Comics

• World of Warcraft : Ashbringer
  
  Just finished reading this graphic novel. The artwork is great and I love the chunky anime style. The story was fast paced (possibly rushing a bit too much) with lots of characters popping in and out. I guess it's because there's a metric mother load of WOW lore to cram in. I really liked the fact that the leading characters can die, become evil, become zombies, etc. Sometimes they die really easily or seemingly unnecessarily.
  "WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE!"
  It just adds to the suspense of the story and makes you genuinely care about dangerous situations (like with Game of Thrones). A fact that you lose with a lot of movies (as the protagonists never freaking die) of real "oh poop i don't think they'll make it out of this one!".
  
  Overall I found it a good story, setting down the foundations of things to come. The Art and composition is supreme especially for the big battle scenes. So it gets my recommendation.
  
  
• Abe Sapien Volume 1: The Drowning
  
  Yes I'm aware its another Mike Mignola, but this guy is awesome. To be honest I haven't deeply got into the Hellboy series (although I now will be) but the whole universe is so deep, well thought out and interesting I don't feel you have to even know Hellboy that well to fully enjoy the spin off's.
  
  It's basically Abe's first mission on his own without Hellboy. It also includes the first big appearance of Sir Edward Grey (Witchfinder) who remains one of my favorite characters.... ever. In just the first few pages you'll find out why.
  
  Overall If you like any comics or comic related films it's a no brainier that you will like this graphic novel (indeed all of Mike Mignola's work). The detail and research that's put into the story lines and history is better than a pHD paper and the artwork is no less well thought out. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the series.
  
  
  
  
• Dragonero
  
  Finished this last week and thought it worth sharing. A quick read of the synopsis left something lacking and I didn't expect anything special when I started. However, I was pleasantly surprised when my initial preconceptions were proved wrong.
  
  So they have names like Alben and Ian? Yes the lands in which the story plays out is called Erondar and yes they are on a quest against unseen evil forces. But despite the cliche the story details are gripping and well thought out.
  
  The world is the cross between high fantasy and steam punk much like Arcanum or features of Warcraft. This sort of setting is one that I find myself drawn to often (on the verge of industrialization but still clinging to magic).
  
  Within the adventure party they played with an orge and human lifelong friendship. A weepy elf forced to leave her woodland home. A young female technocrat and an old male wizard. Each with individual in-depth character exploration. I could really go on talking about the dynamics without talking about the story to much but I guess I must conclude at some point.
  
  Overall In summary if you look past the names and well-trodden story arc and you will find detailed and rich world with fun character interactions. That coupled with axes that are also pistols, planes, dragons, weird zombie elves and evil demons all gives great artistic variety and fast paced action.
  It’s a great read which I steamed through and gave me ideas for how I might expand my own work.
  
  
  
  
Previous Comic Reviews