The Dragon Age universe lives on!
Creative Staff:
Story: Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
Art: Fernando Heinz Furukawa
Colors: Mike Atiyeh
Letterer: Nate Piekos of BlamBot
Cover Artist: Sachin Teng
What They Say:
Based on the best selling video game series from BioWare, comes a canonical comic from the Dragon Age: Knight Errant team!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The first issue of Dragon Age: Deception felt really great, in that it did enough to remind me that this was taking place in the universe of the video games series, but also made it a point to be able to stand on its own, without feeling intimidated by not extensively knowing the mythos of Dragon Age. The second issue of Deception retains all of these qualities and then some. It not only pushes the story along with great characters and plot intrigue, but it makes it a point to solidify and expand the series within the universe of Dragon Age without feeling like its being bogged down by the lore and the video games history.
DeFilippis and Weir are doing a fantastic job with the material and character work in Deception. The cast interactions of Ser Aaron, Olivia Pryde, Calix Qintara and others are playing well off of each other and feel like a well-rounded group in a game of confidence. Every one of these characters has an angle and hidden motives, making every interaction, every dialog exchange feels like a chess move. The dialog that DeFilippis and Weir imbue genuine life into each of these characters come off and distinct voices in this massive ensemble in this latest Dragon Age mini-series.
Continuing the fine line work established in the first issue, Fernando Heinz Furukawa remains a highlight of the comic as well. With the cast of characters expanding in this issue, the chance of Furukawa to highlight his strong work in facial expressions and his ability to distinguish characters apart is welcome once again. From the Mabari dog to Ser Aaron’s interactions with Olivia Pryde showcase how much of a strong artist he is for the groundwork that DeFilippis and Weir put into the dialog and story of Deception. There are moments where the inking in the book washes out some of the nice line work in this issue, but since it’s only Furukawa on art duties, one has to think that it’s intentional.
In Summary:
If I had one bad thing to say about the second issue of Dragon Age: Deception is that it ended. It left me wanting much more and really excited about the next issue. While it’s a strange way for most people to get into a video game property, Dragon Age: Deception is making a strong case for myself and what I’ve been missing out on in the last few years. Highly Recommended!
Grade: A+
Age Rating: 16
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 14th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
