Summary
- The Scale Trade is a modern fantasy series about dragon poaching, following a young idealist hoping to save the world's dragon population.
- The series, available May 1st, explores the corruption within the system tasked with managing dragon populations.
- The Scale Trade combines entertaining dragon storytelling with socially-conscious themes, appealing to fans of Jurassic Park and socially-conscious fiction.
Perfect for fans of the beloved movies Jurassic Park and Training Day, the new modern fantasy series The Scale Trade takes dragon stories to the next level. Screen Rant can exclusively announce the new Magma Comix series from creators Steve Orlando (Wonder Woman, Spider-Man 2099) and Megan Huang (Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), launching this May.
Magma Comix will be home to The Scale Trade, an ethically-minded modern fantasy series about dragon poaching. The series — by Orlando and Huang with variant covers by Max Dunbar — follows a "young idealist" who hopes to take on a corrupt system in order to save the world's dragon population.
THE SCALE TRADE #1 (2024) |
|
|---|---|
|
|
| Release Date: |
May 1st, 2024 |
| Writers: |
Steve Orlando |
| Artists: |
Megan Huang |
| Cover Artist: |
Megan Huang |
| Variant Covers: |
Max Dunbar |
In a modern-day world one step removed from our own, dragons are a highly respected — and highly endangered — species, but poaching is an existential threat. When a young idealist s the federal agency tasked with managing dragon populations, he quickly discovers that the entire system is corrupt. After seeing firsthand the cruelty of the system, our newly radicalized dragon savior takes matters into his own hands! |
|
"At the core," says Orlando, "The Scale Trade is about heroic animal rescue. A man and his dog… if his dog was a majestic flying lizard.” The first issue of The Scale Trade will be available everywhere comics are sold on May 1st, 2024.
The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos Is Genius Fantasy You Can't Miss (Review)
Dark Horse’s The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #1 blends a number of genres to create one of the greatest first issues of the year.
Magma Comix's The Scale Trade #1 Launches a Dragon Tale with an Ethical Twist
With the first issue's two covers prominently featuring the dragons in question, it's clear that these "majestic flying lizards" won't be mere plot devices — but they will prompt important thematic beats for the new series. Orlando's comments on The Scale Trade's announcement reveal more about the origins of the idea: “The Scale Trade was absolutely influenced by the depravity of the illegal exotic meat trade, poaching, and specifically the street-level vigilance against the abuse of horses and sale of horse meat in a variety of parts of the country.”
Fantasy stories are often the perfect vessels for contemporary issues, especially those with ethical and moral implications, like poaching, the exotic meat trade, and other environmentally-inflected and international problems. That doesn't mean these stories can't be fun, and dragons are, simply put, undeniably cool. Huang, the series' artist, clearly agrees, reflecting on other influences: "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.”
The Scale Trade Is Perfect for Fans of Jurassic Park
Fans of dragon (and dinosaur) storytelling will most certainly want to check out Orlando and Huang's new series, but so will fans of socially-conscious fiction, no matter the genre. From Superman's Krypto to the enigmatic animals from the Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely tale We3, heartfelt stories about animals will always have a home in comics. Now the latest series from Magma Comix, The Scale Trade, shows readers just why dragons matter, too.
The Scale Trade #1 is available May 1st from Magma Comix.
