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The Witcher (Dark Horse Comics)

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The Witcher
Publication information
PublisherDark Horse Comics
Original languageEnglish
GenreFantasy
Publication date2014

The Witcher is a comic book series that has been published by the American publisher Dark Horse Comics since 2014. It is based on The Witcher media franchise of CD Projekt.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

The stories presented in the series are mostly originals, written not by Andrzej Sapkowski but by other writers; the exception being volume 2, Fox Children, which adapts a story from the anthology Season of Storms.[1][7] The first issue debuted in 2014, with story by Paul Tobin.[1] Although Dark Horse Comics is an American publisher, a significant proportion of artists involved in the project have been Polish.[1] In particular, volume 4 (Of Flesh and Flame) was both written and illustrated solely by Polish artists.[8][9]

It is the second The Witcher comic book series, following the Polish series of the same name published in 1993–1995.[10]

Reception

[edit]

In 2014, Jesse Schedeen reviewed issue 1 of the first volume (House of Glass) for IGN, noting that while the story "doesn't stand out as being remarkably different from other violent fantasy comics, it's definitely an enjoyable read that requires no familiarity with the source material".[11]

In 2015, Charlie Hall reviewed the issue 1 of the second volume (Fox Children) for Polygon, writing that the series has the potential to explore "moral ambiguity" which the franchise is known for.[12] Torin Chambers at Bloody Disgusting! wrote that the issue is worth recommending, although it would have benefited from an explanatory page for those less familiar with the universe.[13] Likewise, Joie Martin at the Geek Initiative agreed that given the interesting cliffhanger, those who read the first issue will likely want to pick up the next one.[14]

In 2017, Donna-Lyn Washington in her review of volume 3 (Curse of Crows) for the Review Fix concluded that the book is a good story "told in a way that wants you to seek out everything related to this character".[15] The issue was also reviewed that year by Dana Folkard for Impulse Gamer, who called it "an engaging and exciting read".[16] Jason Segarra at AIPT was less impressed, describing it as "a fine story, just not a great one", and noting that it feels like a forgettable sidequest.[17]

In 2018, Ricardo Serrano Denis reviewed the first issue of volume 4 (Of Flesh and Flame) for The Beat. He praised the comic for "one of the truest and most genuine game to comic transitions in recent memory", although he noted that the comic is perhaps less accessible to casual readers than the previous three volumes, and seems to aim more at fans of the series already familiar with the franchise.[18] The issue was also positively reviewed by Patrick Hellen at AIPT, who noted that "this is a great start to a new limited series".[19] On the other hand, Tomasz Gardziński writing for Polish magazine Spider's Web was much more critical, calling it disappointing both when it comes to art and plot.[20]

In 2019, Jody Macgregor reviewing The Witcher comics for PC Gamer, wrote that "Andrzej Sapkowski's books survived being adapted for games and for TV and they make for pretty decent comic books as well". He also ranked the released comics (both from Dark Horse as well as those published by CD Projekt independently); for the Dark Horse works available in time of writing he ranked them worst to best as: House of Glass (volume 1), Of Flesh and Flame (volume 4), Fox Children (volume 2) and, best, Curse of Crows (volume 3).[21] A year later, Nick Smith reviewing the Omnibus Edition Volume One, which collects the first three volumes as well as a short story previously published by CD Projekt, gave it 4 out 5 stars, noting that the fans of The Witcher universe "will really enjoy the book", but that it also "stands on it own" for the casual readers.[22]

In 2020, Matthew Aguilar in a capsule review for Comics called the first issue of volume 5 (Fading Memories) "another excellent addition to the franchise" giving it a score of 5 out of 5.[23] Calum Petrie writing for Flickering Myth gave the issue a score of 9 out of 10, concluding that "this is one of the strongest first issues I have come across".[24] The issue was also praised by Jonathan Brown at Monkeys Fighting Robots who noted that all readers, both fans of The Witcher universe as well as those new to the universe, "will adore this comic".[25] Tomasz Gardziński writing for Polish magazine Spider's Web called the volume an interesting experiment, a psychological thriller worth reading at least once, praising the author for ambition in taking the story in interesting and novel directions, but criticizing the story for a number of plot holes and characters, for acting irrationally.[26] The volume was also reviewed by Bartłomiej Romanek for Polish newspaper Dziennik Zachodni; Romanek positively reviewed the artwork and the story, but also noted that the book is "heavy" and quite different from most prior works in The Witcher universe, focusing on psychology more than on slaying fantasy monsters, and therefore it may disappoint some fans which expected something similar to what they are familiar with and focused on action instead of introspection.[27]

