Elric: The Dreaming City #02

Elric: The Dreaming City #02

Titan Comics 2021

Based on the Novels by Michael Moorecock

Adapted & Written by Julien Blondel & Jean-Luc Cano

Illustrated by Julien Telo

Storyboard & Design by Julien Telo & Ronan Toulhoat

Coloured by Stephane Paitreau

Translated & Lettered by Jessica Burton

Elric of Melniboné is exiled from his home and cursed to walk the land under the influence of the god of chaos, Arioch.

This is why I love Titan Comics, they know how to match talent to a project and really get the most of these creators. I mean this series is stunning and it’s only two issues in. This is turning out to be as much of a fantasy epic as the novels that it comes from. There are lessons to be learned, by both the lead character and the reader, and gorgeous locations where these happen while all the while we see this current adventure unfold before our eyes. How things tie together, past and present, and how this creates the way the future of the story is going is impeccably rendered. With one of the more complicated characters, he rivals that of The Witcher in this regard, around Elric is as delightful as he is ambiguous and interesting.

I absolutely adore 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 is presented exquisitely. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interactions as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter is magnificently done. It really is nice to see how all these things work together to bring their personalities to the forefront and we get to know them better. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story grabs your attention and doesn’t let you go.

I love how this is being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen is beautifully rendered. These layers open up different avenues that can be explored, some will be others will not, and what these avenues do is add some gorgeous 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 is impeccably achieved.

The interiors here are utterly gorgeous. The linework is superb and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of detail in the work that we see throughout the issue is masterfully rendered. We see backgrounds utilised so often and it makes me such a happy camper to see them so prolifically used. Not only do they enhance and expand the moments but they also work within the composition of the panels to bring out this wonderful 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 masters eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a brilliant eye for how colour works.

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To see this battle and what occurs during said battle thanks to his cursed sword well that is just tragic. This is just another avenue opening up in Elric’s life and this is a big one that will undoubtedly change the way he moves forward and I’m looking forward to seeing how these events affect him. It is so easy to get caught up in Elric’s life and forget that he’s a fictional character let alone an elf at that. We find ourselves becoming engaged and invested in Elric’s life and adventures and it’s a testament to how well this is being crafted. The writing is stupendous and the characterisation is so intense that alongside these utterly brilliant interiors we know this is far from your ordinary fare.