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Dragon Age Graphic Novels #6-8
Dragon Age: Wraiths of Tevinter
The trilogy that pits Fenris and the Inquisition against the Venatori for the fate of Thedas collected in a top-quality, oversized hardcover!
BioWare’s game of the year award-winning dark fantasy RPG Dragon Inquisition gets a canonical continuation in this collection of Dragon Deception, Dragon Blue Wraith, and Dragon Dark Fortress.
When a red lyrium artifact of devastating power surfaces in the Tevinter Imperium, the Inquisition mobilizes knight Ser Aaron Hawthorne, elven thief Vaea, and magekillers Tessa Forsythia and Marius to retrieve it. Along the way, they will acquire a fledgling con artist and a troubled mage as allies, as well as Fenris, the legendary Blue Wraith. But the Venatori have mobilized forces of their own, and it will take cunning, bravery, and sacrifice to stop their dark intentions from being realized.
BioWare’s game of the year award-winning dark fantasy RPG Dragon Inquisition gets a canonical continuation in this collection of Dragon Deception, Dragon Blue Wraith, and Dragon Dark Fortress.
When a red lyrium artifact of devastating power surfaces in the Tevinter Imperium, the Inquisition mobilizes knight Ser Aaron Hawthorne, elven thief Vaea, and magekillers Tessa Forsythia and Marius to retrieve it. Along the way, they will acquire a fledgling con artist and a troubled mage as allies, as well as Fenris, the legendary Blue Wraith. But the Venatori have mobilized forces of their own, and it will take cunning, bravery, and sacrifice to stop their dark intentions from being realized.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 27, 2022
About the author
Nunzio DeFilippis
204 books96 followersNunzio DeFilippis is married to Christina Weir; together they have written a large number of graphic novels. They have written superhero comics but also created original comics and graphic novels of many genres, from YA fantasy to sports to horror to crime drama.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 27, 2022
Overall, more fun comics in the Dragon Age universe. I like the original characters created for these comics and hope to see some of them show up in the games.
Individual story ratings:
Deception - 4 stars
Blue Wraith - 3.5 stars
Dark Fortress - 3.5 stars
Individual story ratings:
Deception - 4 stars
Blue Wraith - 3.5 stars
Dark Fortress - 3.5 stars
September 23, 2024
Not entirely sure why this is a giant hardcover, but sure, why not.
These nine issues, the entire Deception, Blue Wraith, and Dark Fortress mini-series, finish off the story that began in Magekiller and Knight Errant, as all your friends from those books are joined by a couple of new faces, and Fenris, because everyone loves Fenris.
There are at least two gut-punches across these nine issues that actually made me sad; I didn't expect to be this invested in these characters so quickly, and yet there I was, disappointed when something bad happened. I'm kinda hopeful that these guys get a nod in Veilguard, even just a piece of paper with their names on would make me smile, because they deserve it after the crap they've gone through here.
And what I really like is that these stories feel important to the world of Dragon Age. The Red Lyrium problem that Knight-Commander Crazy Bitch set off across Kirkwall and beyond continues to grow, as does the ongoing incursion of the Qunari into Tevinter. It's such a big, living, breathing world, and these stories fit right in.
The artwork is all by Fernando Heinz Furukawa, so the creative team is a complete carry-over from Knight Errant, and looks just as good. Some of the expressions can get a little wonky, and I'm not sure why the Mabari looks so odd sometimes, but overall it's a solid visual, with plenty of backgrounds and gory battle scenes.
Excellent stuff - I just wish the book was a little smaller!
These nine issues, the entire Deception, Blue Wraith, and Dark Fortress mini-series, finish off the story that began in Magekiller and Knight Errant, as all your friends from those books are joined by a couple of new faces, and Fenris, because everyone loves Fenris.