In 2021, Mark Scott at Big Comic Page reviewed the first issue of volume 6 (Witch's Lament) as average, praising the story but criticizing the inconsistent quality of artwork, giving the issue 3/5 score.[28] Later that year, Marcin Zwierzchowski, discussing the series in the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, noted that it presents a solid level, but plot-wise, does not equal that of Sapkowski's originals until volumes 5 and 6 (Fading Memories and Witch's Lament) written by Bartosz Sztybor [pl]. Zwierzchowski praised Sztybor's plots for not repeating old motives, like those of Tobin's or Motyka's, but by bravely – and according to the reviewer, successfully – going into uncharted territories.[1] On the other hand, Cian Maher, reviewing Witch's Lament for TheGamer, criticized the book for changing Geralt of Rivia's character too far.[29]

Publications

[edit]

Issues

[edit]
Story Arc Issue Release Date Story Art Colors Cover
House of Glass #1[30] 19 March 2014 Paul Tobin Joe Querio Carlos Badilla Dan Panosian & Dave Johnson
#2[31] 23 April 2014 Joe Querio
#3[32] 21 May 2014
#4[33] 18 June 2014
#5 16 July 2014[34]
Fox Children #1[35] 1 April 2015 Paul Tobin Joe Querio Carlos Badilla Joe Querio
#2[36] 6 May 2015
#3[37] 3 June 2015
#4[38] 1 July 2015
#5[39] 5 August 2015
Killing Monsters (hardcover) 19 May 2015 Paul Tobin Max Bertolini Carlos Badilla Joe Querio
Curse of Crows #1[40] 31 August 2016 STORY:
Paul Tobin
with Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz
& Karolina Stachyra
DIALOGUE:
Travis Currit 		Piotr Kowalski Brad Simpson Grzesiek Przybyś
#2[41] 5 October 2016
#3[42] 2 November 2016
#4[43] 7 December 2016
#5[44] 22 March 2017
Of Flesh and Flame #1[45] 19 December 2018 Aleksandra Motyka Marianna Strychowska
#2[46] 23 January 2019
#3[47] 20 February 2019
#4[48] 3 April 2019
Fading Memories #1[49] 25 November 2020 Bartosz Sztybor Amad Mir Hamidreza Sheykh Evan Cagle
Jeremy Wilson (variants)
#2[50] 30 December 2020
#3[51] 27 January 2021
#4[52] 31 March 2021
Witch's Lament #1[53] 26 May 2021 Bartosz Sztybor Vanesa del Rey Jordie Bellaire Vanesa del Rey
Anato Finnstark (variants)
Stefan Koidl (variants)
#2[54] 30 June 2021
#3[55] 28 July 2021
#4[56] 25 August 2021
A Grain of Truth (hardcover)[57] 27 April 2022 Jacek Rembiś
Travis Currit 		Jonas Scharf José Villarrubia Kai Carpenter
The Ballad of Two Wolves #1 21 December 2022 Bartosz Sztybor Miki Montlló

Oriol Pérez

Miki Montlló

Helena Rossetti

Jakub Rebelka
#2 25 January 2023
#3 22 February 2023
#4 6 April 2023
Wild Animals #1 20 September 2022 Bartosz Sztybor Nataliia Rerekina Patricio Delpeche

Agustina Vallejo

Sara Kipin
Matt Smith
Manuele Fior
#2 25 October 2023
#3 13 December 2023
#4 14 February 2024
The Lesser Evil (hardcover) 22 December 2023 Jacek Rembiś Adam Gorham Patricio Delpeche Kai Carpenter
Corvo Bianco #1 8 May 2024 Bartosz Sztybor Corrado Mastantuono Matteo Vattani Tonci Zonjic
Neyef Jorge Molin
Corrado Mastantuono
#2 12 June 2024
#3 TBA
#4 TBA

