Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Danny Landau, a baseball fanatic and a plumber, gets hit at a game at the Bronx and somehow wakes up in medieval times. In 6th century England, during the legendary King Arthur’s reign to be exact. What next?!
That wild premise sets the tone for Medieval, a fish-out-of-water comic that throws a foul-mouthed modern-day New Yorker into a brutal, archaic world. The opening issue wastes no time, starting with a packed baseball stadium where Danny and his girlfriend Gina are having a great time, until a scuffle breaks out. The next thing he knows, he’s bloodied, disoriented, and waking up in ancient England. With nothing but a dead phone and his wits, Danny must navigate knights, taverns, and feudal life, all while trying to process how he got there in the first place.
Now I am neither a baseball fan, nor have I read much of King Arthur and the stories inspired by him. But Neil Cormack’s cover art for the debut issue of ‘Medieval’ by Neil Kleid looks killer: a dude who looks more zombie, less man, with face full of blood, swinging a baseball bat dripping with more blood, while riding a gorgeous brown horse with a maniacal expression. So, well, I didn’t even read the blurb and downloaded the comic book from Comixology immediately.
Very quickly, the series establishes Danny as both its biggest strength and its biggest limitation. He’s brash, impulsive, and often violent, actually, make that ‘very violent’. He builds a life for himself, helps run a tavern, and even introduces locals to baseball, yet his mind is firmly stuck in the Bronx. More than anything, he wants to return to Gina, and this longing becomes the focus of the story.
Right from Issue #2, the narrative begins to lean heavily into Danny’s romantic motivations, which feels slightly premature. Instead of letting the time-travel chaos breathe, the story quickly centres itself around his desire to get back to Gina.
That said, Danny’s inability to control his temper often lands him in trouble. His violent outbursts, including a particularly aggressive face-off with a knight, eventually earn him an invitation to King Arthur’s court. It’s here that the story briefly flirts with something more intriguing. Danny spots a strange, out-of-place phrase on a knight’s shield, hinting that he might not be the only anomaly in this timeline. For the first time, he begins to think he could use the King’s wizard to find a way back to the future.
However, the series rarely fully capitalises on these ideas. Instead, it leans heavily into Danny’s chaotic presence in court, which is entertaining in bursts but often repetitive. His American slang clashing with old English dialogue provides some genuinely funny moments, and visually, he always stands out like a sore thumb in this medieval setting. The artwork is consistently vibrant and dynamic, making even the more predictable sequences visually engaging.
The climactic chapters shift the focus toward spectacle, as King Arthur decides to deal with Danny’s arrogance in the most medieval way possible, by throwing him into a jousting tournament. Armed with a baseball bat instead of a lance, Danny must face trained knights in a high-stakes showdown. While the setup is undeniably fun, the execution isn’t as exciting. What initially feels fresh soon becomes repetitive, as the series cycles through fight after fight without adding much narrative depth.
Despite its shortcomings, Medieval remains a visually striking and intermittently entertaining read. Neil Cormack’s cover art alone is enough to grab attention, and the interiors match that energy with colourful, expressive panels. Watching Danny curse his way through medieval England has its charm, even if the humour and shock value begin to wear thin over time.
Interestingly, creator Neil Kleid cites Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court as an inspiration, and that influence is evident. There’s a compelling idea at the heart of Medieval, one that blends time travel, satire, and character-driven storytelling. Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t always match the potential, often prioritising chaos over cohesion.
Still, for readers who enjoy fast-paced, visually engaging comics with a loud, unfiltered protagonist, Medieval offers enough to keep you flipping through its pages, even if it doesn’t quite hit a home run.
Medieval is also on Kindle Unlimited.
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