Chasing the Dragon #3
Heavy Metal/Magma Comix 2021
Written by Denton J. Tipton
Illustrated by Menton3
Lettered & Designed by Gilberto Lazcano
Enter a dark fantasy world ravaged by the rampant abuse of a drug made from the blood of dragons. After a harrowing crossing of an acid lake, two escaped slaves encounter dwarves who mine beneath Mount Brimstone, supplying the materials that feed the kingdom's addiction.
I am still not sure what it is about this that is just so damn alluring. The slaves are in love and running away to get a better life, neither of them are addicted to the Dragon’s tears as far as I can tell but that didn’t stop their mistress from declaring it so and sending a hunter off after them to bring them back. I can only imagine the horrors that would await them should they be captured and returned to her presence. I mean she’s the what every wicked stepmother in Disney film wishes they would be, incredibly beautiful and incredibly wicked not to mention a bloodthirsty stone cold killer. Still as the pair make good on their escape, thus far, they run afoul of troubles of their own and while we find ourselves rooting for them it would seem the stack is forever stacked against them.
I love 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 exquisitely well. The character development is interesting to me and through the dialogue, character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter we get to know them better and better. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story, new characters and new obstacles we’re drawn in deeper and deeper into this awesome tale.
I have to say that I like the way we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, evolve and strengthen. With new characters new layers emerge and things become even more complicated for our star crossed lovers. The way that we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is so well achieved.
Menton3’s works is just unbelievably beautiful. From the way we see the linework to the attention to detail and the moody and creative backgrounds that we see all conspiring to create the general mood, tone and feel through the atmosphere is utterly astounding. The imagery is sensual, erotic and evocative in what it makes the reader feel as we see the work. The way that the white hair is done as if no colour whatsoever was utilised on the page so that it’s as stark as stark white can get is just mindbogglingly brilliant. That we see such great depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is as strong as it is is wondrous to me. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is mindbogglingly brilliant to behold. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work demonstrates such an understanding of how colour works. The contrasts with the chosen colours too really make moments pop so much more than you could have bargained for.
This is a hauntingly beautiful series that serves to bring us into the lives of these characters as we follow them all on their journey’s. With unexpected allies and forceful beings hot on their heels can these two live long enough to see the light at the end of their tunnel or will all these events standing in their way break them in ways they could never have dreamed was coming?
About the Creator
Steven Leitman
Just me talking about the comics I enjoy reading, ones that you might not know exist and spotlighting the indie creators that excite me.
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