Dragon Age: Knight Errant –
Dark Horse Comics
Scripts by Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir
Art by Fernando Heinz Furukawa
Colors by Michael Atiyeh
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Cover by Sachin Teng
Whether it’s gamers or cosplayers, Dragon Age is still one of the most popular properties in nerd culture. Ever since EA and Bioware introduced it, fans have lost themselves in the lore of knights and war. After Greg Rucka’s successful Magekiller arc from Dark Horse several months ago, I was waiting for a new Dragon Age book to hit the shelf. The wait is over, and it’s time to dive into the Knight Errant.
The story follows a traveling knight named Aaron Hawthorne and his elven squire, Vaea. Hawthorne is not only a story teller, but somewhat of a goodwill ambassador. He has traveled to Kirkwall to meet with the soon-to-be Viscount Tethras. It can’t be that simple, right? Certainly not, because there is much more to Vaea than being a simple squire. I will not spoil that, or what is is that she is doing, but at some point the story very much shifts focus to her. I believe that will also be the case thanks to two different encounters that happen as we near the final pages of the issue. One of them I think you will probably see coming, the other is a bit out of nowhere. Either way, you learn early on that Vaea should more than be able to carry this book going forward.
I’m a sucker for stories like this of knights combined with the fantasy world, which is probably what has always drawn me to Dragon Age. This book has a certain charm about it, and is very much different from the Magekiller series by Rucka. Good news is, both are good in their different ways. What DeFilippis and Weir give us is not necessarily a plot twist, but a foundation to build a story for the long game. The good news is, you also don’t have to be steeped in the lore of the game or any other books to appreciate this story. Time will tell if that is the case going forward, but it certainly is overall. The art is solid, and covers certainly live up to what you expect from a book like Dragon Age. Dark Horse continues to have some of, if not THE best, video game related comics in the industry today.
RATING: PULL / BUY