Collections

[edit]
Title Release Date Collects Cover ISBN
The Witcher – Volume 1: House of Glass[58] 24 September 2014
  • The Witcher: House of Glass #1–5
 Mike Mignola 9781616554743
The Witcher – Volume 2: Fox Children[59] 16 December 2015
  • The Witcher: Fox Children #1–5
 Julián Totino Tedesco 9781616557935
The Witcher – Volume 3: Curse of Crows[60] 21 June 2017
  • The Witcher: Curse of Crows #1–5
 Grzesiek Przybyś 9781506701615
The Witcher – Library Edition Volume One[61]
(hardcover) 		31 October 2018
  • The Witcher: House of Glass #1–5
  • The Witcher: Fox Children #1–5
  • The Witcher: Killing Monsters
  • The Witcher: Curse of Crows #1–5
 Mike Mignola 9781506706825
The Witcher – Omnibus Edition Volume One[62]
(trade paperback) 		20 November 2019 9781506713946
The Witcher – Volume 4: Of Flesh and Flame[63] 17 July 2019
  • The Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame #1–4
 Marianna Strychowska 9781506711096
The Witcher – Volume 5: Fading Memories[64] 28 July 2021
  • The Witcher: Fading Memories #1–4
 Evan Cagle 9781506716572
The Witcher – Volume 6: Witch's Lament[65] 24 November 2021
  • The Witcher: Witch's Lament #1–4
 Vanesa del Rey 9781506722238
The Witcher – Library Edition Volume Two[66]
(hardcover) 		14 September 2022
  • The Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame #1–4
  • The Witcher: Fading Memories #1–4
  • The Witcher: Witch's Lament #1–4
  • The Witcher: Once Upon a Time in the Woods
 Evan Cagle 9781506726915
The Witcher – Omnibus Edition Volume Two[67]
(trade paperback) 		4 October 2023 9781506726922

