The Witcher: Blood Stone #1 – Golden Mayhem in the Mountains

The Witcher Geralt, traveling through the hills, finds himself paid to try and figure out what is causing deaths in the area. For generations, treasure hunters have come to the hills. The town tells a tale of a monster, but Geralt thinks it is no monster other than humans killing each other.

With Roach needing time to rest, Geralt agrees to help the town, promising to move on if he finds it is not a monster causing the town’s troubles. For this review, Nerd Initiative’s Shawn and Travis are teaming up to give you the low down on this premiere issue of The Witcher:Blood Stone.

Check out other reviews from Shawn and Travis!

Creative Team

Story: Daniel Freedman
Art: Pius Bak
Colors: Roman Titov
Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Writing:

Shawn: What a breath of fresh air. As a longtime fan of the Witcher books and video games, I’m loving this new series. Freedman captures the essence of what makes Geralt such a special character. From panel one, this issue feels immediately like it’s plucked from the pages of Geralt’s adventures. In Plinth, Freedman has crafted a town that feels like a normal mountain town, but it feels almost “too” normal. It feels like Freedman is building to dark secrets being revealed in the town’s lore and I can’t wait to see what they are.

Travis: This new miniseries for The Witcher starts in true “Witcher” fashion. The dialogue is
entertaining to read, as well as the visuals that the art gives to support. Witcher rolls into a
small town that needs help getting rid of a monster that’s been killing its townspeople.
There is an amazing plot mixed in with multiple build-ups of various new characters for this
story

Art

Shawn: As great as Freedman’s writing is, Bak’s art and Titov’s colors may be even better. Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering on the panels where Geralt’s Wolf School Medallion activates are spectacular. The lettering combines well with the art and colors to make you feel what Geralt feels.

Titov’s coloring on the Hellborne flowers is a masterpiece. The flowers and the light reflecting off of them is just gorgeous and bring so much to Bak’s art.

Travis: The art for this first issue is simple yet so detailed. One example is Witcher on the side
of a mountain and the details given to the rest of the mountain side in the background.
The subtle use of simple colors and not an entire color wheel makes this feel like an
older realm. Beautifully done!

Final Thoughts

Overall Score: 9/10

Shawn: 10/10

Travis: 8/10

Shawn: Dark Horse has got a winner on their hands. Not every IP adapted to comic books maintains the feel of the original IP, but this feels so much like The Witcher we all know and love. Admittedly as mostly a Marvel reader, I was not terribly familiar with Daniel Freedman, Pius Bak, or Roman Titov prior to this comic, but this comic is going to have me looking up their work and reading it. This premiere issue is a must for your pull list, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

Until next time, may your pulls be magical and your multiverse remain stable.

Let Shawn and Travis know what you thought of The Witcher: Blood Stone #1 in the comments below.