Status: ongoing
Author: Kelly Bull
Read at: https://www.vaingloriouscomic.com
Oh, to be a lonely dragon, lost in a human’s world… but at least you have magnificent hair, right?
Rei is a dragon. Rei wants to be king. No, he knows he will be king. And to do that, he proposes a duel to his Queen. To make it short, it goes south, and he is banished from the kingdom, cursed into a human form. Fortunately, he stumbles on a human, Hammer, who despite not believing he is either dragon nor a king, accepts to go with him to the capital – he was going there anyway. And so the journey begins…
The best way to describe Vainglorious’ style is a simple word: pleasant. We are met with a very well crafted comic, with clean lines, simple coloring with subtle shading, a nice balance of stylization of the characters and their surroundings; the composition is great, and the paneling and lettering just makes it so easy to read. Overall, it’s just very pleasant to look at. First thing, you’ll find that the dragon designs are excellent, with every individual having their unique look. But don’t be fooled, this comic isn’t just that: just wait till you see the backgrounds in later scenes. I was blown away by the level of detail and how developed the style and cohesiveness was; it simply seems you were dropped into another world; and it goes hand in hand with the character designs. My gold star for this comic goes to the dynamism of the characters; they all come alive and just seem to move around this world freely, with each their personality.
If you like lore and world building, Vainglorious is the story for you. We first learn about the dragon cave, were a colony of sentient dragons have lived for so long they cannot remember flying freely in the sky anymore. Then we get a look at human civilization, which varies greatly from city to city. We are met with a wide array of characters, from dragon hunters to dragon-elves, each with their culture and customs, all living in this fantastic world that we are thrown into. I really got involved reading this comic, and learning about it all was highly enjoyable. The characters are charming and funny in each their own way, even with each their little flaws, like how self centered Rei is, but it’s a joy to follow along their journey to the capital. Also, Rei is hot, so that’s that.
Minor spoiler, but this was my favorite part of the comic: Rei, coming alive in his human form, cannot communicate in the human language yet, despite understanding it. So he slowly learns new words from Hammer as he’s speaking them, only able to repeat what’s he’s already heard. This was a brilliant idea, and while it’s so fun to watch Rei struggle to get his point across, I have a lot of admiration for the work behind making this bit so believable.
Vainglorious is a relatively short read at the time fo writing, and definitely something you’ll want to binge. Everything, from the world and characters to the art style and backgrounds, is carefully crafted and it all fits together in the beautiful comic that this is. And the side of mystery that’s been developing in recent updates just adds to it. So check it out!
Would I recommend: for the lovers of fantasy and lore-full stories.
Will I keep reading: obviously!
Find the author:
Twitter: @kellysketches @vaincomic
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