In TRISTON #1-3, available now from Floppy Comics, a young boy living in the Dark Ages leaves the shelter of home to find a cure for his ailing dragon.
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The Details
- Written By: Johnny Dickens
- Art By: Dan Lauer
- Colors By: Jimmy Greenhalgh
- Letters By: Lettersquids, Jimmy Greenhalgh
- Cover Art By: Dan Lauer
- Cover Price: $6.00/issue
- Release Date: July 31, 2020 (issue #1), June 2021 (issues #2 & 3)
Was It Good?
It was charming.
In this indie project, Dickens creates a fictional tale that borrows heavily from legendary stories of the period. Everything from exploits involving the lineage of Pendragon to alchemists to dragons, and even familiar plot points of the main character’s life. The story sounds familiar because it overlaps with traditional tales of a young King Arthur and (perhaps) Tristan and Isolde, but this is still a wholly unique story.
Despite the dangerous, Dark Ages setting, this is very much an all-ages book. Tristan embarks on a succession of quests that are clearly setting him up to become a great man, and potentially, a great knight. On its surface, you would be tricked into thinking of this comic as a simple coming-of-age story, but it has more in common with a classical hero’s journey. Tristan is growing up, but his courage and determination fall more in line with an adult determined to become something greater. His age is almost irrelevant to the story.
Shifting to the art style, it suits the tone of the comic very well. The combination of panel layouts, lines, and colors feels like a Sunday comic strip. That’s not a negative as it suits the material perfectly. However, only the first issue we received for review was in color, but what we saw, we liked.
The one down in the art is the lack of color in issues #2 and #3 combined with the Old English lettering font in the narration. The busy font compressed into the small narration boxes without any color to soften the background made some of the reading more difficult.
In all, this was an enjoyable story to read.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Young Tristan is raised alone and on the outskirts of the nearby village by his over-protective mother, Isobelle. Tristan’s father was killed in a rebellion against King Pendragon, and his mother keeps Tristan away from war and adventure for fear Tristan may lose his life like his father.
Tristan longs to become a knight and live a life of adventure,e but his mother prevents him from making friends or becoming exposed to the dangerous world of men. One evening, Tristan finds a young dragon in his wheat field and the two become friends over time, against the wishes of Isobelle. During a hunting trip in the woods, they are attacked by a giant, magical boar. Although they survive, the dragon (Chomper) is grazed by the boar’s tusk and slowly falls ill.
We conclude issue #1 with the beginning of Tristan’s first quest as he seeks out a witch with the knowledge to cure Chomper of the poison from the magical boar’s tusk.
Issue #2, takes a number of twists and turns to conclude Tristan’s first quest.
Issue #3, sees Tristan assume a new quest before returning home to Isobelle.
Final Thoughts
TRISTON #1-3 is a charming and mature series that reflects the purest examples of the hero’s journey. Despite the complex and rich mythology referenced in the story, the art and themes are suitable for all ages.
Score: 8/10
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