Night's Dominion, Vol. 1 (graphic novel) - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from Oni Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Night's Dominion, Vol. 1
Author: Ted Naifeh
Recent Release Date: July 11, 2017

Synopsis: A thief, an assassin, a mage and a cleric walk into a tavern in the ancient city of Umber. Awaiting them is a mysterious bard with a dangerous scheme: to break into the dungeon of a powerful death cult in search of treasure. For these five desperate criminals, it's the last chance for hope in a city of corruption and despair. But what they find instead is an undead army preparing to conquer the world. Now, they must fight to protect the city that pushed their backs to the wall, or watch it burn. The acclaimed fantasy epic from New York Times Best-Selling author Ted Naifeh (Courtney Crumrin, Princess Ugg) begins here!

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Review: This comic starts with a bard singing in non-standard English and I took a long sigh. Throughout the book, I found the dialogue difficult to follow.

This is a heist story taking place in a very D&D world that has some very superhero-y elements. A group of adventurers meets in a tavern. A bar brawl happens. It has many classic fantasy tropes, but doesn't seem to add much originality to it. I felt like I was reading someone's D&D campaign. I think I would have preferred this story in novel form to get more in depth overbuilding and to be more inside of the characters' heads. Everything seemed very surface level. 

Although this graphic novel didn't keep my attention very well, I did like the artwork and character designs. I just wanted a lot more depth. I give this book a 2.5/5.   


--PAUL