I was biking around South Main a few Sundays back when I spied some nifty-looking Afrofuturist art at Art Village Gallery. So I popped in to discover that wasn’t the only thing going on. Artists/comic creators John Cooley and Erwin Prasetya were also giving away copies of a new, locally produced comic book titled Rise of the Golden Dragon.
Who says you can’t judge a book by its cover? This issue is cool.
The spreads are generous, thoughtfully broken down and nicely drawn. 
The action’s great. 
And the details are nice.
The story, which has a light tone and never takes itself too seriously, is focused around a pair of warrior “dragons” who are rooting out ancient supernatural evil wherever they find it. Think Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, and tracksuit Iron Fist meets John Constantine in an Enter the Dragon remake.
The lightly worn pop-culture references don’t stop there. Issue 1/12 was action-packed and full of gags, but still managed to lay the foundations of a sprawling story and establish a compelling set of personalities. And c’mon— Ninja exorcists? That’s got all kinds of potential.
The self-published Rise of the Golden Dragon is slated to come out once a month. Find out more about that and other titles at Fanboycomics.com
