Belle: Dragon Clan

Belle: Dragon Clan

Zenescope Entertainment 2021

Written by Dave Franchini

Illustrated by Julius Abrera

Coloured by Juan Manuel Rodriguez

Lettered by Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios

Anabelle “Belle” DiMarco has faced monsters and beasts of almost every dark hidden corner of our world. And whether it was skill or luck, she has come out standing on top. But, what happens when she becomes the prey of something not of this realm? Something so ancient and powerful that she might not have the knowledge or ability to stop it. Don’t miss this next thrilling chapter in Belle’s life as she takes on the Dragon Clan in this oversized 32-page story!

I absolutely LOVE this issue! I keep saying that Belle needs to have a regular limited-series arc because she’s just that amazing and awesome a character. What Dave does here with the writing and with the characterisation as Belle sees her flaws and those aspects of herself she needs to work on make her phenomenally relatable to. It is so self-aware and so meta that it’s frighteningly good. I also think that this is part of what makes her so good at what she does, she knows that luck alone isn’t going to cut it and has to work harder and smarter if she’s not going to end up roadkill some day.

I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, inner musings, dialogue, character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter do a magnificent job in bringing these characters to life as real people, some of whom we know or relate to.

I really like the way that this is being structured and how we see the layers within the story emerge, grow and strengthen. Of course it’s within these layers where the characterisation, plot twists and revelations come to life and they bring this amazing depth, dimension and complexity to the story. The scene with the cops, the rider herself, her host Rachel, all add these elements that make Belle a stronger woman. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably rendered.

I am in love with the interiors here. The creativity and imagination in bringing this dragon to life and to have him so consistently rendered throughout his appearances is mindbogglingly brilliant to see, that two-page spread alone is killer. The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail inside the work we see throughout the book is bloody brilliant. How we see backgrounds utilised throughout is well conceived, I’d like more but that’s my schtick. How we see them work within the composition of the panels to bring about the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is utterly phenomenal. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a brilliant eye for storytelling. The colour work is equally as brilliant to see. How the various hues and tones within the colours are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show someone who understands how colour can and should work.

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With a great blend of story and action it’s almost a tale of self-discovery and self-awareness for Belle and it’s a journey she allows us to accompany her on. The writing and characterisation is extraordinary and the interiors are simply bloody brilliant and all of this makes this one of the best books you’ll read this week.