The Witcher: Witch's Lament #1

The Witcher: Witch’s Lament #1

Dark Horse Comics 2021

Written by Bartosz Sztybor

Illustrated by Vanessa R. Del Rey

Layouts by John Starr

Coloured by Jordie Bellaire

Lettered by Aditya Bidikar

Flames rise as a witch is burned at the stake. As Geralt searches for his next job, disturbing images of the fatal persecution appear before him, bringing an ominous warning.

I always enjoy this series and this first issue is no exception, the first issue of a new arc is always exciting as it sets up the story. What I also really enjoy about this series is that each arc is completely new reader friendly. It is great to just jump into a first issue without feeling lost or as if you have to have read the entire series up until this point. With the way this issue opens we know we’re in for a treat, more so when Geralt hears a voice that comes out of nowhere. Normally I would start to assume that someone hearing voices is going crazy but Geralt isn’t just anyone he’s the Witcher and he’s responsible for the opening even if he didn’t light the match so it is only natural that this event is going to turn his life upside down.

I am enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well. The character development is amazing and from the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter really do a great job in fleshing the characters out. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story and the characters involved it creates this great kind of weirdness that you feel that need to explore further.

The way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story reveal themselves we really want to see more. This is where the depth and complexity of the story comes into play and how we see this set things up for what’s still to come. The way that we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved extremely well. The overall flow is very typical of life with Gestalt and I wish that this wasn’t one of those times he wasn’t travelling alone, the interchange is usually some of the best when he’s with someone.

The interiors here are gorgeous! I love Vanessa’s work and she really pulls out the stops for this one. The linework is great and with its varying weights and techniques in pulling out the detail work is absolutely beautiful. From the opening to his dream through to the last page the creativity and imagination on full display here is utterly phenomenal. This is how you showcase a fantasy style book so that the reader feels that awe and wonder it should have. The way we see backgrounds being utilised and how they work within the composition of the panels bringing us the depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book is marvellously rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a stellar eye for storytelling. The colour work is stupendous. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows an amazing eye for how to utilise colour to its fullest.

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I’m excited for the next issue already. With such intelligent writing and beautiful interiors Geralt is once again in over his head and will have to figure out what he needs to do to not only survive but come away from this without making even more enemies than he had coming into it.