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Iron King pilot Anita Marr dives deeper into the story locked within Dawnrunner’s programming. Anita pushes her limits to master the skills and abilities of her new state of the art Mech, but she may be going too far. Is she slowly losing herself to the consciousness of Dawnrunner, or is she becoming something more, something the world needs in order to survive the Tetza invasion?
- Written by Ram V
- Illustration by Evan Cagle
- Colors by Dave Stewart
- Letters by Aditya Bidikar
- Published by Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics
The Development of Dawnrunner
I’ve described comics as being “cinematic” before and Dawnrunner is the epitome of that. Ram V just keeps raising the bar with every issue. The character development between Anita Marr and Ichiro Takeda takes center stage in issue 3. We’re learning more about both of them as Anita spends more of her time in Dawnrunner’s interface. It’s effecting her personal life, in particular her focus on her daughter, but also her mind. The consciousness of Takeda creeps into Anita the longer she trains.
Ram V is building a beautiful epic with Ichiro Takeda in the past and Anita Marr in the future, both fighting for their families, stuck in the middle of a battle between humans and the Tetza.
At the spearhead of this spectacle is Andro, CEO of Cordon, the company that builds the Iron Kings. He’s using this invasion by alien monsters to make his own play for money and power, and he’ll sacrifice whoever he has to on his way to the top. Andro’s character development continues as well, pretending to be concerned about Anita’s health and showing his ruthless negotiating skills with a rival company.
Ram V does a really great job of keeping the pace of the story moving at steady pace. He weaves in Anita exploring Takeda’s memories with her real life. He also cut’s in the dealings of Andro and his point of view of what Anita is doing. It keeps the story diverse and engaging, never letting a moment go on too long.
Crafting The World of Dawnrunner
The action in this books are always a work of beauty, and thats where Evan Cagle and Dave Stewart shine. The creature creations of the Tetza are absolutely fascinating. Their size and scale is intimidating, and they look almost unstoppable. That raises the stakes of course, which in turn is all the more impressive and exciting when the beautifully designed Iron Kings are victorious, especially Dawnrunner.
The details and intricate environments in these issues stand out to me above all else. I’m reminded of 80’s anime films, in that the backgrounds were painstakingly painted to show detail and depth that brought those worlds to life. The same is true here. Cagle is meticulous with background plant life, demolished buildings, advanced technical machines, and so forth, I could go on but you get the idea. This world feels real and tangible.
The Colors and The Word
The colors by Stewart serve to highlight those details. Every panel has a vibe to it thanks to the color choices. I can feel the atmosphere. I can almost smell the air. Funny enough, I also feel like I can hear what’s happening.
Not to be forgotten is Bidikar’s lettering work. It plays an important role in this series as we have two different voices speaking within the same consciousness. It’s easy to follow Takeda and Marr’s inner dialogue as they interact with each other.
Everything Points to 10/10
I try my best not to hand out 10’s, but I honestly feel like Dawnrunner is going to consistently pull them out of me. This story is fun and emotional. It’s also fascinating thanks to the lore and world building by Ram V. I’m neck deep into this world and I just want to keep swimming further out to sea. I’m enamored with the Tetza and what they really mean for Earth. I can’t wait to see the Iron Kings square off with them as they get bigger and stronger. I want to know how Anita will be effected by Takeda’s mind creeping into hers. There are so many strings to pull on and none of it feels overwhelming.
