By: Walter Simonson Publisher: WildStorm Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: WildStorm Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 176 Publication Date: August 12, 2008 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: August 12, 2008
World of Warcraft Vol. 1 Hardcover - Review (via BlizzPlanet.com) REVIEW BY: Medievaldragon WEBSITE: BlizzPlanet.com LINK: http://www.blizzplanet.com/blog/comments/world_of_warcraft_vol_1_hardcover_-_review/
The World of Warcraft Vol. 1 is the perfect solution for those among the 10.5 million World of Warcraft fans who have missed out the World of Warcraft ongoing comic series by Wildstorm.
The World of Warcraft Vol. 1 compiles the first arc written by Walter Simonson (legendary writer of Mighty Thor and Orion among other works), penciled by french artist Ludo Lullabi and inked by Sandra Hope. A great collection of issues # 1-7 with a few extras.
When you grab this book, you are filled with awe. On the front you have the World of Warcraft game logo at the top, with issue# 1 cover by Samwise Didier (Blizzard Senior Art Director). On the back, you have legendary Jim Lee's issue# 1 cover with the Wildstorm logo.
Now here is something many fans out there will love to hear. The World of Warcraft Vol. 1 is a solid hardcover. It will last you years without wearing off. The two covers I mentioned are printed on a very special paper that serves as a wrapping to the book. Yeah, you can remove the wrapping. If you wish to frame it, there you go. If you ever meet Walter Simonson, Jim Lee, Ludo Lullabi, Samwise, or Sandra Hope you would want to get this signed by them. Walter Simonson and Jim Lee were at the New York Comic Con this year. You will probably get ahold of them in one of these Cons. While you might find Samwise at BlizzCon, the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals, and GCDC.
Back to previewing this book, I will just unwrap the cover as I write. The flips on both sides of the wrapping have a colored image of a dwarf on a pose resting his arms on an axe handle, with the axe top on the ground. The opening side of the wrapping tells the summary of the first arc: "A human warrior washes up on the shores of Durotar, with no recollection as to who he is, or how he arrived there. The man is thrust into the thick of battle immediately, and his prize for evading certain death at the teeth of a hungry crocodile is conscription into the gladiator force of orc shaman Rehgar Earthfury. His first quest is not so simple; with no memory, he must rely on his fighting instincts to stay alive, as he searches for his true identity!
He's aided in his quest by unlikely allies: Broll Bearmantle--a shape-changing night elf bound to Rehgar's service--and Valeera Sanguinar--a blood elf whose childlike form conceals a cunning mind and lust for recognition. This unlikely trio will try to uncover the secrets of Lo'Gosh's past, but they must first rely on his instinctive prowess in combat if they are to survive their first challenge: the arena at Dire Maul!" On the opposite flip is written the previous and upcoming works of Walter Simonson, Ludo Lullabi and Sandra Hope.
Now that the wrapping has been removed, I am facing the naked book. On the front you can see the World of Warcraft game logo; and the non-colored variant cover (UK version) by Ludo Lullabi outlined in gold foil. The hardcover gives the appearance to be crafted with a thick and strong leather material.
As I open the book, the first page, and the back of the front cover are made of the same material. A washed-out paper usually seen in professional resumes or greeting cards. Resembles old-map scroll paper. Pretty neat. On this paper is printed concept art sketches by Ludo Lullabi: an orc, tauren, undead, infernal, Alliance Footman, Ironforge outdoor, a dwarf, a night elf rogue, a troll, and Dwarves on rams marching to battle.
Flipping the page, I see the same Ludo Lullabi artwork (the one outlined in gold foil on the book cover's leather surface). This time fully colored. Followed by the credits page, and an exclusive Foreword of two pages (two columns each) written by no less than Chris Metzen (Blizzard VP of Creative Design), commonly known as the loremaker of the Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo franchises.
It was great to find out the Blizzcon 2007 exclusive issue# 0 (Prologue) printed within the World of Warcraft Vol. 1 Hardcover. This issue# 0 was an exclusive to BlizzCon 2007 attendees. In total, you get eight chapters (including the prologue chapter). Each chapter shows the variant cover and normal cover in full color.
I recommend getting this book collection. Perfect as a gift to someone who is a lore fan. This is the story of Varian Wrynn, King of Stormwind--which picks up right after the Missing Diplomat quest series. Varian Wrynn will play an important role in the Alliance front against the Lich King in Northrend--in the upcoming World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King MMO expansion. This book serves as backstory. Get your hands on it while supplies last.