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Zwierzchowski, Marcin (29 July 2021). "Wiedźmin idzie w ślady Bonda i Supermana. To już pewne: do panteonu światowej popkultury wszedł pierwszy Polak". Wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Dark Horse to publish The Witcher comic book". Destructoid. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  3. ^ Tach, Dave (11 October 2013). "Eve Online and Witcher comics coming from Dark Horse in 2014". Polygon. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  4. ^ "The Witcher rides a Dark Horse into the comic book world". Engadget. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  5. ^ "NYCC: Dark Horse Video Game Comics Level Up". CBR. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  6. ^ "CD Projekt Red's The Witcher is getting its own comic book series from Dark Horse". VentureBeat. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  7. ^ Warnke, Agnieszka (18 December 2019). "The Witcher: The Road From Rivia to Hollywood". Culture.pl. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Polki stworzą komiks o Wiedźminie dla wydawnictwa Dark Horse" [Polish women will create a comic book about The Witcher for the Dark Horse publishing house]. www.antyradio.pl (in Polish). 20 September 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Polki stworzą komiksową serię o Wiedźminie dla amerykańskiego wydawnictwa Dark Horse! Scenarzystka ujawnia nam szczegóły". Booklips.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  10. ^ Pisula, Radosław; Słoński, Łukasz (16 March 2016). "Geralt w niewoli kadru. Strategie adaptacyjne i recepcja polskich komiksów o wiedźminie". Wiedźmin – polski fenomen popkultury (in Polish). Stowarzyszenie Badaczy Popkultury i Edukacji Popkulturowej Trickster. pp. 128–140. ISBN 978-83-64863-05-9.
  11. ^ The Witcher #1 Review – IGN, 20 March 2014, retrieved 4 August 2021
  12. ^ Hall, Charlie (2 April 2015). "Dark Horse's Witcher comic series Fox Children lingers on a single, horrible quest". Polygon. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  13. ^ Chambers, Torin (1 April 2015). "[Comic Review] "The Witcher: Fox Children" #1 Delivers On Every Level". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  14. ^ Martin, Joie (10 April 2015). "The Witcher: Fox Children #1 Does Not Disappoint". The Geek Initiative. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  15. ^ Washington, Donna-Lyn (10 June 2017). "The Witcher: Curse of Crows Review: A Great Story". Review Fix. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  16. ^ Folkard, Dana (2 June 2017). "THE WITCHER: CURSE OF CROWS TPB REVIEW – Impulse Gamer". www.impulsegamer.com. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  17. ^ Segarra, Jason (20 June 2017). "'The Witcher Vol. 3: Curse of Crows' feels like a side quest, for better or worse • AIPT". Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  18. ^ Denis, Ricardo Serrano (3 December 2018). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  19. ^ Hellen, Patrick (19 December 2018). "The Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame #1 review • AIPT". Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  20. ^ Gardziński, Tomasz (14 August 2019). "Dwie Polki zrobiły komiks na podstawie gier "Wiedźmin". "Córka płomienia" nie zachwyci fanów Geralta". spidersweb (in Polish). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  21. ^ Macgregor, Jody (16 December 2019). "The Witcher comics ranked from worst to best". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  22. ^ Smith, Nick (31 January 2020). "Review: 'The Witcher Omnibus' Vol. 1 TP". icv2.com. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Comic Book Reviews for This Week: 11/25/2020". Comics. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  24. ^ Petrie, Calum (24 November 2020). "Comic Book Review – The Witcher: Fading Memories #1". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  25. ^ Brown, Jonathan (20 November 2020). "Advance Review: THE WITCHER: FADING MEMORIES #1 A Masterful Video Game Tie-In". Monkeys Fighting Robots. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  26. ^ Gardziński, Tomasz (22 June 2021). "Fani "Wiedźmina" nie przegapcie tego komiksu. Tom "Wiedźmin. Zatarte wspomnienia" jest jak thriller psychologiczny". spidersweb (in Polish). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  27. ^ Romanek, Bartłomiej (20 June 2021). ""Wiedźmin. Zatarte wspomnienia" RECENZJA. Dobra historia, która może jednak rozczarować niektórych fanów Geralta". Dziennik Zachodni (in Polish). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  28. ^ "Review – The Witcher: Witch's Lament #1 (Dark Horse)". BIG COMIC PAGE. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  29. ^ Maher, Cian (1 July 2021). "The Witcher Comics Change Geralt For The Worse". TheGamer. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  30. ^ "The Witcher #1". DarkHorse.com.
  31. ^ "The Witcher #2". DarkHorse.com.
  32. ^ "The Witcher #3". DarkHorse.com.
  33. ^ "The Witcher #4". DarkHorse.com.
  34. ^ "The Witcher #5". DarkHorse.com.
  35. ^ "The Witcher: Fox Children #1". DarkHorse.com.
  36. ^ "The Witcher: Fox Children #2". DarkHorse.com.
  37. ^ "The Witcher: Fox Children #3". DarkHorse.com.
  38. ^ "The Witcher: Fox Children #4". DarkHorse.com.
  39. ^ "The Witcher: Fox Children #5". DarkHorse.com.
  40. ^ "The Witcher: Curse Of Crows #1". Dark Horse Digital.
  41. ^ "The Witcher: Curse Of Crows #2". Dark Horse Digital.
  42. ^ "The Witcher: Curse Of Crows #3". Dark Horse Digital.
  43. ^ "The Witcher: Curse Of Crows #4". Dark Horse Digital.
  44. ^ "The Witcher: Curse Of Crows #5". Dark Horse Digital.
  45. ^ "The Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame #1". DarkHorse.com.
  46. ^ "The Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame #2". DarkHorse.com.
  47. ^ "The Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame #3". DarkHorse.com.
  48. ^ "The Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame #4". DarkHorse.com.
  49. ^ "The Witcher: Fading Memories #1". DarkHorse.com.
  50. ^ "The Witcher: Fading Memories #2". DarkHorse.com.
  51. ^ "The Witcher: Fading Memories #3". DarkHorse.com.
  52. ^ "The Witcher: Fading Memories #4". DarkHorse.com.
  53. ^ "The Witcher: Witch's Lament #1". DarkHorse.com.
  54. ^ "The Witcher: Witch's Lament #2". DarkHorse.com.
  55. ^ "The Witcher: Witch's Lament #3". DarkHorse.com.
  56. ^ "The Witcher: Witch's Lament #4". DarkHorse.com.
  57. ^ "Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: A Grain of Truth HC". DarkHorse.com.
  58. ^ "The Witcher Volume 1 TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  59. ^ "The Witcher Volume 2: Fox Children TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  60. ^ "The Witcher Volume 3: Curse of Crows TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  61. ^ "The Witcher Library Edition Volume 1 HC". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  62. ^ "The Witcher Omnibus TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  63. ^ "The Witcher Volume 4: Of Flesh and Flame TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  64. ^ "The Witcher Volume 5: Fading Memories TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  65. ^ "The Witcher Volume 6: Witch's Lament TPB". Dark Horse Comics.
  66. ^ "The Witcher Library Edition Volume 2 HC". Dark Horse Comics.
  67. ^ "The Witcher Omnibus Volume 2 TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
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