His status is ready - ready, that is, to fight for farmland justice. The series follows Geralt, a savage expert in the art of fighting and killing all of the bad, evil, nasty, yucky, and grotesque monsters, so you don’t have to. One does not hinder the other, but rather they embolden each other like Kelsey Grammer’s character in Cheers emboldens his character in Frasier. It can exist alongside, or without, it’s award-winning video game counterpart. Either way, this book is a fantasy-filled romp that has a great sense of humor. Maybe it’s because The Witcher is already based on a popular book, or maybe it’s because The Witcher translates easily to a tellable “regular” story. Stuff that will make you turn on your own beloved franchises. Stuff that makes you embarrassed to be associated with it. Sometimes, comic books can churn out some passable companion pieces ( Sonic, Mega Man, Street Fighter, etc.), but, for the most part, we’re talking bad stuff. Most of the time, video game content that exists anywhere outside of the actual game is hilariously misrepresented, almost as a rule. The talent on this book rears its tasty head at every turn of stunning visual storytelling and intelligently constructed narratives, with quippy dialogue to boot.

The first two volumes are drawn by Joe Querio, and the third volume is handled by Piotr Kowalski. The book contains the first three volumes of The Witcher, all written by the multiple Eisner Award-winning author Paul Tobin ( House of Glass, Fox Children, and Curse of Crows). They are big, bold, beautiful, and full of bonus content that is ripe with meaningfulness. Upon opening this sprawling, 440-page book, it will immediately scream at you, “I am important.” If you have not kept up with a series, but have always wanted to dive deeply into its murky bog, I recommend these collections. The care that Dark Horse puts into these hardcover Library Editions is marvelous.

The Witcher, Volume 1 by Paul Tobin