Dune: House Atreides #2

Dune House Atreides #2

BOOM! Studios 2020

Written by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

Illustrated by Dev Pramanik

Coloured by Alex Guimarāes

Lettered by Ed Dukeshire

The acclaimed prequel to the groundbreaking Dune continues in comic book form for the first time. Pardot Kynes arrives on Arrakis to begin research into terraforming the desert planet, but the merciless Baron Harkonnen has plans of his own. Meanwhile, the sadistic Harkonnens brutally test a young slave named Duncan Idaho. And Leto Atreides meets with the pioneers of space travel technology -- taking the first steps towards his incredible destiny.

I am very much enjoying this story and the further we get into it the more intrigued I find myself becoming. With the Imperial Planetologist, the Mother Superiors and the Altriedes house having their worn subplots weaving through the story there is a lot going on. With a lot going on it can sometimes feel crowded or overcrowded but the guys here deliver the perfect blend of information for each one to keep our minds engaged as we think about what it is we’re seeing and how this is going to affect things moving forward. There is some really find craftsmanship here when it comes to the writing so that it makes this a true pleasure to read.

I like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence over events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is laid out for us with such finesse. The character development remains super strong and the dialogue plus how the characters act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter really do flesh them out so much more fully. The pacing here is superb and as it takes through the pages revealing more of the layers within the story we see just how well this is being structured. How all the smaller threads all seem to be pointing in a certain direction is phenomenal and I cannot wait to see how and when they cross paths. How everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow is superb to see. Overall this is that blend between a prose novel and a graphic novel.

I love the interiors here. The linework that we see is fantastic it give us this strength or delicacy when needed and how the varying weights are being utilised to create the detail work we see is stunning. The way we see the expressions on their faces really give us an extra level of characterisation. The creativity and imagination on display here is sensational and whether that’s taking existing creatures like the Worms or ships and their designs what we see adds that air of wonder to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The colour work too is gorgeous! I mean the fact that the desert is so beige by nature and yet we see so many different colours in it is spectacular. How we see the hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is just beautifully rendered.

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I am really enjoying the way that this is being told and how we see it all unfold. The characters are introduced but their true purpose has yet to be revealed. With so many moving parts in play that this reads smooth as a Macallan Single Malt and ya know it leaves you with the same kind of warmth feeling. I still believe that if I had read this first I might have had a much better experience trying to read the book and watch the movie they made. This creative team is utterly amazing and they’ve managed to create a story that is engaging, interesting and makes this world come to life beautifully.