by Evil Chris Priestly. A collaboration with Ideas by David Gaider and Art by Aimo.
We are very pleased to bring you an awesome new Dragon Age: Origins comic strip jointly created by one of the members of our Community, Irma Ahmed who is better known by her artist name Aimo with assistance from Dragon Age: Origins Lead Writer David Gaider. If you have not yet had a chance to see Aimo’s art, you should check out her personal art website here: Aimo Studio Fortunately for us, not only is Aimo/Irma a very talented artist, she is also a huge Dragon Age fan. She and David were talking one day and… actually, I think it would be better if Mr Gaider explained in his own words.
David Gaider – “I’ve always been a big fan of Aimo’s art – she has an incredible ability to capture the emotions of her characters. So I started chatting with her a bit back in January, and the idea came up for us to maybe collaborate on something. I mentioned a cutscene we had considered doing prior to Morrigan’s offer in the climax (*spoiler alert* for anyone who hasn’t played that far in Origins) but which had been left on the cutting room floor along with so many other scenes. This one in particular was hard to cut, because it was supposed to give some context to the player who romances Morrigan or who had become really good friends with her that what she was about to do was causing her conflict. As is pretty typical for game development, however, you have to work with the resources at hand… but this comic will maybe allow some people a brief glimpse into the “might have been” that was. Naturally Aimo’s efforts here were ten times mine… all I had to do was write up the scene from memory and then she proceeded to sketch it out over the next few weeks. Pretty awesome, if you ask me. Hope you all enjoy it!”
Check out Page 1 below and then click the links to see the full 8 pages.
Dragon Age: The Revelation Page 1
Aimo, real name Irma Ahmed, has been playing Bioware games since the days of Baldur’s Gate II. Dragon Age:Origins is her current gaming ambrosia, which has inspired many fan creations on her part such as artworks, comics, and even storyboard animatics of party banter. She credits the game for unearthing an affection for the Dwarves, as evidenced by pro-dwarf themes in her tributes.
When she’s not juggling game time between a Dwarf Princess, an Underdog Elf, and a Noble Whelp, she is a professional sketch card artist. Her work credits include traditional medium art for card companies as Topps, Upper Deck, and Rittenhouse Archives on properties of Lucasfilm, New Line Cinema, and Marvel. She intends to sit down and start working on that one great comic opus in the near future.
I used to know of how talented aimo was when i was active on the kotorff and kotorfm boards, good to know she’s still around being the incredible artist that she is.
Keep it up aimo!
Go Aimo! I first noticed her comics when she was doing some mass effect stuff. She’s a great story teller and does a fantastic job of staging her scenes.
I absolutely love the comic! It’s fantastic and getting to see one of my favorite writers and one of my favorite artists collaborate is just FANTASTIC!
Gifted artist and amazing insight into Morrigan’s character. It makes me want to see all the “deleted scenes” that were cut. Why oh why must you guys cut the juicy plot stuff? I assume this is the situation when you play as a girl and become friends with Morrigan because they are referring to a “she” = player character? Cool! More?
David Gaider and Aimo… together??! My brain cannot handle so much awesome all at once! *faints, remembers she still needs to read the comic, reads comic, has aneurysm from complete awesome overload.*
I loved it. Thank you. Since my characters and Morrigan are always best buds at the end, this was very touching.
Tres cool! Printed and filed!
That was excellent stuff, great work Irma.
Aimo! It’s wonderful to see BioWare acknowledge one of the great artists in the community, and thank you for this touching story.
I love the comic! Morrigan feels a bit softer here than what I remembered but… wow. <3
Great collaboration comic! Thanks for involving a fan and giving us a little bit more of the story.
my goodness i didn’t expect to find this comic today, Aimo! It was excellent; both you and David did a great job
I love your work; everything on your DeviantArt account and on your website! EXCELLENT! Keep it up, you inspire and amaze us all with your talent.
I really enjoyed this. I hope that we can get more glimpses into these moments of the game. This is the first game I’ve ever played that has really drawn me in, and that is mainly thanks to some great characters and story. I’d love to get more
that was amazing. Not only is there Aimo love there, but a side of Morrigan that frankly needs to be seen more.
