Dragonseed: Oversized Deluxe

In this Dungeons and Dragons–derivative graphic novel, half-dragon, half-human Adam Spittleseed is tasked with retrieving a rare gem that fuels a machine of prophecy. The machine is critical to a war effort that has percolated for two centuries. If Adam doesn’t deliver the jewel in time, a pact between dragons and the rest of the world will be rendered null and void, plunging the realm of Krath into brutal chaos. Joined by a chosen fellowship, along with his former lover, Polly (who bears more than a passing visual resemblance to comics fantasy mainstay Red Sonja), Adam embarks on a rote plot journey that checks all of the boxes expected in a standard fantasy epic. McClung’s background in writing for video games is apparent as the RPG-style mission is packed to the rafters with fantastical creatures and races, melees punctuated by clashing steel, and gratuitously bare-breasted female characters. Though the art is skillful, rising above most sword-and-sorcery comics, its impact is diminished by the script’s meandering pace and panel upon panel of endless exposition. There’s little to distinguish this mediocre fantasy offering. (Jan.)