Shadow of the Dragon Star part one, Review
Shadow Of The Dragon Star is an urban fantasy adventure series by Ian Sharman and Melissa Hudson, under Markosia. If you're a fan of elves, fairies, magic, intrigue, great art or fantasy in general, then this could be the comic for you!
The story centres around Eloise Jones, a teenager struggling to find acceptance at school. She's adopted, mixed race, she doesn't know who she is or where she fits in. Things take a drastic turn when a faerie appears in her garden shed, fleeing from the Sithe with the Dragon Star - a mysterious amulet which may hold the key to the truth about who and what Eloise really is. It doesn't mean her life will get better, but she'll find out who she really is.
Starting with the art, as usual here at Comic Book News UK, and Melissa Hudson's style is, quite simply, gorgeous. It has an almost Manga feel to it that compliments the story. It's a style that's perfect for a fantasy story that includes some dark elements. There are some incredible panels with a lot of detail, but also a few where there's no background at all, which really match the emotion the accompanying text is conveying. The colouring is nice too with some bright, colourful pages, but also isn't afraid to block some foreground characters in black or use large white spaces to focus the attention.
The story and lettering are handled by Ian Sharman. There are some nice surprises mixed in with some twists that are fairly obvious, but the obvious ones mask the surprise ones well. Add in some teenage angst with Eloise, and you have an endearing story where you really feel for our protagonist. There's more going on than meets the eye, though, and you won't get answers to everything here - it's the first issue, after all, so it can't give everything away.
The lettering has a nice hand-written feel to it whilst keeping everything clear to read. Even the text boxes with a yellow background are clear. It's important that people take note of how easily text can be read on coloured backgrounds, as not everyone does.
Shadow Of The Dragon Star part one is a great start to a series. It answers a few questions you have going through whilst leaving plenty open. It's a heartfelt story that packs a lot in without feeling overwhelming. Mix that with some gorgeous art, and you have the start of a potentially great fantasy series. There's so much to explore and loads to uncover still. Can't wait to see where the story goes.
As an added bonus, there are also some sketches at the end, which are a lovely addition. I wish more comics added extras like these. It's a great way to end a comic.
Rating: 4.5/5
Ian Sharman (w), Melissa Hudson (a) - Markosia
