D&D comics history part 33 - Tyranny of Dragons (WOTC)

   From August 2014 to January 2015, Wizards of the Coast will issue a 10 pages online comic on their website entitled : Tyranny of Dragons

   This story will be part of the Tyranny of Dragons event that occured during this period. Along with the comic, WOTC will release adventures, modules, the Legends of Baldur's Gate comic by IDW and figurines based on this storyline.

Here is the introduction of the event by WOTC :

   "For years, the evil Cult of the Dragon has devoted itself to creating undead dragons in a vain attempt to fulfill an ancient prophecy. However, the cultists were misguided. They misunderstood. But now, under new leadership, the cult believes that the prophecy does not speak of undead dragons, but of a dragon empire that’s been extinct for 25,000 years. Tiamat, the queen of evil dragons, has languished in the Nine Hells for millennia. The cult believes that the time of her return is at hand.

   The cult has a new face and a new mission. It seeks to free Tiamat from the Nine Hells and bring her into the Forgotten Realms. To accomplish its goal, the cult needs five ancient dragon masks and the support of evil dragons everywhere. The cult leaders -each one a "dragon whisperer"- have reached out to the evil dragons of the Sword Coast and earned their allegiance.

   Meanwhile, evil dragons in partnership with the cult seek to amass a treasure hoard worthy of their dark queen, not by plundering their own hoards (of course) but by stealing money from cities, caravans, good-aligned dragons, merchant ships, and other sources. Their ravenous hunt for treasure throws the Sword Coast into upheaval. Neverwinter, Waterdeep, Baldur’s Gate - no city is safe from their depredations.

   The situation is dire. However, the Sword Coast is far from defenseless. Powerful factions are ready to rise up and put an end to the tyranny of dragons. Adventurers throughout the Realms must join forces to face Tiamat, destroy the Cult of the Dragon, and prevent the rise of a new dragon empire. The Harpers have since shared their intelligence with the remaining factions. To combat the Cult of the Dragon, Lord Dagult Neverember of Neverwinter proposes that adventurers representing each of the five factions be sent north to investigate - and to report back with haste.

   In their hands, the future lies."

   Tyranny of Dragons is not the only event provided by WOTC. As I am writing these lines, we're under Waterdeep : Dragon Heist one that is following a bunch of past stories as Tomb of Annihilation, Curse of Strahd, Rage of Demons, Elemental Evil or even Storm King's Thunder. When most of them will include a dedicated comic storyline by IDW (cf the ongoing adventures of Minsc and Boo saga), Tyranny of Dragons will be the only one so far to have its own dedicated online comic.

   The story has been written by Chris Perkins, script by Bart Carroll, art by David Baldeon, coloring by Joana Lafuente and lettering by Neil Uyetake.

   Mainly, this comic strip is a tour of the main places of the Forgotten Realms where the event takes place. Set as an introduction, we're following a bunch of different factions' heroes joining (at least for some time...) in a trip from Icewind Dale to Neverwinter, Tuern and Waterdeep where the cultists, under the command of a certain Rath Modar, are looking after the Dragon Masks, powerful artifacts that, when assembled into a crown, would allow Tiamat, the chromatic five-headed Queen of the Evil Dragons, to be summoned from the Well of Dragons. You can find more info about the masks in the free online Rise of Tiamat supplement (page 4).

 

ToD First page

  Each page is a condensed part of this story that could have had its own dedicated chapter issued if it were been developped. In a few pages, WOTC gave its readers/players a strong and heavy background of its event, something between a teaser and a summary. The art is pretty decent and, while plots and actions stand in a very few frames, the whole is still very understandable and coherent.

   For a better insight here is a pdf of my own of the whole story in a reduced size. (tho, the WotC links being still active, I'd gladly recommend you to get the pages there in their full resolution...)

   Note that this comic strip has finally been printed at the end of the first issue and the TPB version of Shadows of the Vampire in 2016.

O_oV

D&D comics history part 32 - Cutter (IDW)

   In 2013, along with the reprints of classic DC comics, IDW will only release one original story, set in the Forgotten Realms :

Cutter

   This 5 issues comic will be compiled into HC in november 2013 and in TPB a year later. Single issues will all have an alternate cover (characters' sketch ones for the most).

   It's been written by Robert Anthony and Geno Salvatore, art by David Baldeon, colors by David Garcia Cruz and letters by Neil Uyetake.

