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The Order of Dagonet #5

By Andy Frisk
June 24, 2011 - 00:04

Firetower Studios’ The Order of Dagonet marches on with this fifth installment of the misadventures of a modern day gaggle of knights modeled on of some of the most outstanding and outlandish contemporary figures from popular culture. Most of our heroes are finally assembled by Merlin and given their magical weapons upon which they are to rid the realm of England of the “faerie filth” that has overrun it. The only problem is that some of the “faerie filth” aren’t really all that bad and Merlin reveals himself to be something of a medieval bigot…

In response to Dizzy’s (this tale’s version of Ozzy) inquiry concerning the destruction of the original Camelot by Merlin, Merlin states, “Oh hardly. The city was long destroyed before I sunk it. Overrun with Faerie filth and looting Jews. After Arthur left the whole place went to Hell in a hand basket.” With these few sentences, series writer Jeremy Whitley reveals that Merlin isn’t all he’s cracked up to be. Obviously, Merlin has some rather deep seated bigotries that bubble to the surface now and again. While he has managed to summon the modern incarnations of the Knights of Dagonet, and the faeries are wreaking a bit of havoc in Merry Ole’ England, the good guys and the bad guys aren’t exactly who they are supposedly supposed to be here. When Merlin lays into Laverne (the traveling companion and friend of the series’ stand in for Neil Gaiman) for speaking out of turn with, “In my day she’d have been beaten for…” Laverne almost takes his head off. It’s a wonderfully and subtly brilliant display of not just a culture clash, but a clash of historical viewpoints that demonstrates just how far society has come since the glory days of fictional high fantasy. This series, which builds its premise on a sort of reverence for high fantasy, is turning this reverence on its head by displaying the most likely mindset of medieval high fantasy characters. Fantasy of this type is usually based upon a romantic image of knights in shining armor battling evil trolls and faeries. Whitley is standing this image on its head by revealing that not all the knights (or in this case their mystical leader) were as morally upstanding (or would have been) as one might think (had they really existed). These characters are product of real historical ideals and beings (well…the knights are) and their real life counterparts were probably not as romantically pure (in the literary sense) as one might think. This post-modern reworking of the classic faerie tale story alone would make The Order of Dagonet a worthy read.



Whitley’s witty cultural and racial post-modern musings aren’t the only thing that makes The Order of Dagonet worth the read though. Jason Strutz’s artwork is just as captivating as Whitley’s words. While falling outside the realm of the type of artwork that I’m usually all gaga over, i.e. hyper detailed stuff, I’m nevertheless enthralled by Strutz’s work because it truly doesn’t look like any other mainstream comic book art out there. Strutz’s colored pencils, overlaid with paints and digital inks, continue to create the perfectly colored mood for a tale about faeries, trolls, knights, and a wizard who are mixing it up with the real world. While his work lacks the aforementioned hyper detail, he still manages to capture his character’s facial nuances and the necessary comedic energy to bring Whitley’s tale to fun and colorful life. I once mentioned something to effect that his faeries would look at home in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It would be awesome to see Strutz illustrate a sequential art version of Shakespeare's greatest, and my personal favorite, comedy. I truly believe he could pull it off.

The Order of Dagonet is one of those rare works that takes a pretty unique premise and manages to make it not only engaging, but thought provoking as well. These independent creators are on to something here. Check out this book, you won’t be disappointed.

Rating: 9 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12