Creative Staff:
Story: James Patrick
Art: Marco Locati
Letterer: Rachel Deering
What They Say:
Ah, Mudone! A frickin’ dragon has flown into Green Village with an ultimatum, and since that neighborhood is run by the mob, it needs to be handled a very certain way so as not to attract attention. This means it’s now Sonny Campisi’s problem to navigate. But as he tries to fix it, one complication after another arises…not the least of which is that the dragon is kind of an a-hole.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
James Patrick has a writing style that works well for me but as I read more of his work I’m finding that it definitely takes more than the first issue to make me really excited about it. There’s a density to the world that he’s presenting here and it takes a bit of time for it to really reveal the story itself. Marco Locati had a strong first installment when it came to the artwork and here he once again captures the “neighborhood” feeling well while also really getting into some great character designs as we’re introduced to more people.
The opening segment of this installment is definitely fun as Sonny takes in the damage from the dragon and all the losses, but more so for the fact that his boss wants this to be taken care of as an internal matter. Nobody outside of Green Village is to know anything beyond a gas leak as there are secrets to protect here and he doesn’t want any vendors leaving either. It’s amusing that it’s being treated like this considering the scale of damage, but it’s a delight watching Sonny deadpan his way into this plan and just move forward with it. He’s got some help from a couple of younger folks that are there and it makes for a solid team to support him in what he has to get done. And all of this has to happen while trying to find out who this Moretti is that the dragon was looking for, which is an information job in and of itself.
Sonny does spend some time with the dragon as it perches above and waits patiently for its demands to be met and it’s a delight of conversation. Sonny’s playing it smartly, bringing something it can enjoy in the short term, but he gets screwed overall because the dragon makes it clear that only Moretti will do in order to fix this. The back and forth is great and we get some good background here on why Moretti’s distant past relatives are so key to this in the larger fight between mankind and the dragons centuries ago. The flashback is a really well-done piece in brief and makes it clear why Sonny, without this knowledge, is just going to make things worse. It’s really well done and having that conversation be followed up with ones with his boss and then the adult children of the guy that Sonny’s boss had killed the night before just delivers even more great moments.
In Summary:
I liked the opening installment well enough but as it seems to be when it comes to Patrick’s stories for me, it takes the second issue for it to really connect and feel like it’s clearer on the story it wants to tell. The first issue was all about Sonny, his story, the town, and then the attack, but here things firm up in a whole lot of ways. It’s definitely heavy with the dialogue but it works it in a really strong way to make for a great read. Locati’s artwork continues to be a real delight here with some great character designs and an overall style that really hits a kind of sweet spot that delivers for me, especially with the color design used here. I’m growing more excited about this series with each issue.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: September 15th, 2021
MSRP: $3.99