REVIEW: ‘Dragon Age: Blue Wraith’ Issue #1

Dragon Age: Blue Wraith #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics, written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, with art by Fernando Heinz Furukawa, colors by Michael Atiyeh, and letters by Nate Piekos. A cart that carries a relic of immense power speeds through the land. Meanwhile, a mage greatly anticipates a reunion with her family, and amidst it all, the Blue Wraith stalks his prey.

Dragon Age: Blue Wraith #1 is a very busy book. Several plot threads are introduced in fairly quick succession leaving the reader little time to catch up. While the writing team sets these storylines into motion with the necessary skill, it stills feels a bit overwhelming at times. Especially if you don’t have prior experience with these particular Dragon Age characters. While the plot jumps a bit there is still a good amount of the characters on these pages. It is those characters that really pull the story together.

The strong narration from the perspective of one main protagonist, Francesca, holds the various plot threads together since the overall plot and themes of the issue lack cohesiveness. However, this does allow the book to cover a lot of ground while setting up the three-issue arc.

While serving as the narrator, magic-wielding mage Francesca also serves as the focal point of the story. She is easily the strongest character in this book and posses a surprising level of complexity. While I found myself liking her, I cannot fully put my finger on why. She shows a number of different attitudes through this story which don’t necessarily mesh together when I think about them. I’m curious to know how these pieces of the character fit together.

The art in Dragon Age: Blue Wraith #1 is a wonderful presentation of the fantasy setting. Furukawa does a great job of capturing most of the Dragon Age feel in this story. The combat sequences are granted a sense of high energy and adventure, while still feeling weighty and dangerous.  Blood isn’t spared in these sequences, putting the full feeling of danger within these panels.

The only place where the visuals fall a little short of my expectations is in how clean things are. The Dragon Age world has always been one of the grimier fantasy settings. This book lets most of that slide for a brighter look to its panels. While that look is excellently delivered, I would’ve liked to see a bit more of the worn outlook that is usually present in this setting.

Overall I found Dragon Age: Blue Wraith #1 to be an enjoyable read. It got me invested in several of its characters, particularly the mage Francesca, and I am curious to see how its disparate plot threads will come together in the end.

Dragon Age: Blue Wraith #1 is out now, wherever Comics are sold.