Comic Review: Sun Dragon's Song #1

Created By: Joyce Chng and Kim Miranda
Publisher: Rosarium
Release Date: September 21, 2016

Sun Dragon's is the latest original coming from Rosarium Publishing. It's a short 4 part series created by Joyce Chng and Kim Miranda.

The Story follows a young boy named Ho Yi. Throughout the opening moments of the book we so what Ho Yi goes through each day. Tending to jewel crops and completing other chores. We also see that Ho Yi often needs a crutch to navigate the world due to an injury. Additionally he's the target of frequent bullying, yet when he finally defends himself, he's the one who lands in hot water. Things aren't great for Ho Yi, but there's one thing in the world that gives him hope. More than anything else, Ho Yi wishes to become a Sun Dragon Rider.

The Dragon Riders are warriors who ride on dragons and defend the country from enemies. Ho Yi's parents are dragon riders. However they do have different opinions on how certain events should be handled. There's an interesting moment when his father becomes upset that his wife didn't understand why he allowed a young girl to escape. His parents also disagree about weather Ho Yi will be able to accomplish his dream with his father believing he is strong enough to overcome the odds and his mother worrying about his safety.

The artwork in throughout the book is fantastic. There aren't many details shown and the art is very simplistic sticking to flat colors throughout. The art shines however in the faces of characters. Emotion is something that translates very well while reading through because there is no panel where a character's face remains unchanging. If a character is upset, their face will display that. The line work depicting the emotions of characters is something you may not notice at first but before you reach the final page it'll make a huge difference as you realize the characters faces are constantly changing, like the real world. 

There's different kinds of smiles. No character has a generic smile. There's smiles that are nervous, smiles that are happy, smiles that are trying not to ruin the mood. There's yells of pain, anger, and disgust but none of them are the same. I feel like this is such a small part of the overall artwork yet adds it adds so much to it.

Although it's only the first issue, I really like the book. I'm not sure why. I've read coming of age stories before, stories about children wanting to be warriors and so on. Yet, the book just does so many things right that it comes out as a completely unique experience. Maybe it's because the book is presented in such a different way than your average comic book. Without a doubt it's surely a book that holds interest.

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