Dragon [Kickstarter/self-published, 2022]

Dragon

by

Saladin Ahmed (Author), Dave Acosta (Illustrator), Chris O’Halloran (Colorist), Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Letterer)

My rating: 3.25 of 5 stars

A free-wheeling, exploration of an alternative incarnation of the familiar Dracula story, this time with a hint of a more action adventure vibe and set in an alternative history medieval setting of sorts. This was a Kickstarter backer project for me because I am a fan of Ahmeds’ writing.

Essentially we find ourselves in a world wherein the familiar man known as Vlad Dracula was a child when the Ottoman Empire had reached the kingdom known as Wallachia and defeated the King of the land, who was nicknamed The Dragon, and instead of being killed, he was made a vassal king to rule on behalf of the Empire. Meanwhile his two sons, Vlad and Radu, were taken to be raised in the house of the Turkish ruler.

The present of the story finds us in a day when the now-grown Vlad has been sent home to take over as vassal ruler from his now deceased father. However… something is afoot as darkness seems to have found a home in the cold and harsh country… and elite Jannisary named Adil finds nothing but blood and death and horrors when he is sent on a mission to Wallachia; leaving him more than troubled and definitely somewhat lost in his faith and his purpose. Meanwhile a young nun named Marjorie is living out her life peacefully in a convent until powerful supernatural forces intervene to turn her world inside out and force her to leave her sanctuary and seek a new purpose in the scary world beyond. Eventually the paths of these two lost souls of different faiths, oft at odds with each other, come to cross and perhaps there is a new purpose that will find and bind them, whether they wish it or not.

I honestly went into this with little to no thoughts on the story and trusted in the creative team of Ahmed and the Acosta. Overall I can say that it was a good solid book – some flaws, but nothing that I would call a negative.

First, the story: It is a well told, well paced story with characters that can be understood and are not one-dimensional. The speed at which things unfold is also reasonably well balanced with time given to exposit in good measure while also allowing for the plot itself to never get stuck anywhere. Another big plus is that it is unlike many retellings that chooses to focus on the historical, brutal Vlad Dracula aspect of the villain instead of just the monster more familiar to many.
However, the pacing and size of the book is also a flaw – perhaps it was limited due to the intended page-count and targets for the kickstarter, but there is almost a rushed element to it all. The characters are good, but I wanted a bit more from almost all of them; the basic narrative threads are strong but could have also benefitted from a little more space to breathe; and lastly the villain – yes it is Dracula whom most all of us know, but had it been literally anyone else, it would have felt threadbare because he is a bit flat.
Is he scary? Does his ominous presence seep in through other parts of the story? Yes to all that, but it is like the creeping evil the main characters feel, but it makes him little other than a scary monster to dispatch at the end of the story. I am of the school that stories with obvious villains, need those villains to be interesting or compelling in at least some measure if you want something other than a monster-of-the-week type of thing – and that does not happen here.

The artwork is definitely a stronger aspect for me. Modestly done without too much window dressing and overt density, it is somewhat clean and the mostly muted and dour colour palette does a good job keeping the mood alive throughout the book. It is a little dull, but I suppose that works with the tone of the story for the most part.

Perhaps it could have been better. But on its own, I have no regrets having backed it as it is a solid action-horror story and was entertaining to read. There were moments where it felt to me like it could very easily be not unlike the mid-budget fantasy action movies from the 1980’s like Krull or Beastmaster or Ladyhawke – not a story from which you expect too much in-depth storytelling but solidly gritty adventure with good basic characters and a good vibe and script.


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