Dungeons and Dragons: Legends of Baldur’s Gate #5
IDW Publishing
Written by : Jim Zub
Art by: Max Dunbar
Colors By: John-Paul Bove
The quest comes to a thrilling conclusion in this episode! Every Dungeons and Dragons player will always remember their first fight with a red dragon. Previously, the dragon cult leader (who turned out to be Neera’s brother) has transformed into a huge flying red dragon. This issue takes us for a roller coaster ride through the skies on the back of the wyrm! From cover (variants too) to final page, this issue was packed with impressive art and storytelling.
Once again, Zub nails the script and dialogue. The conversations and narration were wonderfully done, and captured the spirit of the source material. With witty (cheesy) boasts made by Minsc, there was real joy in reading this issue. The artwork is great as well, excellently showing the architecture of the city far below and the terrifying details of the dragon all within the same frame. The one scene that really stole the show for me was the huge splash of the dragon flying above the city, accompanied by a great narration of the setting, in other words Zub was our dungeon master illustrating the monster with words alone while capturing just how dangerous a creature this is.
When the rogues of the party did what rogues do best (besides backstabbing) and came up with a great creative solution, it felt very in the moment. I was reading the pages and getting so engrossed in the action that the fight just seemed fluid. Of course Minsc and Boo get to do their iconic “go for the eyes!” maneuver. From the epic dragon fight to the banter and cleverness, this is a ‘can’t miss’ issue. With the current quest finished and the heroes banged and bruised, their election to stay in Baldur’s Gate will result in many more buildings laying in rubble and even more wounds that need healing as pointed out “…we’re definitely going to need a cleric”, so cue the search for a cleric in the following adventures!