Sword-and-sorcery stories tend not to appeal to me. I cared little for the stilted dialogue and unnecessarily convoluted and decompressed storytelling of the Lord of the Rings films, as beautiful as they were. So why did I enjoy Sleeping Dragons? The writer brought it to my attention back when I was reviewing for another site, and that interest sustained despite a sporadic publishing schedule with Slave Labor Graphics. There's a simple charm to Sleeping Dragons, both in the script and in the art. It's universally accessible and boasts a classic feel, and the writer is wise enough to include some colloquial dialogue to allow the reader to relate to the characters.
A young but determined Knight of Meggido travels to the City of Gan, where he's given a hero's welcome. His arrival couldn't be timed better, as the city is being threatened by a legion of zombie-like creatures known as the Crough, led by an immense and powerful ogre. The knight not only brings hope to the people of Gan, but love as well, as he and a young archer named Becca connect on a deeply emotional level. As the story unfolds, it's presented as a play, viewed by citizens of Gan years later as they learn of the knight's efforts to save and protect the city.
I'm surprised we haven't seen more work from Szewczuk beyond this series. His simple style is a lot of fun, it's quite expressive as well. But he also conveys a lot of detail and information with that simple approach. The setting really comes to life, and I like the amount of detail he puts into the hero's armor, for example. His depiction of the Crough and the ogre are a little on the cute side, mind you. His panel layouts are inventive and strike me as being unlike most of what we see in comics today. What distracts from the art are the letters. The creators need a much stronger letterer to join them in their future efforts.
When I first read these comics, the rhyming narrative of the storytelling that popped up later on in the series was impressive, but it began to grate after a while. Upon reading the material again, I found it had grown on me. It brings a snese of the epic to the story, but also a playfulness. The cues between the flashbacks and the stage reproduction of the events were subtle but clear as well.
The ending, from which the book derives its subtitle, is a classic one, a triumph and tragedy at the same time. Ultimately though, what draws one into this story are the relationships among the characters. Philip and Becca's exchanges struck me as lovely and genuine, and the knight's friendship with Becca's young brother were heartening as well. There's a vulnerability to the hero that makes him attractive. 7/10
Note: Some of the comments in this review were reproduced from previous features on the website.
