The multiple running video game franchise makes another foray into the comics realm as we return to the world of Dragon Age. How does the start to this mini-series go? Let’s take a look.
Written by Nunzio DeFilipps & Christina Weir
Illustrated by Fernando Heinz Furukawa
Colored by Michael Atiyeh
Lettered by Nate PiekosBioWare’s best-selling fantasy franchise lives on in these canonical comics from Dark Horse!
Elven squire Vaea and her knight arrive in Kirkwall for Varric Tethras’s appointment as viscount. A talented thief, Vaea takes on an easy job . . . but when she chooses to change the terms of the deal midheist, she is entangled in a dangerous mission that is surely above her pay grade.
Dragon Age and I have a weird relationship. They’re not bad games, but there has always been something that -for me- stopped them from being truly great. Maybe it was something in the mechanics, maybe it was something in the use of fantasy tropes that never really pushed or played with them. Maybe it was just the combat mechanics. I don’t know, but I’ve always wanted to like the games and there are parts of the world that do interest me (like the kissy parts, obviously). Perhaps a tale in that world without all the video game quirks in the way could be just what the doctor ordered?
We follow the young elven woman Vaea, squire to wandering knight Ser Aaron Hawthorne of Ferelden. Both of them have come to the city of Kirkwall. But there is more to Vaea than meets the eye. Outside of her duties being squire, she is also a thief, stealing from Templars to give to the downtrodden. It’s a tale of the supposed nobility behind knighthood, those that don’t live up to it and those that try to fight for it, even with the lack of knighthood. It’s a tale of empathy for those with less. Vaea herself is a nice enough protagonist. She’s got a good heart, even if she does get in over her head at times. She has a good set of skills and a bit of guile to make her dual lives effective.
There is a flaw that I notice more and more in books. It’s when Vaea is sneaking into her target location. From a visual perspective, illustrator Fernando Heinz Furukawa and colorist do Michael Atiyeh do a decent job of showing Vaea’s skills at stealth and infiltration. My problem with it is the narration that DeFilipps and Weir add on to it. It is just explanation of what we are already viewing and it just feels so clunky and unnecessary. It’s a lot like the current “Flash” ongoing, the exposition does absolutely nothing to add to the scene and would have been a lot stronger without it.
As mentioned, Furukawa and Atiyeh do a decent job bringing the world to life. Furukawa really excels at the bigger images, like when we see the giant statues in Kirkwall harbor. That being said, it has some flaws. I described before him doing a good job with conveying Vaea’s stealth tactics, but there are bits where the art starts to get shaky. Some facial expressions come off as very cartoonish, while others are more firm. It lacks a consistency throughout the issue.
Atiyeh’s coloring does enough to make up for some of the rough patches from Furukawa’s artwork. It brings a softness to the work that does good with the bright, Errol Flynn-esque tone of Ser Aaron’s tale to the quiet calm night while Vaea is sneaking about. There is a level of visual intimacy in the coloring like when Vaea is at a candle-lit table getting her contract that does a good job of selling the secrecy behind this job.
So now we have to ask this question: Should you buy “Dragon Age: Knight Errant #1”? My answer to that is really simple: How big a fan are you of the video games? If you’re a fan of the games, great! You should definitely get on board this mini-series. If you’re not, I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. That is the trouble with tie-in comics, sometimes they don’t do enough to enamour themselves with people outside the already dedicated fanbase. I think back to when I reviewed “Dishonored #1” last year; I have a much more familiar knowledge with that series so it makes a comic smoother to digest.
But in the end, “Dragon Age: Knight Errant #1” is a competent enough story. It does its job of establishing this character and her conflict. With that in mind, like my experiences with the Dragon Age series, it just feels on the cusp of pushing the envelope with its fantasy setting, but never really going the distance with it. Could it impress further along? Perhaps, but there is only so little good meat on here to entice further.
Final Verdict: 5.0- A perfectly competent beginning, but does little else beyond that. More for fans of the Dragon Age series.