Wow. This scene…brings so much more depth to the ending! Makes me like Morrigan more, to see her conflict, and it is the missing piece in her relationship with Alistair that takes it from simple, active animosity to that brother/sister animosity that has that under-thread of caring. The artwork here is particularly stunning. Great expressiveness, and particularly with some of Alistair’s expressions which are hysterical in their petulance. The way you draw Morrigan is so much more…approachable than her pixels in the game. LOL Bravo!
If bioware does a dragon age comic book they shouldn’t definitly get her to draw it.
Sorry. I want her to draw it
Absolutely Amazing. Aimo is an amazingly gifted artist, and sided with the amazing David Gaider, well- i dont know of a better team.
i wish they could make the whole generic story into a comic T-T i’d love it.
Wow. Really well done. So – Morrigan has a heart after all.
This was amazing! Thank you so much for posting it.
About friggin’ time Bioware recognizes aimo’s awesomeness
gratz to you girl ^^
http://blog.bioware.com/2009/07/02/love-me-love-my-dog/
http://blog.bioware.com/2009/06/12/alistair-is-hawt/
That comic is GORGEOUS, and I’m thrilled to see Gaider and Aimo collaborating on it. This gives a lot more depth into Morrigan’s offer, and it’s beautifully told both in dialogue and art.
Awesome comic, love her artwork. I wonder how this would have played out if the the Warden had romancer her and took the “I love you” route? its really a shame it had to be cut, hell id give my 1st born to see bioware patch in this scene
Looks amazing.
Wonderful
I hope David Gaider and Aimo do more of these.
Q.Q Oh my god… I almost started to cry when I read this… beautiful!
This was awesome on so many levels, I can barely find the words. Congratulations on getting recognition from the BioWare folk, aimo.
w00t a dream collab! I’m actually looking forward to more, if that’s possible heheh. Too bad this got cut, as it would’ve given us more understanding of Morrigan. Still, this comic is GREATLY appreciated
Wow. Terrific work. I’d love to see more.
Wonderful comic! I, too, really wish this content would not have been cut. It would have fleshed out the ending of the game and might have given the slightest bit of warmth to Morrigan during that particular sequence. When I played through, I was so upset! Knowing something like this would have eased that feeling. Thank you for sharing it in comic form.
Great work, Aimo. I really do not understand why this got cut, though – it would have added a lot more depth to Morrigan’s character.
Nice Comic! I want more! ;-D
Wow, great scene I can only imagine how it would have been if it was a male pc.
But still, it is sad that Bioware took out this scene it just gives a better understanting of Morrigan. Also if this scene was still in the game I belive there would have been less people hating her
Well back to playing my new mage
That was simply amazing, Aimo. And you completely deserved that collab. I think my favorite parts were “I care” and “’tis a hallway…”
gratz Aimo! Been fan of your bioware comix for awhile.
I still do not understand why ppl keep calling Morrigan a b****. There was so much about her that made her an interesting character. And I can really see this happening in the game.
Pity… As good as DA:O was it needed more scenes like this. The game was a little too sighted on one character and too little on the other character’s chemistry with each other.
Dun get me wrong I love this game. Made a very bad year not seem so bad.
I’ve never seen her art work before but this looks fantastic. I look forward to seeing many more scenes new or cut. The Dragon Age story is wonderful already any more is just icing on the cake.
It’s brilliant that BioWare’s snapped up Aimo for some work. She’s a really talented (and funny) artist. Thank you, Bioware, for being one of the most community-conscious developers out there.
This is really amazing. I definitely agree with Gaider about the emotions Aimo portrays in the art. I had just about the same feeling reading this as I had during one of the events near the end of the first Dragon Age novel (not to give away anything for people who haven’t read it). One thing that my professors used to say over and over about creative writing is to “show, don’t tell.” Both Gaider and Aimo do this beautifully. If I can do half as well with my own creations one day, I’ll be extremely fortunate.
Very good, kudos! Aimo is such an talented person.
That was pretty fantastic. Thanks for letting us see that scene! That fits perfectly into the last DA playthrough I did. I’d love to see more stuff like this (and more DA novels from Mr. Gaider!)
Wonderful work on this comic by Aimo and Gaider! Before I saw this, I thought Morrigan was just cold and calculating about the ritual. It really opened my eyes to see that the decision was also very difficult for her.
