edanh's review against another edition
4.0
The book itself.
The Witcher Omnibus is a collection of comics based in the world of The Witcher, taking inspiration from the games and the books respectively. Each writer showed an influence from one or the other, resulting in an omnibus that collects many detatched issues. The art is also subject to this, in particular, with the last comics, which used direct copies of appearances and style from the games. The writing is mostly enjoyable, but each writer feels as thoug hthey want to do very similar stories, and thus characters and places from the books are left out (they all just want to write about Geralt more of less doing his own thing).
Intention.
The purpose of a story in the world of The Witcher is to show that not everything is as it seems, and that appearances can be decieving. Reguarly, Geralt will be sent on a mission to kill a beast or monster in order to save a village, but he later discovers the creature is just defending itself, and the people are aggravating it, or that they are the real monsters - as seen in the notion of 'Killing Monsters' - the comic and the idea that is present in all forms of the Witcher media.
As such, this is what a story involved with the Witcher should be about. Definitions of good and evil, and what is the right thing to do. Despite this, not every comic in this omnibus followed this recipe, and stepped out from the mould to do something completely different that the writer would have preferred. Sometimes this works, and others it doesn't, but it makes the omnibus feel slightly confused in it's message/ what it's intention is with it's stories. Perhaps if a longer run of Witcher comics was written by a single writer, this would have been more successful, rather than multiple differing opions on Geralt and what is means to be a Witcher.
Realism.
The Witcher is set in a world that is meant to refelect the harsh realities of medieval life. War, famine and deciet are key themes along side poverty, classism and racism. As the Witcher stands out from many other comics in this regard, it certianly has it's appeals for being more like a novel, however, the writers may have taken this too far in certain aspects.
For example, the final story 'Curse of Crows' has excessive nudity in it. As the Witcher is a mature story anyways, this would not normally be an issue, however reading it felt as though the writer jsut wanted an excuse to make all the characters as naked as possible. And by characters I mean the females. As a male reader, this always feels uncomfortable as it's clearly sexist, and reflects a perverted side of comics that will probably never go away. In addition to this, of the two males that were naked, they were each covered up where it mattered, and quickly got changed, where as the women were flaunted, and given entire boxes to themselves to to display their nudity for multiple panels. This was made even worse when Ciri was naked as she is considered a child throughout the books, and is rather young. When her character role is that of the child/ the prodigy who has been brought up through the books and game, it's not appealing to then see them sexualised.
Overall.
Overall the art work was good and clear, particularly in the 'House of Glass' and 'Fox Children' stories. The cover art by Mike Mignola is amazing as always, and makes me want an entire issue in his style. The writing is appealing, and easy to read, yet could have done with more identity in some cases. I have given this 4 stars which is a good/average score for me as I see 3 stars as more negative than anything.
Other than what I have mentioned here, there isn't much else to critique and i will probably read the omnibus again at some point, but will probably skip over a few of the stories.
The Witcher Omnibus is a collection of comics based in the world of The Witcher, taking inspiration from the games and the books respectively. Each writer showed an influence from one or the other, resulting in an omnibus that collects many detatched issues. The art is also subject to this, in particular, with the last comics, which used direct copies of appearances and style from the games. The writing is mostly enjoyable, but each writer feels as thoug hthey want to do very similar stories, and thus characters and places from the books are left out (they all just want to write about Geralt more of less doing his own thing).
Intention.
The purpose of a story in the world of The Witcher is to show that not everything is as it seems, and that appearances can be decieving. Reguarly, Geralt will be sent on a mission to kill a beast or monster in order to save a village, but he later discovers the creature is just defending itself, and the people are aggravating it, or that they are the real monsters - as seen in the notion of 'Killing Monsters' - the comic and the idea that is present in all forms of the Witcher media.
As such, this is what a story involved with the Witcher should be about. Definitions of good and evil, and what is the right thing to do. Despite this, not every comic in this omnibus followed this recipe, and stepped out from the mould to do something completely different that the writer would have preferred. Sometimes this works, and others it doesn't, but it makes the omnibus feel slightly confused in it's message/ what it's intention is with it's stories. Perhaps if a longer run of Witcher comics was written by a single writer, this would have been more successful, rather than multiple differing opions on Geralt and what is means to be a Witcher.
Realism.
The Witcher is set in a world that is meant to refelect the harsh realities of medieval life. War, famine and deciet are key themes along side poverty, classism and racism. As the Witcher stands out from many other comics in this regard, it certianly has it's appeals for being more like a novel, however, the writers may have taken this too far in certain aspects.
For example, the final story 'Curse of Crows' has excessive nudity in it. As the Witcher is a mature story anyways, this would not normally be an issue, however reading it felt as though the writer jsut wanted an excuse to make all the characters as naked as possible. And by characters I mean the females. As a male reader, this always feels uncomfortable as it's clearly sexist, and reflects a perverted side of comics that will probably never go away. In addition to this, of the two males that were naked, they were each covered up where it mattered, and quickly got changed, where as the women were flaunted, and given entire boxes to themselves to to display their nudity for multiple panels. This was made even worse when Ciri was naked as she is considered a child throughout the books, and is rather young. When her character role is that of the child/ the prodigy who has been brought up through the books and game, it's not appealing to then see them sexualised.
