- Writer: Kurtis J. Wiebe
- Artist: Justin Osterling
- Colorist: Meg Casey
- Letterer: Jim Campbell
- Designer: Kate Z. Stone
- Cover Artist: Tomas Oleksak
- Editors: Jasmine Amiri
Thanks to Oni Press for the review copy!
If you were to read Dryad #1 and then skip to issue 4, you would have no idea that they were the same series. That’s how deftly the writers hid the true nature of the comic in its debut. What seemed like a fairly standard elves and magic tale set in some long ago past sprung a twist straight out of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village. After giving hints about the world our protagonist parents came from via the interlopers, this issue brings them and their children back to the city. And what a city it is! All vestiges of a Dungeons and Dragons world are gone, replaced by neon, skyscrapers, and technology.
While I found the first issue a little slow, each subsequent installment has had an impressive amount of action (and carnage). The issue has a particularly intense death scene early on that reminded me some parental discretion is advised with this series. This series does an excellent job of depicting action. One side effect of so much action is, each issue moves the plot forward incrementally, with one major thing happening. This issue focuses on the entry into the city, with an end of issue tease about what the next challenge will be.
DRYAD continues to improve each issue as it peels back more layers to the universe it has created. The characters, even the ‘bad guys’ are quite likable. While you can certainly pick up the series at issue 4, with the general knowledge that two parents ran away to a rustic village to raise their babies, and now are drawn back, I suggest starting with issue 1.
DRYAD #4 will be available on August 12th, 2020.
Are you reading the series? Feel free to chat with me on Twitter or leave a comment below!
