Campisi: The Dragon Incident #4

Campisi: The Dragon Incident #4

Aftershock Comics 2021

Written by James Patrick

Illustrated by Marco Locati

Lettered by Rachel Deering

The dragon $#% has hit the fan. It's all but certain that the dragon is going to destroy Green Village, and the people who couldn't or wouldn't leave the neighbourhood are going to die. Sonny Campisi has one last desperate chance to save his home, but he's going to need the help from the most unlikely source.

I really like this story and I really, really like how it ends as that last page tells us that Sonny’s adventures are far from over. There is a lot of stuff going down this issue and I have to say that some of it is surprising, some isn’t and overall what this has done is created a world where the myths & legends, those creatures thought to be nothing more than fairy tales, are awakening and they are extremely pissed off. There are a number of messages on a deeper level here as well and they creep into your mind as you read this as how James manages to engage you into the story so you see so much more than what is on the page is brilliantly rendered. I love when we get a new franchise or at least the prospect of a new franchise and with Sonny as the main man this is going to be something amazing to see continue, hopefully.

I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does such a magnificent job with how we see their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story we are just hit in the feels with what we see.

I am pretty impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I am also liking how we see the layers open up new avenues to explore. Whether it is the past, the town’s reaction to Sonny or the possibility of another arc, all these and more add depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

The unique style of art here is bespoke to this story and it is so beautifully rendered that at times I am in awe. There are pages in that aqua/blue range that are just so striking and so visceral it just captures your imagination perfectly. I do wish we would see more backgrounds but that’s okay because how we see the composition within the panels enhances and expands the moments as well as brings out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a spectacular eye for how colour works.

​

I like being kept on my toes anytime I am reading a story and this issue sums that up perfectly, and then some. I mean to see what see and how the reactions to this go it just kept the surprises coming one after another. So for someone like me this was an extremely delightful story and it makes me want to see more. The writing is fantastic while the characterisation is strong and familiar and it’s all wrapped up around these truly bespoke interiors bringing it all to life beautifully.