The end is here! Geralt has found himself in the isolated mountain town of Plinth. What began as a standard contract to help rid the town of a beast has devolved into a nightmare of psychological horror set in the world of The Witcher. After the fabled dwarven treasure is located in the local mines, it turns out that the treasure is actually a collection of cursed, hallucinogenic stones. The community succumbs to a fever dream of violent greed, blinded by visions of gold, and descends into a murderous frenzy, turning their blades on each other. Geralt watches and decides where to go from here in a town where the real monster is the darkness of the human heart.
This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Travis and Shawn!
Creative Team
Writer: Daniel Freedman
Artist: Pius Bak
Colorist: Roman Titov
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Writing
Shawn: What an outstanding finale from Daniel Freedman. With this issue of The Witcher: Blood Stone #4, Freedman shows that a story’s quality isn’t defined by its resolution but by its impact. While this might be the ending people imagined, it stays true to the story and feels authentic to The Witcher. Freedman really captures the horror of greed with this story and shows how even a “good” community can be destroyed because of it.
I found this issue to be an incredibly satisfying ending to the story. Freedman really showed the ability to build an intriguing and full story over the course of four issues. While the outcome seems inevitable, Freedman shows that Geralt is more than just a Witcher in it for the coin. That deep within Geralt has a desire to help.
Travis: Daniel Freedman provides a poetic ending to this four-issue mini-series! Building off the previous three issues, Daniel takes readers down from a killer climax to a violent but somber conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed the use of Keltic style language which assisted in making this story feel like a Witcher story. I would also like to note that I am a sucker for a great Shakespeare reference, and Daniel uses an iconic one within this final issue!
Art
Shawn: As great as the writing in this series has been, the art has been equally as breathtaking. Pius Bak and Roman Titov finish strong with high-quality work that matches the previous four issues.
The art flows. It fits the story and Bak’s line work is immaculate. Everything about the drawn art feels perfect. Lines feel thick where they should be and thin where the moment calls for it.
Combine this line work with the hauntingly beautiful colors from Roman Titov, and it was a guaranteed success. Titov’s use of purple is particularly impressive as it communicates the importance of the story in a visually pleasing way and color. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering is perfect. It’s easy to follow, allowing your eyes to seamlessly move from panel to panel.
Travis: Pius Bak and Roman Titov continue their outstanding work bringing this story to an entertaining visual level. The pencil work from Pius continues to be light on the eyes, yet strong in terms of capturing facial expressions and various accent details within the panels. The coloration is spot on, just like the previous three issues. The color selection and shading within battle panels give the reader a sense of what it would feel like if you were present at that moment! Also want to compliment the amazing coloration of a sunset within two panels, beautiful!
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering for this story is impeccable! The text size is perfect for readers to be able to see. And the placement of the dialogue bubbles themselves is positioned perfectly within the panels, so they do not distract the reader from the amazing artwork that is on display. The text style changes when characters who are cursed are speaking, giving those characters a different tone, which is easy to discern
for readers. Great job!
Final Thoughts
Shawn: 10/10 Simply perfect. Everything about this story scratches the right itch. The series not only feels like it’s plucked right from The Witcher, but also feels unique enough to distinguish the creative team. It takes an existing IP and adds a new and unique wrinkle to the story. I find myself unable to believe that we only get four issues of this series as I crave more from this creative team.
Travis: 10/10 Issue four of The Witcher: Blood Stone is a great conclusion for a stellar four-issue mini-
series. This issue really brings the events of the previous issues to a full circle ending. This mini-series has “Witcher” aura from beginning to end. Readers and fans of this character and the world of “Witcher” will enjoy this series and should not hesitate to pick this up!
Overall Grade: 10/10
What did you think of The Witcher: Blood Stone? Let us know in the comments
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