Overall.
Overall the art work was good and clear, particularly in the 'House of Glass' and 'Fox Children' stories. The cover art by Mike Mignola is amazing as always, and makes me want an entire issue in his style. The writing is appealing, and easy to read, yet could have done with more identity in some cases. I have given this 4 stars which is a good/average score for me as I see 3 stars as more negative than anything.
Other than what I have mentioned here, there isn't much else to critique and i will probably read the omnibus again at some point, but will probably skip over a few of the stories.
hirsch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
everydayhannahkaye's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ian_l's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
sambora's review against another edition
3.0
This omnibus has been my first experience with graphic novels, and - if I'm honest, I am still rather on the fence about them.
To some degree I admit that it may be me. I struggled at first to give myself proper time to take in each panel, to read the art as much as the text. But I made a conscious and concerted effort and I think, at least toward the end, that it paid off.
I am a huge Witcher fan and have been following Geralt's adventures for almost a decade now, across all of the formats. This, unfortunately, has been my least favourite. Not bad exactly, just the least my style.
Overview:
(all linked reviews are spoiler free)
3 stars. Maybe 3.5 at a push.
So yes... Overall it was a mixed bag, with the quality (at least in my opinion) taking a hit in the later two stories.
I am sure that I shall try more graphic novels in the future, and will have a better frame of reference regarding the standard to which these things should be judged.
I would recommend this for Witcher fans who are looking for more of CD Project's style of the Witcher Universe, but I would suggest not putting to much hope on it impressing you all the way through.
________________________
Thank you for reading my review!
To some degree I admit that it may be me. I struggled at first to give myself proper time to take in each panel, to read the art as much as the text. But I made a conscious and concerted effort and I think, at least toward the end, that it paid off.
I am a huge Witcher fan and have been following Geralt's adventures for almost a decade now, across all of the formats. This, unfortunately, has been my least favourite. Not bad exactly, just the least my style.
Overview:
(all linked reviews are spoiler free)
[b:The Witcher Volume 1|23280091|The Witcher Volume 1|Paul Tobin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421969361l/23280091._SY75_.jpg|40878341] - 4 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3225664456?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
[b:The Witcher, Volume 2: Fox Children|38464037|The Witcher, Volume 2 Fox Children|Paul Tobin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518122721l/38464037._SY75_.jpg|45767336] - 4 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3228336680?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
[b:The Witcher: Killing Monsters|25567186|The Witcher Killing Monsters|Paul Tobin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518041359l/25567186._SX50_.jpg|45365985] - 3 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3330628504?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
[b:The Witcher, Vol. 3: Curse of Crows|32019536|The Witcher, Vol. 3 Curse of Crows|Paul Tobin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554458257l/32019536._SY75_.jpg|52658707] - 2 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3337975330?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
3 stars. Maybe 3.5 at a push.
So yes... Overall it was a mixed bag, with the quality (at least in my opinion) taking a hit in the later two stories.
I am sure that I shall try more graphic novels in the future, and will have a better frame of reference regarding the standard to which these things should be judged.
I would recommend this for Witcher fans who are looking for more of CD Project's style of the Witcher Universe, but I would suggest not putting to much hope on it impressing you all the way through.
________________________
Thank you for reading my review!
intensej's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful art and rich world building. I enjoyed reading about the adventures of Geralt.
Content: sex and violence
Content: sex and violence
alexhempstxck's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
aeropher's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
voxlunae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
lyriid's review against another edition
4.0
A great read for fans of the series and I think it'sd be easy to understand and enjoy for those new to the world too.
The art in the beginning of the novel isn't bad but it is a bit basic compared the the art at the end which is fantastic.
Fox children was the weakest story in my opinion, it didn't grab my interest as much as the others and took me a while to finish.
My favourite stories were the house of glass as I loved the mystery of the house and curse of crows as the art was great and it has Ciri and Yennefer. Also Geralt admiring/despairing over the strong women in his life throughout the stories was amusing.
I'd definitely recommend this book to any fan and I'm glad that guy in waterstones recommended it to me when he saw me buying witcher books.
The art in the beginning of the novel isn't bad but it is a bit basic compared the the art at the end which is fantastic.
Fox children was the weakest story in my opinion, it didn't grab my interest as much as the others and took me a while to finish.
My favourite stories were the house of glass as I loved the mystery of the house and curse of crows as the art was great and it has Ciri and Yennefer. Also Geralt admiring/despairing over the strong women in his life throughout the stories was amusing.
I'd definitely recommend this book to any fan and I'm glad that guy in waterstones recommended it to me when he saw me buying witcher books.