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.