Fantasy And Reality Collide With Magma Comix’s ‘The Scale Trade’
by Scott Redmond
Dragons are a real endangered species in the modern world, facing total extinction unless one man can save them all. Fantasy meets reality in Magma Comix newly announced dragon-filled series The Scale Trade.
This new adventure series comes from writer Steve Orlando (Wonder Woman, Spider-Man 2099) and artist Megan Huang (Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).
The Scale Trade takes place in a version of our modern world where dragons are respected but endangered, as poaching has become a serious threat. It follows a young idealist who discovers corruption in the system after joining the federal agency tapped to manage the dragon population. Witness to such cruelty, the idealist turns dragon savior and must stand against the system he once represented.
Orlando said that the series was influenced by real-world illegal exotic meat trade and poaching as well as “specifically the street-level vigilance against the abuse of horses and sale of horse meat” throughout the country.
“We wanted to talk about these things, but also thrill and excite on an elevated scale (no pun intended),” he added. “So we built a world where dragons were part of the animal kingdom, where THEY, these creatures that awe us, were also some of the most valuable commodities in the world. It’s a modern fantasy – not high fantasy or low sword and sorcery. At the end of the day it’s about the way we as a species interact with nature – concepts bigger and older than us – and how we tend to commodify life on this planet.”
At the story’s core, Orlando said, it’s about “heroic animal rescue” and about “a man and his dog” if that dog was “a majestic flying lizard.”
Huang shared her excitement at being asked to take part in this series, saying that she was “in immediately” when Orlando asked.
“Anything to draw a dragon story…and not just any dragon story, one with a modern twist,” she said. “I think the How To Train Your Dragon films specifically influenced me on this one, because to me, The Scale Trade feels like a mature, modern version of that.”
Each of the issues will come with a Max Dunbar-drawn variant cover. Fans will be able to pick up the first issue of this high-flying new series on May 1st with preorders opening on March 1st.
