ComicWorm Speaks: Curse of the Worgen

ComicWorm Speaks!

World of Warcraft

Curse of the Worgen

by Neilson, Waligh, Lullabi, Washington

****

Warning! This review may contain spoilers!

The Story: The world’s most popular massively multiplayer online videogame continues its exodus into comics with this new graphic novel. The best-selling WORLD OF WARCRAFT comic series returns in time for a worldwide cataclysm! A series of grisly, animalistic murders have rocked the walled town of Gilneas. A famous detective sets out to discover the perpetrators and finds far more than he bargained for. To find the truth, he must delve through years of twisted history – both the history of his family and Gilneas itself.

The Review: World of Warcraft did not really enter ComicWorm’s consciousness until the announcement of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. After watching the trailers and reading the lore, ComicWorm became hooked (Even though he lacks the time and funds to play it). Almost at the same time, he fell in love with the Worgen. They are his favorite playable race. So as one can imagine, when he saw this graphic novel at his local comic shop, Light yes, he bought it right away.

Was it a good buy?

Lets find out! 

Some would argue that what makes or breaks a comic book is the work of its artist or artists. If its hard to look at, its harder to read! Thankfully, this book is neither. World of Warcraft is known from a graphical standpoint for its cartoony, stylized nature, and this book reflects that style in a way that is both distinctive and fitting. The artwork is diverse and colorful despite the brooding nature of Gilneas and borrows a bit from anime but not in a way that distracts from making its own mark. Every character is unique and perhaps a testament to greater skill is how they make the Worgen characters each different. All too often, characters like Orcs tend to all be cut from the same cloth. 

The story is excellent. It could have been all too easy to make the whole thing into an action comic but we are treated to a story that is a wonderful combination of mystery, mythology, action, family, and things coming full circle. That is a particular favorite of The Worm, elements set into play in the past come to rest in the future. It worked in the Harry Potter series and it works pretty well here. 

There are three main POV characters in this book, The investigator Halford Ramsey, King Genn Greymane, and the Night Elf Belysra. Halford Ramsey is the initial main character the readers meet, he is a detective (no doubt inspired by a famous resident of Baker Street) investigating a series of murders that may have a connection to the Worgen curse. He is a very compelling character as he represents a newcomer to the franchise. He is experiencing all of this for the first time and his personal transformation is very interesting. The Logician is a character that is not encountered often in fantasy. It is a refreshing look at the genre. What is not refreshing is one of the things that it particularly irksome about this graphic novel is something that’s endemic to almost all of the Warcraft Lore in general: Too much Night Elf! 

To the uninformed, the Night Elves are one of the original player races of World of Warcraft and they, along with Orcs and Humans, are practically the poster children of the entire franchise. That is a problem in the Worm’s book! We have seen plenty of Night Elves! Yes, their females might be hot but even that is becoming creatively stale. There are one variety of hotness.

Why couldn’t the Worgen curse originate from the dwarves or the Tauren? Show a previously hidden chapter of their history? Expand on the brief passages of the lore? But no. Once again, the culprit is some ancient night elf who was desperately trying to find a way to stave off the corruption of the Night Elves, there are familiar threads here. This leads into another of the book’s flaws. 

The reader meets a common tactic utilized by the modern comic book medium: The flashback palooza. Two main stories are told here, the rise of the worgen during the invasion of Gilneas and the origin of the Worgen curse long ago during the war between Night Elves and Satyrs. Jumping back and forth can get real confusing. 

The sheer amount of lore be explained can make the panels feel crowded. This is a comic book not a novel. Exposition is important, but the artists and writers need to make sure that there is rarely an occasion of too many words and not enough action. 

This doesn’t break the book, the story is actually quite interesting and there’s Worgen! That should speak for itself! If the writers over at Blizzard are not careful, however, they risk creative bankruptcy and will just be repeating the same stuff over and over again. What is so appealing about World of Warcraft is the vast, diverse lore. It would be nice to see the novels and comics reflect that more. Thankfully, this time it actually does just that. The nation of Gilneas has history that goes back to the original Warcraft games, where King Greymane sealed off his nation from the outside world rather than aid Stormwind against the orcs. Little was seen of Gilneas since then but now we get a glimpse into this shadowy nation and its history. 

Final Verdict: The Curse of the Worgen was indeed a very good buy. It tells a unique story in spite of familiar threads in an unexplored region of Azeroth.

It’s about time the Alliance got some teeth!

Four out Five Stars

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