There are at least two gut-punches across these nine issues that actually made me sad; I didn't expect to be this invested in these characters so quickly, and yet there I was, disappointed when something bad happened. I'm kinda hopeful that these guys get a nod in Veilguard, even just a piece of paper with their names on would make me smile, because they deserve it after the crap they've gone through here.
And what I really like is that these stories feel important to the world of Dragon Age. The Red Lyrium problem that Knight-Commander Crazy Bitch set off across Kirkwall and beyond continues to grow, as does the ongoing incursion of the Qunari into Tevinter. It's such a big, living, breathing world, and these stories fit right in.
The artwork is all by Fernando Heinz Furukawa, so the creative team is a complete carry-over from Knight Errant, and looks just as good. Some of the expressions can get a little wonky, and I'm not sure why the Mabari looks so odd sometimes, but overall it's a solid visual, with plenty of backgrounds and gory battle scenes.
Excellent stuff - I just wish the book was a little smaller!
November 14, 2023
As much as I love new Dragon Age content, I was so very meh in my feelings towards this. Sure, I enjoyed another trilogy of stories to follow ala The Silent Grove et al. I was interested to see my man Fenris again, and I was also bouyed by the fact that this trilogy was going to feature Aaron, Vaea, Marius and Tessa; 4 characters I've grown attached to from previous GN's.
But the stories in and of themselves are at best meaningless and at worst downright wastes of your time. If anything, the best you get to see in a Thedosian scale is the continued advancement of the Qunari into Tevinter post-Inquisition, which is the ONLY thing you can take forward from this moving towards Dreadwolf.
I enjoyed the artwork, though not the redesign of Marius (he's been de-aged by the looks of things and de-powered too, and dumbed down even further than he already was come to think of it), with Fenris' new look being a particular standout (it goes without saying that Vaea looks incredible in every single which way she looks but my bias is showing here).
Ironically, the character of Olivia, who was introduced and subsequently killed off in the first story, Deception, was a particularly well written and interesting character. Probably why they got rid of her, I suppose. Can't keep the readers entirely happy, can we?
It's not even a spoiler to say this, but it's a moment that solidified why I've given this 2 stars and feel like I've wasted my time as for absolutely no reason whatsoever, Solas is shown in TWO exact frames, the last 2 frames to be precise. And it's just such a ridiculous, "put in a character everyone knows!" Sort of cheap pop to make everyone go "ooooh" when really it just made me go, "huh!?".
I'm so glad I didn't pay full price for this otherwise I'd have been fuming.
But the stories in and of themselves are at best meaningless and at worst downright wastes of your time. If anything, the best you get to see in a Thedosian scale is the continued advancement of the Qunari into Tevinter post-Inquisition, which is the ONLY thing you can take forward from this moving towards Dreadwolf.
I enjoyed the artwork, though not the redesign of Marius (he's been de-aged by the looks of things and de-powered too, and dumbed down even further than he already was come to think of it), with Fenris' new look being a particular standout (it goes without saying that Vaea looks incredible in every single which way she looks but my bias is showing here).
Ironically, the character of Olivia, who was introduced and subsequently killed off in the first story, Deception, was a particularly well written and interesting character. Probably why they got rid of her, I suppose. Can't keep the readers entirely happy, can we?
It's not even a spoiler to say this, but it's a moment that solidified why I've given this 2 stars and feel like I've wasted my time as for absolutely no reason whatsoever, Solas is shown in TWO exact frames, the last 2 frames to be precise. And it's just such a ridiculous, "put in a character everyone knows!" Sort of cheap pop to make everyone go "ooooh" when really it just made me go, "huh!?".
I'm so glad I didn't pay full price for this otherwise I'd have been fuming.
June 27, 2024
The three stories this volume collects are actually part of an overarching narrative, so I’m not surprised they were reissued together with a new title. It reads well as a single story.
The highlight for sure was encountering Fenris again, but most of the new characters were fun as well. I liked the story, with most characters having their own arc within it, even if I felt it didn’t flow smoothly at times.
