Daniel Bayliss

The best of the Storyteller collections up to this point - although, admittedly, I may be biased. Doesn't a dragon always make a story better? (Answer: yes, it does.) We all know what to expect from dragons, which allows the creators of these four stories to go in extremely different directions and still feel unified. Plus, following on from their increased use in Giants, there now seem to be regular featured roles for the Storyteller and his dog - just as it was in the TV series. In fact, one story even makes a passable attempt at mimicking the TV series' narration.

A quick way to describe these stories is simply to list off where they come from - and to acknowledge that the dragons therein feel very "of their cultures": Native American tribes, the North Counties of England, Russia and the Ukraine, and Japan. All four stories are gorgeous to look at, very colorful, and highly individual. None of them is a famous story, although the first, "Son of the Serpent," is a melange of Thunderbird and Horned Serpent legends, while the third, "Albina," is a take on the Popovych tales with a feminine spin. The series has hit its stride, I think, in realizing that stories have to be coaxed from their roots a little.

More like this, please.… (mehr)

This book consists of four different stories about Dragons. I liked the overall format with ”The Storyteller” introducing each story. This is the first of the Jim Hensen’s Storyteller books I have read. My nine year old son actually picked this up at the comic book store and desperately wanted; he enjoyed it quite a bit. The book is beautifully put together with a lovely embossed cover and thick full color pages.

My favorite story of the bunch was Samurai’s Sacrifice by Jorge Corona. This story had lots of action, some humor, character growth, excellent illustration and was just generally really well done.

Overall this was a solid anthology of fantasy graphic stories featuring dragons. It’s appropriate for middle grade and older kids and was a fun read. See below for details on each individual story.

“Son of the Serpent” by Daniel Bayliss and Fabian Rangel Jr (4/5 stars)
This is an American Indian themed story about a father who desperately tries to save his son from an evil horned water serpent. It was well drawn and well told. It looked at a different kind of dragon and I enjoyed it.

“The Worm of Lambton” by Nathan Pride and Cassie Kelly (4/5 stars)
This is a retelling of the Worm of Lambton story about a giant evil worm that grows in part because of a young lord’s carelessness. This was another well drawn story and was well told. I enjoyed it.

“Albina” by Hannah Christenson (3.5/5 stars)
I didn’t like this one quite as much as the previous ones. I liked the artistic drawing style quite a bit but the story seemed a bit incomplete to me. It’s about a young woman warrior who is unhappy at home and goes out with another woman to slay a dragon.

“Samurai’s Sacrifice” by Jorge Corona and Jen Hickman (4/5 stars)
The illustration style for this one is more cartoony than the others; it’s very well done and easy to follow. I liked this story a lot, there was a lot of irony in here, some excellent character growth, and a lot of awesome action scenes. I think this was my favorite story of the bunch.… (mehr)