Maker bless you, warriors, rogues, and mages, and welcome to our review of “Dragon Age: Blue Wraith.” This is a book all about transitions. Our hero team loses a member and gains two more. Calix meets his limits, Francesca finds a new purpose in the group, and Fenris, the Blue Wraith, remembers the value of working with a team. The theme of transition is underlined by Fenris’ ability to phase through objects. It’s the type of magical metaphor that could potentially be too on the nose, but in practice it’s elegantly understated. There will be heavy plot spoilers for this book, so glow like a homicidal firefly, and take wrathful botanical revenge, here’s my take on “Dragon Age: Blue Wraith.”
Written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina WeirCover by Sachin Teng
Illustrated by Fernando Heinz Furukawa
Colored by Michael Atiyeh
Lettered by Nate Piekos of BlambotIn this new chapter from BioWare’s dark fantasy universe, a team of Inquisition agents attempt to recruit the deadly elven warrior Fenris in order to stop a devasting weapon from falling into the wrong hands. A canonical continuation of stories begun in the multiple game of the year award-winning Dragon Age: Inquisition! Collects issues #1–#3 of the series.
I liked this book, but my biggest critique is how confusing it is. There’s already too much exposition, and yet with so many fantasy words that could be names of people or places or objects, there’s also not nearly enough exposition. I was also confused by Francesca as the narrator. We begin with a flashback to her childhood, getting bullied by her father for using her most exalted magical powers for such base purposes as gardening. However, her omniscient voice continues over a flashback to Fenris freeing slaves with his friend Shirallas, a scene Francesca was not privy to. More than any of the other Dragon Age comics, this one has a true ensemble cast; it’s really hard to argue that any of the protagonists are the main character, even the titular Blue Wraith himself. The party splits up in various permutations throughout, and the reader follows everyone. This book could have worked with multiple omniscient narrators, or with no omniscient narrator, but the choice to make Francesca the reader’s guide is a little baffling.
Francesca is a very compelling character, though, and if she starred in her own book, I’d read it. Like Tessa and Marius, Francesca is thrown into this group, having fled with them from the besieged city of Ventus despite blaming them for her brother’s murder, though he was actually murdered by a couple of loosely acquainted assassins (tale as old as time). Unlike Tessa and Marius, Francesca has her own agenda, and she leaves them as soon as she can to find her father. Vaea insists on joining her though, both because she’s concerned about Francesca traveling alone, and also because she hopes she can convince Francesca to rejoin the group, and Francesca accepts her help, in anticipation of running into the notorious Blue Wraith. By the time they find Magister Invidus, Fenris has joined them, as he’s hunting his old friend Shirallas, who he believes took Magister Invidus. As soon as Magister Invidus sees Francesca with Fenris, he attacks his own daughter. Fenris intervenes to protect Francesca, and Francesca murders her own father to protect Fenris. This fight scene is the emotional climax of the book, and one of the most beautifully rendered in the series so far. Bright blue and red magic electricity spark against heavily saturated blue and red backgrounds. The light glows on character’s faces in stark contrast to their black shadows. Finally, Francesca stabs her father, lifting him off the ground, with a bright green magic plant, the same botanical magic he used to ridicule. In the last panel, Vaea comforts a distraught Francesca against a red background, completely erasing their location. It’s a panel of pure emotion that stayed with me long after I finished the book.
Calix’s big transition is compelling in a different way. He never thought of himself as a hero, but he was inspired by Olivia’s sacrifice in “Dragon Age: Deception” to help the Inquisition. In this book, he learns that he truly is not cut out for this life. He is not a fighter, and he is not willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. On the one hand, this is a valuable character perspective. It reminds us how special our heroes are, that not anyone could do what they do. It also shows us that it’s okay not to be a hero; it’s a good thing to know one’s own limits, and to set and respect one’s own boundaries. On the other hand, if Calix isn’t going to be part of the hero team… he can’t be in the story anymore. If we ever hear from him again, if he can impact the story in his own way down the line, this will be a really interesting choice. If we never hear from him again, I will wonder why he was ever in this story at all.
Fenris, the Blue Wraith, was a companion character in the game Dragon Age II. I personally tend to quickly tire of broody archetypes, but Fenris had enough depth to keep me engaged. Unlike Marius, Fenris does eventually open up, and we get to see that he does contain multitudes. He’s an angry, brooding, violent, traumatized man, but he’s also romantic, protective, (maybe a little possessive), and surprisingly playful. We see this in the comic when he greets Autumn, the mabari hound, first in all seriousness as a fellow warrior, and then as a good girl, such a good little girl, yes she is. This was such an impressively elegant way to succinctly express Fenris’ whole character. However, his character arc in this book was less powerful. After spending all of Dragon Age II letting go of a solitary life and embracing fellowship and teamwork, Fenris has once again concluded that friendship is a lie and that he can only trust himself. The problem is, we don’t get to understand how that transition happened. The only explanation we get from Fenris is that the gang split up at the end of the game and that was that. Fenris is quickly convinced that teaming up with Francesca and Vaea is practical, and then is reminded of the real value of teamwork when Francesca murders her own father to save him. It could potentially be a fascinating character arc, but it all happens internally, and Fenris isn’t close enough to any of the other characters present to show the reader what that really means to him.
“Dragon Age: Blue Wraith” is a reminder of the cornerstone of all stories in the Dragon Age canon: fellowship. Through a dynamic, three-dimensional ensemble we see the power of fellowship, its value, and its limits. Vaea, mostly on the sidelines this book, is not transitioning like so many of the more prominent characters. She has a strong sense of self, and she anchors the ensemble with unwavering love and dedication. This hero team is gradually becoming worthy of the classics. “Dragon Age: Blue Wraith” leaves readers genuinely excited for the team’s next adventure. Until next time, Maker bless you.