The art was another highlight, I particularly enjoyed how magic fights were drawn. There were many panels, especially double page spreads, that really made me look at the art in detail.
The highlight for sure was encountering Fenris again, but most of the new characters were fun as well. I liked the story, with most characters having their own arc within it, even if I felt it didn’t flow smoothly at times.
The art was another highlight, I particularly enjoyed how magic fights were drawn. There were many panels, especially double page spreads, that really made me look at the art in detail.
August 5, 2022
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
As much as I loved the storytelling in the game, I have found the graphic novels to be far less engaging. And while this is canon (though I don't believe the original game writers even work at Bioware any more and had much to do with this after a point) there are several issues that were frustrating. The story drags, the characters aren't as engaging as one could hope, and the artwork is incredibly inconsistent and doesn't have the Dragon Age feel. I had a hard time staying invested throughout.The story is a contained arc and features characters that likely will not be in the next Dragon Age release (Dread Wolf - DA 4). There are several characters who make cameos - Varus, Sebastian - as well as a side character featured throughout (Fenris). The problem is that none of those look like the game designs (Fenris especially is unrecognizable as written or drawn) and so it feels like this is somehow disconnected from the franchise.
The characters felt flat, overly simplistic, and missing the heart of their game counterparts. E.g., Sera and Alistair's goofy dumbness, Morrigan's acidic ambivalence, or even Isabela's amoral zeal. None of the characters were memorable as written and I never became involved in any of their storylines. There was a distinct lack of pathos throughout and it felt like someone had written a really flat and poor fanfiction of the game.
The artwork was even more problematic. Beyond the characters not resembling a Dragon Age design, there were also glaring inconsistencies and instances of really bad and cringe-worthy artwork. The characters emoted oddly or felt like they were coming from a Scooby Doo rejected plot and design. Panels were not very inspired and the color work was by the numbers. It was probably the most boring graphic novel I've read in awhile and really hard to push myself to finish.
What we do get, however, is some great travel to places we've never been in the game. From Tevinter to Sebastian's principality, to Rivain. It definitely left a hunger to play the next game and explore how the game will treat those locations. At the very least, we know Rivain and Tevinter will be there.
One of the writers has confirmed that the characters were comic creations and not necessarily going to appear in the next game. So for now, it seems the purpose of this comic is to bridge the timeline between Inquisition and Dread Wolf - and further explore the Red Lyrium issue (most specifically, Meredith's statue). It's just not a very fun slog to do so. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
November 28, 2022
This may be a little biased because I love Fenris and also there's a little bit of Dorian in this, but it's interesting to see what's going on leading up to Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and getting to know some of the characters we may get to interact with in the upcoming game. There's a heavy focus on Fenris' past in the second half and I ate it up!
January 5, 2025
i will get into some Issues i had first:
- the plot moving incredibly fast at times (sometimes it was hard to understand what had just happened, esp bc visually there was so much going on and the pacing could be quite fast, panels felt as if theyd been skipped sometimes)
- characterization choices being?? (why is fenris disillusioned by hawke gang CANON....why are Marius and Tessa lowkey unnecessary characters, and Marius had no personality in this at all? wtf was the point of calix he annoyed me immensely....why wasn't francesca distrusted by ANYONE when she was initially intending on siding with venatori)
- i wish the Sachin teng art inserts were higher resolution...the physical printing was strange..