A Fun and Well-Written Expansion of the Warcraft Story Being fairly new to the World of Warcraft, I didn't know a ton about the back story of the game. I'm reading the first Warcraft Archive to make up for that. But the first thing I read was this graphic novel. Being a stand alone story set during the time period of the game (most of the novels deal with past events in the previous Warcraft PC games) I thought this would be easier to get into.
It's written by Walter Simonson, legendary writer of Marvel's Thor, as well as far too many other books to recount here. He does a great job of establishing the characters and making you care about them for the most part. I found the story to be engaging and I certainly want to read more soon. It's too bad that the next collection doesn't come out until May of 2009. At least until then we'll have the Ashbringer mini-series collected.
As for the art, I have to say I liked it for the most part. There were a few times when I got a little lost, especially during one fight scene where I kept getting confused about who the various combatants were. But it was fairly minor.
Too much talk, not enough rock The idea behind the comic is sound: The World of Warcraft is a big, superheroic sort of place, with larger than life characters and epic conflicts.
Unfortunately, someone told Walt Simonson to EXPLAIN IT ALL in the first few issues, so instead of just bringing readers along for the ride, and letting them figure it out as they go along, every person, place and thing is described in awkward detail.
Speaking of awkward, Ludo Lullabi's action sequences mostly consist of barely connected poses, making it often hard to figure out what's just transpired. He's got the poses down -- the sketchbooks at the beginning and endpapers of the book show off some really exciting figurework and backgrounds -- but the actual comic itself makes it appear like he's either got a ways to go before being ready to handle the assignment, or he doesn't have an editor who's pushing him for clarity and maximum storytelling potential.
That said, there's a lot of potential here, and about halfway through this volume, both Simonson's and Lullabi's rough edges begin to be sanded away.
Worth a look for fans of the World of Warcraft game or Simonson's previous fantasy comics.
Very good comic Excellent story of the King of Stormwind and the overall comic is well put together. The images are well drawn and it is overall very good. Helps explain why the King is back now in the game. Recommend for all the lore people and non lore people alike.
From PC to paper, does it translate? I am a longtime fan of the Warcraft game series going all the way back to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans the first PC title.
I have been buying this comic since the first issue came out and by issue 10 I have yet to be totally impressed. First off don't be fooled by the cover art of this trade collection, neither Samewise nor Metzen (the usual Warcraft artists) contribute art to the inside of this book. The art's not bad it's just nothing like what we're used to seeing over the years. The story is a rather blandly told romp of a cast of characters that begins similarly to the movie Gladiator. The story centers on an amnesic Human Warrior, a Blood Elf and a Night Elf Druid who must band together to rise through the ranks of arena fights and ultimately overthrow their Orc master and discover the true destiny of said amnesic human. Would you believe that destiny might involve becoming a noble warrior and hero of the land? I guess you'll have to read to find out but let's just say this book is filled with a fair amount of clichés.
The story telling isn't horrible for a comic book I have just read better in the likes of books likes Batman: The Long Halloween or Ultimate Spider-Man. The book's mythology does seem to get deeper with each issue and the universe they live in doesn't seem too dissimilar to me from the like of Gargoyles the animated series during the flashbacks. In fact the book at time seems to employ Saturday-morning-cartoon-like plot devices from time to time.
If you are coming in as a fan of the series you need to know that familiar characters from the game seldom make an appearance. By issue10 we've seen Jaina Proudmoore but there are few other references the make this comic familiar to fans of the PC world. I personally think there have been missed opportunities to show characters like Cairne Bloodhoof in the issue features Tauren or to even showcase Tharall in some of the more Orc-centric locations. Actually, quite a few of the characters in this comic have been adapted from the current line of DC Direct World of Warcraft Action figures. The first issue alone features 3 characters from wave 1 and 2 of the toyline with 2 more toy personalities showing up relatively soon thereafter.
Bottom line is, if you're a real fan of Warcraft there is the potential for entertainment to be had with this series. However, if you're a casual fan of the franchise and are hoping this comic will give you some extra insight in the world you love know you're better of pickup of the actual Warcraft Novels or just run through the campaign modes of all three original games again.
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