   The plot takes place just before Night of the Hunter, 28th book in the Legend of Drizzt story arc. It relates the inheritance of a magical sword from a Drow renegade, Tos'un Armgo, to either one of his half-drow siblings, Teirflin and Doum'weille, who will have to fight for its ownership. Tos'un, who fled Menzoberranzan during the failed siege of Mithril Hall (year 1358 DR) is then living for a century under the stars among the elves of the Moonwood and married with their leader, Sinnafain. In this tragical family drama, the main object of the tale is obviously the sword Khazid'hea, the "Cutter", a sentient and malevolent blade that will be a reccurent element of the Legend of Drizzt saga. First appeared in Starless Night, 8th installment of the series, it was then owned by Dantrag, elder son of Matron Yvonne Baenre and weapon master of the same house. By chance, even it DDP never released the full Starless Night comic, we have some visual of it in the first only published issue. Its design was then pretty different from what we have in Cutter. Here's are the page from DDP's comic and a cover art by D. Baldeon for a comparison :

 

Khazid'hea designed as... scimitar (!) in DDP's Starless Night and longsword in IDW's Cutter

   Through its history, the longsword will have many owners including Drizzt, Catti-brie, Delly Curtie and even orcs before ending in the hands of Tos'un. It is said the sword can cut through flesh, bone, steel, and even rock. And, aside with the telepathic path the sword creates with its owner, it also has the ability to shape-adapt its pommel and hilt to him and has no other purpose but to find its greater wielder, whatever it could cost to actual one. Tho, the blade part of the blood-thirsty sword itself is not supposed to change. (there DDP Starless Night's scimitar design creates a total non-sense as after Drizzt acquired it, he will give it to Catti-brie as he prefers using scimitars... QED heh)

   Taken alone, without any knowledge of Drizzt saga, the story can be misunderstood and somehow incoherent to the reader. But in the whole it makes sense. The art and coloring are pretty decent. We have here very dynamic scenes of battles.

    Here again, IDW proposed us a nice piece. Maybe not the best compared to the rest of their publishing but still, a fine and well drawn side story. The only one thing I could personally regret is that there is no module edition for any of the issues as well as no RPG material at all as bonuses... but well... it is what it is heh.

Also note that this story will be compiled in IDW's Forgotten Realms Omnibus along with Neverwinter Tales and Forgotten Realms.

o_O

   
Bonus : R.A. & Geno Salvatore's interview by Bart Carroll (04/10/2013)

What is the “Cutter” that gives this comic book series its title?

Bob : “Cutter” is the nickname of the sentient long sword, Khazid’hea, which has appeared in several of my older Drizzt novels.

Geno : Khazid’hea first appears in Starless Night, and has changed hands several times through the Drizzt novels. It was last seen in the hands of Tos’un Armgo, a drow renegade.

Can we expect to see any familiar faces (from your novels or from lore) in this series?

Bob : Oh yes, of course! Tos’un, the lead character and his elven wife were both around for the Hunter’s Blades series, and we learned about their two children through the books and short stories, as well. Also, this series will lead us back to many other familiar characters in the novels going forward.

How did this comic book come about? 

Bob : Geno and I had such a good time writing Drizzt: Neverwinter Tales that I wanted to do another one. Given the scope of The Sundering, the great world event that’s shaking the Forgotten Realms, there are many side-stories to tell. For this one, I thought a comic series was the perfect medium.

Geno : The story itself feels like a natural one to tell—Tos’un’s story in the novels was an interesting one, and he was left in an open-ended place. So we decided to explore what has happened to him and his family.

How does the process of writing a comic book differ from a novel?

Bob : You have to be very efficient with language, of course, and make sure that you’re on the exact same page as the artist, who is, in many ways, relating more of the story than you, the writer, are. I’m a visual writer, but with this format, I’m forced to really pare back my usual manner of letting the characters describe the scene before them.

Geno : Space is at a premium in a graphic novel. There are only so many pages in an issue. So, in order to tell the full story, you really have to use that space efficiently. There simply isn’t enough space on the page for anything not essential to the story. Of course, I’m not sure that’s really different from novel writing—anything not moving the story forward can and should be cut from a novel, as well—but writing a graphic novel really forces you to consider what is and what is not essential.

You’ve both written comics before, of course—but have you become more comfortable with the medium?

Bob : I certainly am. What’s very intriguing to me is that all I’m really doing is channeling the way I “see” a story a bit differently than when I’m writing it in a novel, and honestly, the comics are starting to seem equally (if not more) natural to me.

Geno : One of the first things I published starting out was a graphic novel short (co-authored with my father), which was featured as part of a graphic novel based on his DemonWars world. Returning to graphic novels for Neverwinter Tales and now for Cutter feels very natural to me. I very much enjoy and feel very comfortable with visual media.

Have you enjoyed working with artist David Baldeon? 

Bob : Oh, absolutely! Every time the next pages show up, I open the e-mail and gasp with awe. David can tell a story as well as anyone, and beautifully.

Geno : David’s work is amazing.

Will this series have a lasting impact on the landscape of Dungeons & Dragons - and the Forgotten Realms specifically?

Bob : Yes, because Cutter is leading us to something bigger and darker. My novel due next March refers to this series directly and importantly.