- sometimes it did feel overly pacifist in it's takes (vaea not killing tractus danarius so your own morality is sound/to teach fenris a Narrative Lesson but then just letting him suffer by the qun... moral in name only) , (Francesca not being questioned at all for her acceptance of slaves / an elf catering to her after she killed her father) (fenris not hesistating to put down that elf red lyroum guy even after he says...friend...)( this relationship should have been delved into more anyways for it to have stakes, but this ties into stuff being rushed)
all that said...i REALLY did enjoy this. The art style was actually nice and not as western comic style (which I don't rly like ...like the beginning felt more off art style wise but i like how it dveeloped. dorian looked a bit strange to me!)( VAEA is so cute) (the spread where shirallas comes out of the sarcophagus as a red lyrium wraith was SOOO cool i couldnt stop staring at it). anyways I found the climax very compelling and appreciated how everyone was fighting their personal battles at the end(vaeas first time killing someone not just being brushed over as It Was Necessary To Kill), the vaea / ser Aaron relationship and the general impact he had on everybody was so compelling . he is NOT washed up. quite wholesome overall and usuallllly not in a way that undermines the story. I had a great time.
also SOLAS CAMEO!!!!! I know it was totally excessive ans out of nowhere but idgaf!
- the plot moving incredibly fast at times (sometimes it was hard to understand what had just happened, esp bc visually there was so much going on and the pacing could be quite fast, panels felt as if theyd been skipped sometimes)
- characterization choices being?? (why is fenris disillusioned by hawke gang CANON....why are Marius and Tessa lowkey unnecessary characters, and Marius had no personality in this at all? wtf was the point of calix he annoyed me immensely....why wasn't francesca distrusted by ANYONE when she was initially intending on siding with venatori)
- i wish the Sachin teng art inserts were higher resolution...the physical printing was strange..
- sometimes it did feel overly pacifist in it's takes (vaea not killing tractus danarius so your own morality is sound/to teach fenris a Narrative Lesson but then just letting him suffer by the qun... moral in name only) , (Francesca not being questioned at all for her acceptance of slaves / an elf catering to her after she killed her father) (fenris not hesistating to put down that elf red lyroum guy even after he says...friend...)( this relationship should have been delved into more anyways for it to have stakes, but this ties into stuff being rushed)
all that said...i REALLY did enjoy this. The art style was actually nice and not as western comic style (which I don't rly like ...like the beginning felt more off art style wise but i like how it dveeloped. dorian looked a bit strange to me!)( VAEA is so cute) (the spread where shirallas comes out of the sarcophagus as a red lyrium wraith was SOOO cool i couldnt stop staring at it). anyways I found the climax very compelling and appreciated how everyone was fighting their personal battles at the end(vaeas first time killing someone not just being brushed over as It Was Necessary To Kill), the vaea / ser Aaron relationship and the general impact he had on everybody was so compelling . he is NOT washed up. quite wholesome overall and usuallllly not in a way that undermines the story. I had a great time.
also SOLAS CAMEO!!!!! I know it was totally excessive ans out of nowhere but idgaf!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2025
[Hardcover]
I think you need to be digging for lore to enjoy this. Yes, I have played the games (multiple times) and so I read this to catch up on my man Fenris, daddy Viago and Teia. Also it was nice with some overlap with scenes from DA:Origins. I love that I hear their dialogues in their own (ingame) voices 😀
This is a book made for a very specific audience, already fans of the franchise, and in that sense it was good enough. For someone completely new to Dragon age, however, maybe not as much? I wouldn't know.
I think you need to be digging for lore to enjoy this. Yes, I have played the games (multiple times) and so I read this to catch up on my man Fenris, daddy Viago and Teia. Also it was nice with some overlap with scenes from DA:Origins. I love that I hear their dialogues in their own (ingame) voices 😀
This is a book made for a very specific audience, already fans of the franchise, and in that sense it was good enough. For someone completely new to Dragon age, however, maybe not as much? I wouldn't know.
January 15, 2023
A fun and quick read that brings back some classic characters from the Dragon Age games. I liked the art style and the three parts were fun, punchy adventures. The plotting wasn’t perfect, I was unsure why such a big deal was made about sparing Francesca’s father, but it was fun to return to Thedas.
Recommended only if you’ve played the three dragon age games.
Recommended only if you’ve played the three dragon age games.
