A Comic Book that Relies Heavily on its Source Material

Cover for Dragon Age: Blue Wraith #1. Comic book cover by Sachin Teng.

Where to buy this comic book:

Credits:

Script – Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir

Art – Fernando Heinz Furukawa

Colors – Michael Atiyeh

Lettering – Nate Piekos of Blambot

Covert Art – Saching Teng

Publisher – Mike Richardson

Editor – Dave Marhsall

Assistant Editor – Konner Knudsen

Designer – Sarah Terry

Digital Art Technician – Allyson Haller

Special Thanks – Bioware, including: Nick Thornborrow (Lead Artist and Comic Lead), Patrick Weekes (Lead Writer), Matthew Rhodes (Art Director), Matthew Goldman (Creative Director), Chris Bain (Director of Business Development), & Casey Hudson (General Manager)

SPOILER-FREE ZONE

I have to admit: I haven’t played any of the Dragon Age video games. I own Dragon Age Origins on PS3 but it has remained on my backlog forever. So I went into this comic book blind. I would advise against anyone else doing the same. There’s nothing wrong with this comic book, but names of characters and locations are thrown about casually. It feels like it was created specifically for existing fans of the series. If you have played the games, by all means buy this book. But I can’t recommend this as an introduction to Dragon Age unless you feel like playing catch-up. The art is enjoyable, so I can recommend buying it for the art if that’s your sort of thing.

END OF SPOILER-FREE ZONE

You are now exiting the spoiler-free zone. Do yourself a favor and stop reading if you don’t want any spoilers.

The first page of this comic book starts us off in a flashback. Six years ago, we are introduced to one of the main characters as a young girl. We don’t yet learn her name, but we do know that she is a mage-in-training. Her magic is focused on making plants grow. Her father expresses displeasure in her talents as he doesn’t see it as a means to power. I’m pretty sure that she is also narrating the story.

The second page takes us to yet-another flashback. This time it takes place four years ago. We witness the Blue Wraith, an elf with glowing tattoos (see the cover) and his partner freeing elvish slaves from a caravan. They discuss the magister who is responsible for enslaving the elves. His assistant suggests infiltrating the magister’s domain, but the Blue Wraith shoots the idea down.

We finally get to present-day on the fourth page. This is where it gets confusing. Two horse & buggies, transporting a powerful artifact, are being chased by an army. The people being chased try to fight them off, but for some reason are also having a casual conversation during the fight. It just didn’t feel natural at all. Their dialogue didn’t fit the action taking place. During the chase they casually meet up with another small group of people. This group includes the young mage from the first flashback, but she is now grown-up.

We are treated to a pretty cool scene where the mage displays her true power, dispatching of the army that was giving chase. After conversing with the people she helped, she decides that it’s time for her to leave alone. I’m still not sure, even after reviewing the comic book multiple times, but I think her name is Francesca Invidus. Vaea, one of the people she helped, takes her dog Autumn with her to stalk Francesca from afar. Francesca leads them to Fort Viridan.

While at Viridan, Francesca learns that her father has been captured by the Blue Wraith. She convinces Vaea, who is an elf like the Blue Wraith, to accompany her in her quest to retrieve her father. While travelling, they come across the Blue Wraith, and then the comic book abruptly ends.

I have nothing bad to say about the art in this comic book. The writing could definitely have used some work. Character introductions would have helped for those like me who have never played the Dragon Age video games. The part where there is a ferocious melee taking place and people are casually discussing things really took me out of it while reading. I’m sure I would have appreciated this one much more if I had actually played the games first.