7. Luckily the author's blog https://orcstain.wordpress.com/ shows some new art work for a continuation to the story. The high point of this book is the artwork, but the simple story is very appropriate for the mentally challenged species "Orcs". 4.5 stars ( )

"Orc" was an unpopular synonym for goblin or ogre with a pedigree going back to Old English, before Tolkien gave it enormous currency as the name by which his elves knew their hereditary enemies. Then Gary Gygax ensured the perpetuation of this imaginary race in fantasy gaming, from which it radiated into various other media. Orcs have never gotten the sort of love that, say, Star Trek's Klingons do, and they are often just a kind of generic enemy cannon fodder, chiefly notable for their lack of individuality or even detail. I can't muster any sympathy for Star Wars stormtroopers, but I find that in recent years, I've grown some affection for orcs.

James Stokoe's Orc Stain comic has no humans in it that I could see, and his orc cultures are as crude and incoherent as one might expect. But his orcs are certainly individuals. His protagonist One Eye has a special talent for understanding structural weaknesses he can exploit with his hammer.

The first trade volume of this comics series covers issues 1 through 5, and its plot raises more questions than it answers, but it provides some fine entertainment while doing so. Stokoe seems to belong to a Pacific Northwest school of 21st-century alt comics creators of whom Brandon Graham is the most noted member. The art is sprawling, detailed (but cartoonish rather than naturalistic), dynamic, whimsical, and occasionally raunchy.

My comics dealer told me I was in for a treat when he saw I'd selected this book, and he wasn't wrong.