VERY FINE/NEAR MINT Written by ANGE
Art & Cover by PHILIPPE BRIONES Variant Cover by CHRISTIAN PATY
The bloodiest battle in the history of the Order of the Dragon Guard! Tens of thousands of creatures deformed by the Veil surge through the country like a wave of death. After overtaking the empire's troops, the monsters are only a few days from the capital. Only the Dragon Guard are strong enough to intervene and the Order cannot ignore the Emperor's request. Will the battle of Brisken Pass battle live on in history books as the battle that saved the empire or as the biggest trap the Order of the Dragon Guard Order ever fell into? 48 PGS.
Date Available: 09/15/2010
BONUS REVIEW by GARY OWENS
Tales of the Dragon Guard is a foreign title, but Marvel has joined up with foreign comic publisher owner, Soleil, to reproduce an English translation of it. I like the foray, since Manga has popularity, and this is an additional step by Marvel to get the Europeans into the act. Dragon Guard is pure fantasy, where dragons turn people into twisted beasts by their mere presence, and dedicated warriors try to keep back these beasts, while also trying to end the dragon menace. This issue has court intrigue, and a weeklong campaign. Briones, the artist, reminded me of a watered down Perez, and the story by Ange was slow but well-paced, though I got a little lost keeping track of a couple warriors. Still, I liked the extended format, even with the higher price. If you're a fantasy fan, this one seemed to be closer to grand battles/sparse magic stuff I've enjoyed in the past (like LOTR), without any screwball comedy. If you want companies to publish serious fantasy comics, here is one.
