Review: Dragon Age: Until We Sleep #3

Well, here we are at the end of Until We Sleep, and… I still honestly don’t know how I feel about it. It started off strong, but then the second issue just utterly underwhelmed me, which brings us here. This final issue does conclude the mini-series quite nicely, and it’s definitely a far sight better than the previous issue, so for those reasons alone I’m rather relieved. It’s just…overall, I can’t decide if I’m pleased or annoyed that I read the mini-series, and that’s the toughest sort of review to write.

I have a weird relationship with Dragon Age. I hate them as games, to be perfectly honest (seriously, I rage quit Dragon Age my first playthrough because the battle system was so atrocious, and I dozed through the battle encounters in Dragon Age: II – when they weren’t glitching, that is), but I really, utterly, completely and totally adored the characters. So, you’d think character-centric comics would be right up my alley, wouldn’t you? They should be about everything I loved regarding the series, minus the annoying button-mashing-oh-god-dammit-Alistair-you’re-already-dead-again aspect of actually playing the games. And yet, they aren’t, as these reviews increasingly show.

With this final issue, I’m beginning to get why. The pacing overall is just not good, for starters, but it’s more than that. Yeah, the story gets rushed – the game felt like that too at times, so maybe they’re just trying to be accurate. I’m not necessarily reading for the story, though; I’m reading because, as I said before, I really like the characters they’ve created… but therein rests the problem. There’s no consistency. Some panels, characters look like themselves, act like themselves, and feel as they should. Then suddenly they don’t, and you have no idea who you’re dealing with anymore.

This one was a bit better, because Alistair really shone through (for the first few pages, anyway), and Varric’s narration was on-point as always. That’s probably my biggest compliment for the series; Varric’s narration always sounds like Varric, and thus makes for my favorite bits from the series overall. Alistair and Varric actually felt like themselves for most of this issue, but then Isabela felt like she wasn’t there at all, which is really damn annoying.

The resolution of the overarching conflict (finding King Maric) is well enough. It was a touching moment, it made insightful commentary (you can’t live in a dream just because reality is no longer what you wish it), and, well, it concluded. It all just felt a little underwhelming, and it had a bit of a downer final page (a well-done one, to their credit, but a downer all the same). The whole thing actually feels a bit like when I finished Dragon Age: II; it left me thinking, “That’s really it, isn’t it.”

So… I don’t really know how to advise you, dear reader. If you’re an avid Dragon Age fan, you’re probably going to pick this up no matter what I have to say, and you’re probably going to be a bit disappointed but satisfied enough to not resent spending money on it.  I wouldn’t call it an “essential addition to the Dragon Age canon” as the Dark Horse page does, because really, if it’s incredibly vital, it’ll be mentioned in Dragon Age 3, but it’s entertaining enough for $3.99 if you’ve already picked up Issues #1 and #2. It just leaves you feeling a bit conflicted; as a fan of the characters and the series you want to like it, but it’s just not particularly good or bad: it just is.

… if it’s all the same to you, I’d just as soon read The World of Thedas, because that actually satisfies my world-building, information-craving hunger and doesn’t leave me going, “Was that even worth bothering with?”

Jeni “Science Whyzard” Hackett wishes that something Dragon Age-related would actually do its characters justice. Speaking of Justice, she rather likes Anders, although she thinks she mentioned that in one of these bylines already. The segue was just too perfect to ignore. You can find her on twitter under the name @allonsyjeni, email her at jeni.is.a.geek@gmail.com, or find her on tumblr at hellomynameisgeek.

Review: Dragon Age: Until We Sleep #2

Some of you may recall my review of Dragon Age: Until We Sleep #1. I’ll repeat my opening paragraph from there, as same introduction applies: Dragon Age: Until We Sleep is the climax of the comic collaboration between Bioware and Dark Horse, and a continuation of the plot in The Silent Grove (which focuses on Alistair) and Those Who Speak (which focuses on Isabela). This one follows my personal favorite of the three characters focused on in the comics, the dwarf rogue Varric, but the story is still that of Alistair’s hunt for his father and uncovering his lineage. Note: I haven’t read the previous two miniseries, so this review is based entirely on this miniseries with the knowledge that there is previous material taken into account.

First of all, if you want to read this issue now: go read Until We Sleep #1, because this one isn’t going to make any sense if you don’t.

Now, on to Issue #2. The good news: the art bothers me far less this time! Alistair seems to have recovered from his awkward sojourn into whatever on earth was going on last issue. The bad news: I got lost a lot more because the scene transitions just didn’t work. Not to say it wasn’t good; I soundly enjoyed parts of it (Bianca! Rivaini! Varric’s unreliable narration juxtaposed with what’s actually going on!), but as a whole, it just didn’t flow right. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t great, either. I got confused, I didn’t know who characters were, and I had no idea how scenes transitioned. 

I suppose that’s all part of being where the characters are, but it didn’t make for the best reading experience.

I once again found a quote that made me grin relating to Alistair (“No one flirts as badly as Alistair”), and really I did enjoy backstory components. Still, I found myself wanting more of them. They were rushed, almost – they gave just enough, in their defense, but it left me feeling wanting. It was a good use of the situation, I will give it that, and the first few pages definitely got my hopes up and kept me reading (let’s just say fans of Varric will be very enthusiastic and then left wanting more). It gave just enough to keep one moving along; it just didn’t really seem to reward that dedication too terribly much.

I think the issue here might be that it’s the second of three comics. It’s the middle of the narrative arc and, honestly, it might just not hold up well on its own. Maybe if I read it directly after #1, I’d feel differently, perhaps less confused. With miniseries like these, associated with a major game series that’s highly narrative-driven and filled with already known and loved characters, waiting for the full trade paperbacks might make more sense. I do genuinely think they’re meant to be one cohesive story read straight through rather than placed apart.

