alaterdate | Dragon Age Library Edition V1 (Reply)

While I must mention that I first read this volume a year ago I decided to write up some lingering thoughts on it since I just read volume 2.
Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 1 includes the comics: The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak, and Until We Sleep.
Story - Gaider, Script - Freed, Art - Hardin, Colors - Atiyeh, Lettering - Heisler.
CW: transmisogyny

First of all I am very lucky to own this volume. I happened to find it at my local comic shop when I went in there for something else. They usually don't carry the Dragon Age comics (have been informed that they don't sell well at that location) so I was surprised to find the hardcover library edition and a few floppies of Knight Errant (which I didn't get because I had already bought KE on kindle and I kind of hate floppies anyway tbh). Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 1 was published in 2014 (a little bit before Inquisition released) and at the time I wasn't really into the extended media. Since it's now out of print (afaik) you'll find it being sold for around $100. I was not going to pay $100 for this book. Frankly, no one should, but I digress. I ended up getting it for original retail price and I was stoked. I'm still stoked about it. It's a nice addition to my growing collection.

What about the content then? you may ask. Well, less than stellar to be honest. The art is alright, but not my favorite. The coloring ranges on the good side minus the weird choices for Alistair's hair and Isabela's skin being too light at times (Atiyeh gets so much better at coloring later). My biggest gripes have to be the paneling and the plot. Some pages are impossible to read because of the terrible paneling. I hate to be broken out of a comic because the panels don't flow well. It's probably my biggest issue in any comic (I love smooth paneling). Even if we move past that and get into the actual story, wow. What?

Alistair is on a journey to find his father and he hires Varric and Isabela to travel with him. Ignoring that making Alistair king was the canon choice made here, which I'm fine with on it's own, but absolutely bewildered by as part of what Bioware chooses to canonize within the comics (seems like a BIG MOVE on their part whilst they claim to not be favoring certain choices, but go off, it's ok), why Varric and Isabela? "Because" - Gaider. The group dynamics seem fun! If only Alistair hadn't permanently caught the morbs. And I guess it tracks because we know he has a tough time being King of Ferelden, but not one smile, not one joke? 🥺 At least Varric and Isabela maintained their character.
So the story takes them to Antiva, to meet a witch and her dragon, to Tevinter, to Qunari filled waters, and eventually to Seheron. It adds some weird lore about the Theirins, but fine I'll accept that. It's not disjointed per say just makes you ask "why". Pretty much the theme is "why?" We get to meet some really cool characters though! Women even! Yavanna, Rasaan, and Maevaris! Who are subsequently treated terribly, oh joy! 😬 And of course Isabela was treated badly the whole time too.
No despite all my misgivings, I can accept the plot, go along for the ride and enjoy that but...

By far the very worst thing about Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 1 is... the creator comments in the margins. They made everything so much worse! What are these guys saying, jesus!? I really don't like the artist. A lot of the stuff he said was big yikes. And Gaider I already know I don't like how and what he writes despite him having actually written for some of my favorite characters, he's just got some weird shit lingering around that once you take notice of it you can't forget. But mostly it was the artist that creeped me out and it's quite uncomfortable to read some of them. Especially the one about Maevaris.

"When [they] spoke to me about designing Mae, they wanted her to be fully female with the exception of her biology. They told me to think 'Mae West." Well, when I think of Mae West, I think of her...womanly shape. So, drawing Maevaris was always walking a fine line between portraying Mae's identity and her biology."

What are you saying here dude? What does he think Transwomen look like hmm? Gaider also said something super awful about her and wrote a very bad scene for her where she is forcibly revealed as a trans woman by having had her clothing ripped.

I wanna link two posts here that speak about the terrible treatment of women in these comics collected into Volume 1:
Who is Maevaris “Mae” Tilani?
The Poor Treatment of Isabela in the Dragon Age Comics

All in all, I love Dragon Age and this collection was okay though brought low by some big issues. I'm glad it's in my collection, but I'm probably never going to read through it again tbh.