Review: The Witcher 'The Lesser Evil'

The Witcher: The Lesser Evil

Original Story: Andrzej Sapkowsk
Writers: Jacek Rembiś, Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz
Artist: Adam Gorham
Color Artist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Review by Adam Ray

The world of The Witcher is a rich and detailed world of mythic fantasy. The tales based in this world feel like classic fairy tales, but with a more sincere and dark spin. At the same time, this magical world can bring us intense morality plays, by making magical monsters a threat, but the greed of the people is the true evil here.
"The Lesser Evil" is a delightful, concise ingot of fantasy fiction set in this world. We get our hero, Geralt, dealing with a moral quandary instead of an imposing figure or sinister lord. Two rival forces each put forward two valid points for why one should eliminate the other. The lesser of two evils being realized. Geralt's signature blend of awareness of the situation and utter lack of caring is consistent. For me, it's hard to imagine anyone other than Henry Cavill in the role of the eponymous Witcher.

Fans of the original Witcher stories are strongly rewarded for knowing the many intricate and niche references this story is laden with, so "Lesser Evil" is a delight to the eyes for fantasy graphic novel readers. The characters are richly expressive, and the colors are vibrant, perfectly fitting the tone of high fantasy goodness. There are wonderful moments of close-up looks at objects and items, these tell the story without seeing the characters or situations.

The masterful use of color gives us a rosy, hazy look at the past and does a great job of showing the perspective people have, when looking back over their pasts, be it with nostalgia or shame. This also combines with a great sense of what writers and literature professors mean by unreliable narrators. These looks into the past perfectly contradict each other, all of which add visually to the dilemma our hero is in.

Conclusion

"The Lesser Evil" is a light tome and a perfect welcome escape to a rich but emotionally wrought fantasy setting. For a fan of The Witcher universe, this is essential reading. For all those who love fantasy fiction, like me, this is a wonderful look into the genre and makes me wonder where Geralt's journey will take him next.

Hardcover
$17.99
Released on Dec 05, 2023, wherever books and comics are sold
ISBN 9781506726960

Images Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics, Review Copy Courtesy of Penguin Random House.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thought Bubble 2024 convention & festival dates announced

Image
Article by Steve J. Ray Thought Bubble  is, without a doubt, the UK’s best entirely comic-based convention and art festival. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the show for the last three years, and have been anxious to see what’s in store this year. Well, the wait is over, as the team behind the event has announced the Thought Bubble 2024 convention & festival dates. THOUGHT BUBBLE ANNOUNCES 2024 COMIC CONVENTION & FESTIVAL DATES ACCLAIMED COMIC ART CONVENTION AND FESTIVAL TO TAKE PLACE ACROSS YORKSHIRE THIS NOVEMBER THOUGHT BUBBLE FESTIVAL LEEDS & ACROSS YORKSHIRE 11 -17 NOVEMBER 2024 THOUGHT BUBBLE COMIC CONVENTION HARROGATE CONVENTION CENTRE 16 & 17 NOVEMBER 2024   https://www.thoughtbubblefestival.com “Thought Bubble is the place to be. This is the show where everyone feels and is treated like family” –  Dark Knight News “Thought Bubble is the most important comic convention around” –  Popverse Returning to the Harrogate Convention Centre,...
Read more

Mystic Muses: A D&D Podcast

Image
Article by Philip Clark An all queer cast. An all femme ensemble. A non-binary Dungeon Master. Throw in some quality story-telling and role playing too, this sounds like a whole lot of fun! If any of the previously mentioned things has piqued your interests, then I implore you to check out Mystic Muses. You can find this wonderfully crafted podcast where you can find all your other favourites including Spotify. There are currently four episodes out. Episode 0 is the prologue and character introductions, and I have to say it is very well put together! The intro to each episode is cleverly crafted, with the players and DM each sounding off a sentence to bring us into the game space. Speaking of bringing us into the game space, Adam, the talented DM sets the scene for the story very nicely. A descriptive, yet concise introduction to the environment gives both the players and audience a vibe of what we're in for. Then come the delicious character introductions that give vivid descripti...
Read more

Fantastic Universes Interview: Madison, Matthew and Macsen Lintz From 'The Walking Dead'

Image
Interview panel led by Steve J. Ray, with a gathering of Comic/TV Media Journalists. I've spoken to some amazing people over the last couple of years; writers, artists, costume designers, and actors from some of my favorite TV shows. It's no secret that I'm a huge comic-book fan, and one of the TV series that's based on and inspired by a comics title - but has gone on to be so much more - is The Walking Dead . At a recent Comic-Con in London, I had the great opportunity of leading a panel where some fellow journalists and I spoke with Madison, Matthew and Macsen Lintz, three siblings who played Sophia and both iterations of Henry on the show. The eldest, Madison Lintz (born 1999) played Sophia Peletier - Carol's daughter - in the first two seasons. She's also well known for playing Maddie Bosch in the Amazon series Bosch . She started acting at the age of six, filming commercials and voice-overs. Matthew (born 2001) took over the role of Henry from ...
Read more