In ELRIC: THE DREAMING CITY #2, available from Titan Comics on September 8th, 2021, Elric and his seafaring colleagues make a fateful attack on Melniboné to put an end to Arioch’s manipulations forever.
The Details
- Written By: Julien Blondel, Jean Luc Cano
- Art By: Julien Telo
- Colors By: Stephane Paitreau
- Letters By: Jessica Burton
- Cover Art By: Frank Brunner
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: September 8, 2021
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Was It Good?
This comic could be summed in a single word — EPIC.
No, not ‘Elric’. EPIC!!!
It’s amazing to me how many comics creators these days put out fantasy comics and yet fail to capture even a fraction of the scope, scale, and outright grandiosity of this single issue. The first issue was impressive all on its own for capturing a massive world with rich history, but this second issue makes you feel like you’re witnessing a grand finale to a year-long event. It’s simply amazing.
It’s not amazing just because it’s big. It’s amazing because so much scale is packed into only two issues, and you never feel like the story skipped important events or that you don’t know what’s going on.
Blondel and Cano don’t miss a beat in taking the revelation(s) revealed in issue #1 and compressing that information into a pure lightning bolt of motivation for Elric. He sees the manipulations of Arioch for what they are and how much damage they’ve wrought over years, and the story takes Elric, as the sullen lone figure, into a dark reaper of revenge. Yeah, that’s a lot of flowery words, but it fits the scenario, kiddos.
Telo’s art is great. Every scene is bathed in dramatic shadows or fiery doom. The linework is outstanding, and both the coloring and lettering are excellent.
I had high praise for the first issue, and I can’t say enough good things about the second. If you’re into big battle/action/fantasy, you’ll love this comic.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
First, see what brought the White Wolf to this state in our ELRIC: THE DREAMING CITY #1 review.
At the end of issue #1, Elric’s blade had taken the lives of several shipmates in exchange for the summoning. Racked with guilt and grimly determined, Elric swears to atone for what he cannot change.
We connect back to the prologue from the first issue where the sailing warriors wait for Elric to show up after being missing for months. Elric arrives after his trials with one directive — burn Imrryr, the capital of Melniboné, to ashes. this is all up to page 5.
From page 5 on through the rest of the book is pure battle and confrontation. It’s invading armada against Imrryr’s ground forces. Elric goes off alone to confront whoever is in the throne room, and much to his shock and sadness, he’s alone to confront Cymoril and Yyrkoon wielding Mournblade.
When all seems lost, here come the dragons to make things worse. We conclude the issue (and the current arc) with Elric in the embrace of sweet surrender.
Final Thoughts
ELRIC: THE DREAMING CITY #2 is the very epitome of sprawling, grand fantasy. The scale and scope of war are made all the more impressive by how much the creators were able to pack into a single (not oversized) issue. Everything about this two-issue arc screams “EPIC!”, so you can’t go wrong if you’re into fantasy/adventure.
Score: 10/10
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