All professions take their toll. Some people take a vacation, some may quit and move on to a less soul-crushing career. But what if your job was to kill mages? How do you escape that? And what happens when you feel you have no other choice? Greg Rucka’s “Dragon Age: Magekiller†unapologetically doesn’t answer any of these questions. Instead, much like the role playing game it’s based on this comic explores the journey; this time it’s a mercenary named Marius and his very talkative mage-killer in training Tessa.
As storylines go there’s a wealth of folklore and drama from online gaming that can be successfully translated to comic book form. Rucka has the basic elements, a tortured man with a mysterious past. A narrator who’s simultaneously a sidekick and then there’s a mysterious villain. Or is he? Everyone in this tale seems to have an agenda. As the reader you don’t even know if Marius is trustworthy. Tortured doesn’t always equal good. Still it could be equated to a man with a conscience and a code of honor that outweighs just being nice. Besides if your character isn’t on the grey side in terms of their philosophy, their existence gets ended quickly.
What’s more “Makekiller†has another narrative element going for it, the enigma that is magic. There are so many negatives associated with what most people fear, particularly the unknown. Their ignorance fuels the imagination and they begin to ascribe the magical arts to evil doings. What people don’t understand is that magic is like any other tool. Imagine being afraid of a pencil. It’s not the pencil that should frighten you, but the wielder of it. Perhaps that is why as the audience meets Marius, he seems over-burdened with all the killing.
As comic books go the story is filled with vivid language and imagery. You would think that as a reader you wouldn’t know where to put your eyes. However, everything adds to the action, even when Tessa describes herself trying to be still. You feel the biting cold and gut-churning wind. Still Rucka doesn’t give a hint as to where he’s taking you. In the beginning Marius is the only one who is truly sure of what he is doing; even though he doesn’t have quite a grasp as to why. Then by the end of the comic both Marius and the reader are unsure of what is going to happen next. It’s similar to the onset of a roller coaster ride. You start off steady, then turn to your companion to say this isn’t so bad. Then all of the sudden you’re screaming like a banshee, asking God to take you now. Seconds after kissing the ground you turn back to that ride and get on again.
Combined with the well-drawn characters by Carmen Carnero and the beginnings of a mysterious task being given to you by some creepy, big deal magic man just like that roller coaster you can’t what to find out what happens next.
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