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A review by mal_eficent
Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight #1 by Brynne Stephens, Anne McCaffrey
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is not really a review of the story, more of how well this comic adapts the original book. Dragonflight and the Dragonriders of Pern series are some of my favourite books of all time. I've reread Dragonflight too many times to count and, honestly, if I hadn't I probably wouldn't have understood what was going on here.
Characters aren't introduced well, if at all, and panels skip around in the narrative in a way that doesn't really make sense. The whole Fax thing, for example - a reader of this comic would have no idea why he was so disliked. There are some things it shows better than the books did (Lessa's influence over people, the wher's thoughts, dragon sizes and how Mnementh 'cages' Lessa) but I just don't think it makes up for how badly this tells the story.
The artwork falls to personal taste. I really really enjoyed it and found the first volume was the best. The fully painted panels were gorgeous and very much matched the style of art I associate with both this era of sci-fantasy and the other materials surrounding the Pern books from this era. I do wonder if the very detailed painting work is one of the reasons so much of the story is glossed over, because it would have just taken too long.
While a great thing to have as part of a Pern collection, I wouldn't recommend reading the comic over the book. If you've tried to read the first book and didn't like it, but wonder if this would be a better gateway to Pern, it's not I'm afraid.
Characters aren't introduced well, if at all, and panels skip around in the narrative in a way that doesn't really make sense. The whole Fax thing, for example - a reader of this comic would have no idea why he was so disliked. There are some things it shows better than the books did (Lessa's influence over people, the wher's thoughts, dragon sizes and how Mnementh 'cages' Lessa) but I just don't think it makes up for how badly this tells the story.
The artwork falls to personal taste. I really really enjoyed it and found the first volume was the best. The fully painted panels were gorgeous and very much matched the style of art I associate with both this era of sci-fantasy and the other materials surrounding the Pern books from this era. I do wonder if the very detailed painting work is one of the reasons so much of the story is glossed over, because it would have just taken too long.
While a great thing to have as part of a Pern collection, I wouldn't recommend reading the comic over the book. If you've tried to read the first book and didn't like it, but wonder if this would be a better gateway to Pern, it's not I'm afraid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Animal death
Moderate: Violence and Sexual content