Wings of Fire The Graphic Novel: Book One The Dragonet Prophecy

I wanted something that I could read myself while my class does silent reading, so they could see an adult reading for fun, and some of my students are enthusiastic about this series. Since my reading time in this situation is brief, fragmented and frequently interrupted by other responsibilities, I thought a graphic novel would be a good way to go -- but, perhaps because of said interruptions, or perhaps some of the dragons just didn’t look distinctive enough, I often had to flip back to earlier scenes to be confident I’d identified them correctly.

However there was enough that I like -- found-family teamwork and challenging one’s supposed destiny -- that I’d like to read more. Maybe next time I’ll just get the novel version show more instead. show less

Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy: A Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #1): The Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire Graphix) by Tiu T. Sutherland is not my usual fare although I adored comic books when I was a kid. Wings of Fire was lots of fun: great graphics with bold colors telling an exciting story about five dragonlets who escape captivity to save one of their own. I read it on my Kindle and the interactivity upgraded the paper based experience in an engaging way. I really got immersed in the book.

I may continue with the series as it was a refreshing reading break. I picked the book because it fit in a Bingo card square.

There is a mysterious prophecy that says five dragonets will be born who are destined to put an end to the war between the dragon tribes. In order to fulfill the prophecy, several eggs are acquired: Mudwing (Clay), Sandwing (Sunny), Nightwing (Starflight), and Seawing (Tsunami). The only egg that doesn't really fit the prophecy is Glory's - she's a Rainwing and they really needed a Skywing. The five dragonets are raised in secret to eventually carry out their role, but they're treated like prisoners and eventually decide to escape in the hope of finding the parents they were stolen from. Unfortunately, that's when Scarlet, Queen of the Skywings and one of the many threats to their existence, finds them.

My mom picked up an ARC of this show more for me at a conference a few years ago. I went into it blind - it's based on a Middle Grade book I haven't read. It's a Chosen One story, but starring dragons instead of humans, so even though the basic premise has been done to death, I was still excited to give it a shot. (FYI, this is not a human-free world, although it's tough to tell, this early on in the series, whether humans will eventually get a larger role in the story.)

Clay and the other dragonets were essentially sheltered and raised in isolation from the rest of their world, but they weren't exactly coddled or well-loved. Their caretakers made it plain that they weren't impressed with them - Clay was too much of a peacemaker for their tastes, Starflight couldn't read minds like Nightwings were supposed to be able to do, Sunny was too sweet, and they just assumed Glory was lazy and stupid because they considered all Rainwings to be lazy and stupid.

The dragonets' journey away from the caves where they were raised was somewhat interesting, and I especially enjoyed the revelations about Clay, but found myself having more and more problems telling all the dragons apart. There were lots of yellow/orange/red dragons, and although efforts were definitely made to differentiate them (Clay had a blunter face, Peril had blue eyes, etc.), it wasn't quite enough for me. It didn't help that Glory could literally change color. There was one scene I had to reread because I initially assumed she was a new character.

The action scenes could also have been a bit better. I kept thinking about shounen manga and the ways in which good series depict motion and speed, and I found that I missed seeing those elements here. The artwork felt static by comparison.

I did enjoy the bright colors and all those dragons, but I don't think I'll be continuing this graphic novel series. If I decide I want to read more of this story, I'll go with the original novels instead.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

A group of five dragon eggs are brought together to try to fulfill a prophecy and they don't turn out to be what the Dragons training them expect. They decide to escape and find their own path. Captured by an evil Queen Dragon who treats her subjects with hate and fear.
Look, I loved the art and I'm a sucker for Dragons so I may not be the best person to critically look at this, but I do want more.

dragons, prophecies and drama oh my!!

i wanted to read this because four people mentioned it to me in one day. it was really good! i liked the characterisation of each of the dragons, but i feel like there's a lot of work to do with the writing. often, a problem will be introduced only to be solved in the next couple of pages. the pace is really gripping, and i will continue on with the series but i wish that the problems or issues the dragons experienced lasted a little longer, or would pop up again to be solved later.

super fun!! will continue on with the series

Got this for my14yo son who is autistic. Graphic novels have opened reading to him because words don't mean the same to him as they do to me. He really enjoyed this book. I will say that it was more graphic, in the blood sense, than any we've read before. I was a bit worried, but he did OK. He enjoys the story and looked forward to having me read it to him each night. We will definitely continue this series. :)

Really well done 'translation' from the original to the graphic medium. The dragons are accurate the the 'style guide' and book descriptions. The coloring is well done, the expressions are evocative, and the poses feel natural. It doesn't flinch away from the violence in the book and conveys the action well.