So, with that in mind, my advice would be to skip Dragon Age: Until We Sleep #2, at least for now. If you’re a fan of Dragon Age, pick it up when it comes out as a trade paperback or hardcover, and then read the whole thing straight through for optimal cohesion. Again, I want to stress, it’s not that this is bad, it just doesn’t flow right on its own. Maybe reading it in series with parts 1 and 2 will help, maybe not, but I know that personally, I’d rather wait and spend $14.99 for all three plus maybe some additional content than $3.99 for each one.

Jeni “Science Whyzard” Hackett would probably romance Varric if he were an option, although she’d hate to come between him and Bianca. Her best friend in Dragon Age 2 was Isabela, because she liked my sarcastic nature. You can find her on twitter under the name @allonsyjeni, email her at jeni.is.a.geek@gmail.com, or find her on tumblr at hellomynameisgeek.

Review: Dragon Age: Until We Sleep #1

Dragon Age: Until We Sleep is the climax of the comic collaborations between Bioware and Dark Horse and a continuation of the plot in The Silent Grove (which focuses on Alistair) and Those Who Speak (which focuses on Isabela). This one follows my personal favorite of the three characters focused on in the comics, the dwarf rogue Varric, but the story is still that of Alistair’s hunt for his father and uncovering his lineage. Note: I haven’t read the previous two miniseries, so this review is based entirely on this issue alone with the knowledge that there is previous material taken into account.

I’m a little reluctant to comment on the story itself because, as I just said, I haven’t read the previous two miniseries and this is (according to the Dragon Age wiki) the climax of the comics. Talk about jumping in when the party’s already started, right? It’s by David Gaider, the lead writer for the Dragon Age games, and that shows; it definitely feels at home in the universe the games have created, which is always a good thing. I was able to follow what was going on well, which is a point in its favor, and I quite enjoyed how Varric as the (unreliable) narrator was contrasted with his actual actions; I do wonder who he’s telling the story to, but I imagine that’ll be cleared up towards the end of the series’ run. The narration felt true to Varric’s voice from Dragon Age II (which I can say with authority as, well, I’m actually currently playing it), and made the first few pages my absolute favorite part of the comic overall.

Wait, I lied. Varric called Alistair a special snowflake. That was definitely my favorite part of the comic overall, and I say that as someone who romanced Alistair in DA:O.

To clarify, that doesn’t mean the rest of the comic was bad; it had a logical flow, it was follow-able, even for someone who had never picked up a Dragon Age comic before, and it kept me entertained. Honestly, it made me really want to go back, get the previous comics so I could know what was going on in the story, and then wait for the next installments with the proper background to really appreciate them. That’s a point in its favor; if it makes me want to do additional work to truly enjoy it, it’s probably pretty decent. That, or I’m just enjoying Varric’s narration too much and am curious to see how they handle Alistair and Isabela in their focus mini-series. Either way, I’ll be reading.

While we’re tangentially on the subject of Alistair, though, let’s talk art style. I’ll admit, it was a little weird seeing these characters rendered in 2-D, and honestly, I’m not sure how well it worked. Not to say the art style is bad by any means; there’s just a slight different-ness to Isabela, Varric, and especially Alistair that stood out to me. The chiseled, super-manly-square-jawed with REALLY intense cheekbones running around this comic looked nothing like the Alistair I remember from the video games, and it just didn’t work for me. There may be a reason for that; there may not be. But I know it didn’t work for me. Too many scenes of him in the rain looking… just… not right. This is especially odd since he looked far less egregiously not-Alistair, yet all three series have the same artist, Chad Hardin. With that knowledge in mind Alistair’s gauntness is probably meant to indicate what a long journey this has been for him, so again, it might be something that’s less jarring if you’ve been following the comics as they come out.

At the end of the day, it’s a Dragon Age ‘verse story through and through, highlighting a fan-favorite character with all his well-loved sass and colorful, enhanced retellings. It has some art issues, in my opinion, but it is always very tricky translating something from one medium to another. I’m willing to handwave it for every case but Alistair’s, because seriously, who is that guy with the hollow face? If you’ve been following the Dragon Age comics already, then you’re good for this one, and I would definitely recommend it as (I assume) we’re getting into the meat of the overarching plot now. If you haven’t been following and you’re curious, my advice is to read The Silent Grove  (.99 cents each digital copy, $14.99 for hardcover) and Those Who Speak ($3.50 per issue, $14.99 for hardcover) first, and then get your hands on Until We Sleep #1. It’ll help you appreciate the story much better and have far fewer questions at the end than I did, and you won’t have to resort to a wiki to figure out why it felt like you were being thrown into something mid-story (which, in fact, I was).  For $3.99, it’s worth grabbing it now, even if you don’t actually read it until after you’ve caught up with the rest, and definitely worth it if you’re waiting for the rest of the story from the prior series to be told.

Jeni “Science Whyzard” Hackett usually romances Alistair and Anders, although she has been known to be tempted by Zevran and Fenris (but only Fenris when she’s playing a mage because she’s mean). Her preferred DA2 party is Anders, Isabela and Fenris, but only because she plays a ranged rogue thus Varric is a bit redundant. Her most memorable Dragon Age II moment was fighting the Arishok one-on-one as a longbow-favoring rogue, which went about as well and with as much dignity as you’d expect. You can find her on twitter under the name @allonsyjeni, email her at jeni.is.a.geek@gmail.com, or find her on tumblr at hellomynameisgeek.