We enter the world of Exandria to look at the Bright Queen and her many lives. Come check out this story of love, loss, and betrayal in The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen #2 by Dark Horse Comics!
CRITICAL ROLE THE TALES OF EXANDRIA: THE BRIGHT QUEEN #2 (OF 4)
Writer: Darcy Van Poelgeest
Artist: CoupleofKooks
Colorist: Cris Peter
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Editor: Rachel Roberts
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 24th, 2021
Previously in Critical Role: The critically acclaimed web series comes back to comic book stands! The Bright Queen and her lover, Quana, are looking for pieces of Luxon. When they hear of one in the Ghostlands, Quana goes to retrieve it but ends up kidnapped. The Queen, Leylas, must now look for her partner and figure out what the Spider Queen is up too!
DEAL WITH THE ENEMY
The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen #2 continues where the first issue left off. The Bright Queen is upset with the disappearance of Quana. Dryca, the gnome that led Quana into the trap, is finally caught and the Queen questions him. He wasn’t aware of the plan and was an unknowing accomplice to Quana abduction. He leads Leylas to the Temple of the Betrayer Gods and enacts a ritual that sends the Queen to the Abyss where she finds Quana. Together they find the beacon and Leylas fights off drider monstrosities. The Bright Queen is then struck dead, and she sends Quana and the beacon back to safety.
ALL PLOT
The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen #2 really focused on just moving the story forward and developing this deep lore. This cheapened the sacrifice of Queen Leylas. I really wanted to get into the story, but it felt like we were just trying to reach a plot point rather than explore the deeper emotions. I have a feeling that is because I’m not familiar with the source material. I enjoy the story of Critical Role, but it is difficult for me to keep up with. I wonder if I am expected to be familiar with the web show to enjoy this comic. I own a tabletop business and I watch/listen to a lot of tabletop media. I feel that I should be the target audience for this, but I find that this doesn’t hold my interest as much. It doesn’t have those tabletop tropes that I expect, and it seems like I need more information than what I am given.
BOTTOM LINE: A LITTLE LOST
I think The Tales of Exandria: Bright Queen #2 is having a bit of an identity crisis. Is it a D&D comic book or something else? I think it needs to settle on what it is trying to do to be able to tell a good story. For me, this is a 3 out of 5. I did enjoy the artist’s interpretation of driders. Man, those creatures are scary.
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The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen #2
The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen #2 fails to get my attention and seems to ignore genre expectations without justification.
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Christopher Rondeau is a storyteller based in Tulsa, OK. Finding himself with little work, he ended up creating a job as a Game Master full time on the internet. Chris spends most of his days reading everything he can, writing bad fiction, and watching old Digimon cartoons with his daughter. Sometimes you can find him Dungeon Mastering a podcast or streaming on twitch. Recently, he has completed his Master's degree with a focus on collaborative storytelling. Find out more at https://rondeaucreator.com