Simply amazing! I didn’t realize there was some emotion behind Morrigan’s motivations. I always thought it was about power. This comic broke my heart and made me sympathize with Morrigan.
That was amazing! I wish this scene was in the game. It would have been really great and emotional. Aimo is an amazing artist as well, great job! Glad I got to read this, ’twas truly a treat.
Is there more?…
Wow…thank you both for this! This is a cutscene I would have LOVED to have seen. Much Appreciated!
I literally just finished this part of the game two days ago; and after having romanced Morrigan throughout the game I got to know how vulnerable you made her. I loved that part of this game; I got attached to Morrigan without any effort at all, she’s that good of a character. You want her to stay with the Warden and live happily ever after on some farm in Highever . . . and then the night in Redcliffe. Seriously?! You guys are going to set up the main romance character for a male Warden and then have her leave you forever at the end of the game, regardless of what choice you make?! That’s the sound of a Warden’s heart breaking. You gotta be kidding me.
Please, when you make DA2 and we meet up with Morrigan and her superbaby, PLEASE let there be the possibility of winning her back and bringing her “back to the light” so to speak, or at least away from the me-first-power-hungry Morrigan that just resurfaced at the end there, love-be-damned. Don’t make us choose between sticking with Morrigan or standing for all that’s good and holy in Thedas.
This was amazing. Simply amazing. I already took the liberty of dropping a word on your DeviantArt site, Aimo, so hopefully this is not overly repetitive or downright OCD-ish. Anyway, it was really an incredible revelation to see you and Mr. Gaider hook up creatively to give us a glimpse into this scene that never made it into the game. And, given how deep and informative it is, I can’t fathom why it ‘was’ cut.
It’s funny, I recall asking Mr. Gaider a question about Cut content that he had wanted to keep in DA:O sometime ago. He mentioned there being too much to really narrow down, but, if this was one of his favorites, it makes me wonder just how many incredible moments there were that we might never get a chance to see. I suppose it would be asking to much of both you and Mr. Gaider to continue to collaborate to show us more of those moments that were lost? I guess, we’ll have to wait and see…
This is absolutely fantastic.
This is like a dream collaboration.
Wonderful! – why was this cut? It would’ve added so much to the game! Ah well, thanks David & Aimo, at least with this i can pretend that it does happen.
Pingback: Top Posts — WordPress.com
Remarkable work. Very touching. I knew there was more to Morrigan than the tough front she put up.
I hope for more of these collaborations in the future!!! Aimo really does have a gift for conveying emotions in her art. And David really has a gift of storytelling – its like peanut butter cups.
It really is too bad this scene was cut. Morrigan’s offer was probably the most difficult part of the game for me. It made Broodmother and the Archdemon a piece of cake. But this is beautiful and explains so much about what happened between Alistair, his warden love, and Morrigan that fateful night before the march on Denerim.
THANK YOU!
Awesome, Aimo! It’s extra awesome because it fit perfectly into the way my game ended up XD
A great collaboration ! Nice job to you two ! This nigth in the Redcliffe castle… Good idea !
It’s a shame that this scene didn’t make it to the game. Nonetheless, thank you for letting us see it in the form of this comic. Job well done by the artist.
Wonderful comic, I agree that I would have loved to see this in the game.
I love Aimo. I am so glad that she got this opportunity. She does deserve it! This short comic is actually very touching, all I could do was get lost in the comic and remember being in Redcliff! I’m sorry that this scene was cut, it would have been a very nice touch to the storyline. At least you were able to get it out to the public somehow! Thank you!
My first post! I hope there will be more comics…what an insight into the game. It will make my next playthrough all the more sweet!
Hey godd for you Aimo, I’ve always loved your stuff. This is great I wish it could have been in the game but this is awesome, I hope you guys work together again soon.
How wonderful! It’s beautifully drawn
Loved it – I wish this could be in the game too, shows a aspect that could use exploring. Your art is wonderful and I thank you for your effort. Dare we hope for more?
Aimo~!! I have always been a fan! It’s really awesome to see you doing a collaboration with David Gaider himself!
I always watch you on DeviantArt for your latest artworks. Keep ‘em coming! 
PS: You have inspired me to draw again. I hope someday I can showcase my works (of course not as awesome as yours
)
The idea that Morrigan was ambivalent about the “act” seems to fly in face of what happens if you turn her down. Nice art though, Aimo. Very expressive.