November 28, 2023
The plot overall was fun! I love dragon age so it’s so fun to read the comics and explore Thedas some more.
Having Fenris as the touch point character was so nice to see. Him being a mentor and the experienced party was really good to see.
The artwork was gorgeous altogether. This volume had sketches and the variant cover arts included. So gorgeous.
Having Fenris as the touch point character was so nice to see. Him being a mentor and the experienced party was really good to see.
The artwork was gorgeous altogether. This volume had sketches and the variant cover arts included. So gorgeous.
January 9, 2023
Well guess who didn't read the instructions and found it this is actually volumes 6-8 of the DA graphic novel collections, not a whole new 9... I'd read 7 and 8 already, and to be honest, 6 was kinda dull and the art is just kinda ok.
July 26, 2024
I loved the art and it was fun seeing new and old characters again! It was also interesting to see what they were up to after the ending of Inquisition. Hopefully it becomes relevant for canon Dragon Age lore going forward!
July 31, 2024
Crisp tight thrilling ensemble work of fantasy fiction.
A tie in to the renowned computer game setting. Crisp tight thrilling ensemble work of fantasy fiction. New characters and old, romance, tragedy, high adventure and action. Artwork and story consistently high.
A tie in to the renowned computer game setting. Crisp tight thrilling ensemble work of fantasy fiction. New characters and old, romance, tragedy, high adventure and action. Artwork and story consistently high.
October 11, 2024
It was a good and fun overarching story that started in magekiller I enjoyed the continuity. Fenris was an absolute highlight for me and he and his dynamic definitely added an extra star to my rating.
December 6, 2022
Fenris. 💙💙💙
December 16, 2022
For some reason I didn't realize it was a compilation of volumes instead of new one. Still loved reading them again though
December 19, 2022
Dorian <3 Mabari <3 crazy looking qunari?
January 20, 2023
Deception: 2/5
Blue Wraith: 4/5
Dark Fortress: 3/5
Blue Wraith: 4/5
Dark Fortress: 3/5
January 30, 2024
beautiful art, simple story and plain characters - which used to be the main draw to DA
July 25, 2024
Fun! Can't get enough of the Dragon Age Graphic Novels! Love it when there are so many characters intertwining and showing up in the different media.
August 12, 2024
Not that I simp over Fenris or anything
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2024
Deception: 3 stars
Blue Wraith: 3 stars
Dark Fortress: 4 stars
Well, I guess I'll see these characters again next game, except for the only one who matters.
Blue Wraith: 3 stars
Dark Fortress: 4 stars
Well, I guess I'll see these characters again next game, except for the only one who matters.
October 17, 2024
okay the blue wraith makes waaaaay more sense now I've read it as part of a series instead of a stand alone.
February 2, 2025
fenris my nr 1 goat <<33
April 2, 2025
i love fenris and his sapphic besties
December 3, 2025
yay dragon age again!!
April 7, 2026
Fenris got a personality transfusion, which didnt sit well, but otherwise some good stories in Thedas with lots of familiar characters and good plots
July 12, 2026
the end made me angry about veilguard all over again smh
July 14, 2026
felt kind of disjointed? but the end still nearly made me cry so idk. slay?
December 31, 2024
I think Deception is the strongest part of this collection. Blue Wraith is a little messy with the villains, but it is all tied up well in Dark Fortress. The arc of these graphic novels was a nice addition. I liked all the characters, and enjoyed the pacing. The story is minor in the grand scheme of the world, but the fact most of its weight is centred on the characters makes that a non-issue for me. The art is mostly quite nice, though some panels that are happening in a different time and/or place are not very clearly marked. This is a very minor issue though. I think the David Gaider graphic novel arc in the previous collection is my favourite, but Knight Errant through to these three stories by Nunzio DeFilippis, and Christina Weir are very good as well. Pretty easy recommendation if you like Dragon Age, and like graphic novels.
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