This month Dragon Age: Magekiller returns for its third issue. Last issue ended just as a giant rift had opened up spilling demons all across the continent of Thedas. The story is making some changes and starting to run parallel to the latest Dragon Age game. But, is it good?
Dragon Age: Magekiller #3 (Dark Horse Comics)
We pick up several months after main characters Tessa and Marius have double crossed and fled from powerful mage Archon Radonis. He didn’t particularly like that, so he’s been sending assassins to kill them ever since. The problem is the aforementioned rifts that have been opening up. Now, instead of freelance killing mages, Tessa and Marius are just trying to stay alive and save who they can as the world seems to be ending.
My criticism of the first two issues of Dragon Age: Magekiller has been the slow development of the characters, though I liked the books overall. This time the book starts off with some intriguing back story for Tessa, though it’s clear most of Marius’s story is going to be a slow reveal. That’s okay though, as writer Greg Rucka has given me enough to enjoy Marius’ background and get more invested — I don’t need everything answered right away. There is a lot of action in this one and it really makes the book move. I was surprised when I got to the end as it’s very well paced. I found myself wanting more.
The big change story-wise isn’t just a another story arc, though. The most recent game in the series, Dragon Age: Inquisition involves the same rifts and demon problems the book is now getting into and exact events from the games are starting to be referenced in Magekiller. I hope future installments of the book don’t rely too heavily on its tie-in with the game. If the book falls into rehashing the same story, but from a different angle, it will quickly lose my interest and I suspect the same unless for some reason people have happened to pick up the comic without playing the game. Hopefully it’ll be more of a parallel story line, with a few winks and nods to the source material, as the characters are just now coming into their own and falling into the same narrative as the game would be a step back.
Is It Good?
I enjoyed this issue the most of all Dragon Age: Magekiller offerings so far. The new story turn seems more interesting than the first two books and I feel like I’m getting to know the characters. The art is colorful and pops during action scenes. I’ll take a wait and see approach to how well the tie-in with the game helps or hinders the story, but no sense looking for a problem until there is one.
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