Maybe you should put this together in a better way then direct links to .jpg files? However, I shall close this blog page and be lost in Ferelden again *opens .jpg files*.
Oh so short and yet my eyes got a little wet. Good work!
COOL!! nice! llovve ittt!
I said it before on SiB, but Bioware needs to seriously hire Aimo, sit her down with Mr. Gaider and all the other writers and put together a comic book with all the “cutting room floor” scenes that they wanted to put in, but couldn’t for one reason or another. For the diehard DA:O junkies, I know some of us would be more than willing to shell out a few bucks for it. I know I would, at least.
Interesting definitly changes morrigan’s character a bit though..not sure how I feel about that. I always considered her offer one of the only black and white choices in the game. So is this cannon now?
AWESOME!
I was very happy to have seen this comic. I have always been a Morrigan is unfarily portrayed adherant since my first play through, and hopefully Alimo and Mr Gaider can do a comic on her story before the events at Ostagar as well.
While we are at it, why not have a small comic book on each of the Party NPC’s backgrounds.. Seeing Oghren vs The Nug in comic form would be bloody priceless and worth at least 20bucks right there.
Awesome work Alimo, never been one for the ability to draw have I, but I know what I like, and your stuff is awesome.
I agree with what ShadowCatJen said I would buy that comic.
This is very good, though in a way, I see why the scene was cut from the game. It would’ve made it very hard for the player to make an unbiased decision. The first time I played through, I told Morrigan off and she left – and, well, you can guess how that all ended. It was very sad, but also very true to the way I was playing that character. If I’d seen this scene – even though my character did not witness it – I would’ve probably decided otherwise. It’s neat to see these kind of “extra scenes” in this format, though – filling in the gaps we might not’ve been able to see any other way.
Between this and the Penny Arcade comics, I do wonder if there are any opportunities for other comic artists to join in. I’d love to try my hand at a canon fan-comic, and I’m sure I’m not the only artist who would. Even if there are no other such opportunities, I think it is incredibly cool to see this level of interaction with the fan base. Kudos all the way for a great game, and a great experience!
That really made me laugh!! XD
Morrigan, crying and saying about having only one friend ?????????????!!!!!!!!!
Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool
Don’t joke with me! Morrigan will never cry! rofl!!
Also, that artist isn’t bad but sorry, Bioware please go to Japan, there are so manyyyy fucking more talented artist than her if you want to make a comic! Or go on deviant art, simple as that.
site for recruting awesome guys :
deviantart.com
http://www.pixiv.ne
Great comic! Her making the dark promise decision was really moving in the game. I had to navigate the dialog a couple of times to get all of it but this fits in very nicely. I hope for future expansions etc. you and yours decide to leave scenes like this in. Art worked nicely too! Congrats to both of you.
Great work to both Aimo and David Gaider!
What I wouldn’t give to have that scene back in DAO…
I liked this comic a lot. Morrigan gives plenty of clues when you max her out that something is to come. When she says that you’re a friend (and possibly a sister if you’re a female pc) you can tell that she has real feelings…so she’s not a total bitch. She also tells you that there are many things to come that might make change things (paraphrased of course). So there are clues that she’s sort of tortured by becoming friends with the pc.
Gaider needs to get working on more stuff though…I NEED to know what happened between the second book and the game. How old is Cailan (I think about 29 since he was 9 years old when Maric was in the deep roads with the wardens and that had been just before he allowed the wardens to return to Fereldan)? How did Maric die? Will Alistair ever know the “real” story to his past? And what about Loghain’s wife? When did they meet? What was her name?
And I wanna know what happens to Bella if I send her to work for Bann Teagan? There should be some sort of story there. What about the little kid that I gave a silver to in Lothering? And Kaitlyn and Bevin? Did they make it to Denerim and find their family? What about Iona’s little girl? I can see her when I come out of the warehouse in the alienage but I can’t take her and help her if I’m a Cousland…so is she just destined to die in the alienage?
So get to the writing Gaider!!
/fangirl-geek off
Please, don’t turn everything into manga. It has its place and there are cool mangas, but imo DragonAge would deserve a very different treatment, not the “every face looks the same” one. Hire some quality French illustrators, for example, they’ve got some superd historic comics over there.