THE LEGEND OF SIGURD is a dark fantasy ravaged by war and blood magic. Our protagonist Sigurd, or Siggy, is found in the middle of a war against a brutal ruthless enemy. Take a look at DRAGONSBLOOD #4 from Zenescope Entertainment to see if Siggy will survive.

DRAGONSBLOOD #4: LEGEND OF SIGURD

Writer: Nick Bermal
Artist: Jason Muhr
Colorist: Maxflan Araujo
Letterer: Kurt Hathaway
Editor: Kellie Supplee
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
Cover Price: $1.99
Release Date: August 7th, 2019

Previously in Dragonsblood: Legend of Sigurd: Sigurd’s family was tasked to kill an evil dragon known as Fafnir. Being the last surviving member, Sigurd went to face his nemesis and his death but as he lay dying he was infused by the blood of the dragon. Finding himself stronger and faster then what he was before, he is recruited by a Queen known as Freya to help fight in a war. As he prepares to fight the villain known as Ivar, he struggles to control the dragon energy that threatens to take him over.

ARE ALL RULERS CORRUPT?

Sigurd is shown practicing his new fire abilities on a lake when Queen Freya interrupts his practice by knocking him out of his boat and calls him to dinner. During the meeting between Freya and Sigurd, Freya reveals that she and Ivar were wards of a King but Ivar was never as loved as Freya was. Ivar quickly swore revenge to destroy both Freya and the King. The conversation is then interrupted by an attack from Ivar’s army. As Freya begins to mobilize the troops, Sigurd runs off to face Ivar. Upon the two of them engaging in a fight, Ivar keeps referring to Sigurd as a puppet to Freya’s whims. After Freya joins the fight, Ivar stabs Sigurd with a poison dagger that paralyzes him. He then reveals that he can contort his body like a snake and is able to dispatch Freya. As a dagger goes through Freya’s stomach, Sigurd hears the inner voice of the dragon and begins to attack Ivar with uncontrolled fire but quickly regains control. It is here that Ivar reveals that he and Freya are in a war to find out who receives godhood. At this news, Sigurd fully relinquishes control of his dragon blood and takes on an aspect of the dragon; burning down the entire forest around him. The mini-series ends by showing us that Freya survived the encounter and Sigurd is heading towards Yggdrasil.

MERELY A PUPPET

As I was reading this story, I was thinking of common war stories and their overall themes. What I wanted was a story of comradery between Queen Freya and Siggy to overcome both the villain and Sigurd’s inner demon. What I received was a story about how two god-like government figures who were using people like Sigurd as pawns in their war games. While it is never revealed what Freya’s motivation in the god war is, it does show that she lied to Siggy when she was revealing her relationship to Ivar. This story then takes Sigurd and puts him as a victim to blood magic, inner demons, and his friend’s manipulation. I understand that this short series is designed to be an origin story for Sigurd but without any closure to the story line during the last issue of this novel I am disappointed.

I do want to take a moment and say that I believe the art is wonderful. Jason Muhr does do a great job depicting the characters and emotions. The moment before Sigurd loses his will to the dragon’s whims, there is a look into his eyes that both haunts me and intrigues me at the same time. I can see the emotions on the face, and the forest background that sits in a lot of this issue is dynamic and beautiful.

BOTTOM LINE: AN ORIGIN STORY WITH NO SATISFACTION

This is a story meant to set up a new character for future comic books but didn’t leave me invested enough in the character to want to root for him. I am curious to see if they can do more with the character to redeem the dissatisfaction I had. I want to see Sigurd gain a family that he doesn’t have. I want to see Sigurd find happiness after spending his life on a revenge quest. I want to see them conclude themes that they have set up in previous books. Alas, I’ll have to wait for more books to see if we get a satisfying ending.