Customer Reviews

Forgotten Realms - The Legend Of Drizzt, Vol. 1: Homeland (Graphic Novel) (V. 1)

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Here it is, the first in the series of comic book adaptations of R.A. Salvatore's acclaimed Dark Elf Fantasy trilogy featuring legendary master swordsman and renegade Drow, Drizzt Do'Urden. The series from TSR and later Wizards of the Coast has gone on to become bestsellers and sell millions of copies over the years. Now for the first time the stories have been faithfully adapted into comic book form by Devil's Due Publishing. In many ways' Drizzt reminds me of the great swords & sorcery characters I first read back as a teen in the late 70's like Conan, Thongor, Brak, and Kane. These were legendary, larger than life characters that had exciting adventures throughout their worlds. Sadly this type of heroic fiction is almost non-existent these days as mega epics crowd the fantasy shelves in bookstores.

Dark Elves or Drow have become staples of fantasy literature, role-playing games, and computer games, largely due to the popularity of Drizzt who came onto the scene some fifteen years ago with Homeland. Devil's Due provides a beautiful adaptation of this first, classic book. In the story we are introduced to the Underdark, that legendary world below the surface that is home to creatures most foul, chief among them the evil dark elves known as the Drow, who dwell in their great city Menzoberranzan. Drow live in societies that are controlled by the women and each house of the city is lead by a matriarch known as a "matron". We meet Matron Malice, head of House Do'Urden and heavy with child as she plots the destruction of House Devir which will allow Do'Urden to move up the hierarchy and gain favor with the Demon Queen of Spiders, Lolth.

As Drizzt is born, he is planned to be sacrificed to Lolth but the death of his older brother results in his being spared. Even as a child, his mother and sisters know Drizzt is different with his strange purple eyes. He is sent off to be trained in the art of combat to Do'Urden's Weapons Master Zaknafien, where he proves to be an adept student, soon matching his teacher move for move. He's eventually sent off to learn arcane arts from another Drow named Masoj and it is there that he first meets the magical black panther named Guenhwyvar, who is summond forth from an onyx statuette and would become his constant traveling partner.

Drizzt begins to reject the cold, evil ways of his brethren. He is repulsed that his people kill each other indiscriminately, just to gain power and favor with Lolth. Drizzt accompanies a party to raid the surface as they attack a village of forest elves, killing them all. Drizzt spares the life of an elf child by having her play dead. This leads to disfavor of House Do'Urden to Lolth who knows all and soon Matron Malice and her family find themselves the target of an attack by a rival family and Drizzt's actions may cost Do'Urden the support they need.

Devil's Due does a marvelous job staying true to Salvatore's source material. It's been many years since I've read Homeland but writer Andrew Dabb stayed very faithful to the original book. Dabb does a great job showing Drizzt as a young man tortured and repulsed by Drow society, clearly the outsider that he would become. The deceitful, ruthless Drow society of Salvatore's books is not softened one iota in Dabb's adaptation. The art of Tim Seely and inkers Andrew Pepoy and Marco Galli captures fully the dark, claustrophobic atmosphere of the Underdark with its dangers lurking around every corner. It's about time this classic work of fantasy found its way into comic form. The book also features a cover gallery as well as an exclusive excerpt from Salvatore's new book, Promise of the Witch King.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

This is a great adaptation of the book. I've read all of Salvatore's books and I definitely see his style in this work. The illustrations are amazing, and the amount of detail put into the actualyl story telling is very noticeable.

I recommend this adaptation of the Legend of Drizzt to anyone out there, trust me this is one series you wont be able to let go so easily.

The dark elves of the Forgotten Realms live deep underground, in the Underdark, where they plot their revenge against the light elves of the surface, and wage interminable inter-clan wars against each other. On the very night when his clan annihilates another clan, Drizzt Do'Urden is born. He is destined to be special, unbeatable with two swords, and yet separated from his people by a conscience. This is the story of Drizzt, his birth, his coming of age, and his discover of what he is and what he can be.

R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden stories have been a perennial favorite with fantasy story readers, well known for their action and for their gripping storylines. Now, Devil's Due Publishing has brought out the first Drizzt Do'Urden story in graphic novel format, and I must say that it is fantastic! They did a terrific job of capturing Mr. Salvatore's characters, and I thought that the illustration work was excellent.

So, if you are a fan of R.A. Salvatore, or are just a fan of great fantasy, then get this book. You will not be disappointed!

This graphic novel was great! It was the first graphic novel I've ever gotten, but I thought it was awesome! It follows the story almost exactly and it was really cool. The detail was a bit lacking but still the art was beautiful. I can't wait for the next one!

I bought this Comic because of I'm a fan of Salvatore's books, and of course, I'm very pleased. It's a fine work full of beautiful and excellent drawings explaining all that we imagine years ago. It's perfect.

This is a great graphic novel based on R. A. Salvatore's book that one will enjoy reading over and over again.

My husband loves R.A. Salvatore and the Drizzt Novels. He loves these graphic novels. Make sure if you order this, you realize this is not a novel. This is a graphic novel, like a comic book. A great product for Drizzt fans!

R.A. Salvatore is an Amazing Writer. This series is the best fantasy series I've ever read.

R.A. Salvatore himself claims that this graphic rendition of his famous book is as faithful as it could get. Coupled with Tim Seeley's clean yet evocative illustrations, this book gives old and new fans something for keeps. Kudos to the team at Devil's Due publishing. One could only hope that they extend their work to other Forgotten Realms literature.

The writers and artists that created this book did an excellent job of capturing the essence of Salvatore's first Drizzt book. I had high hopes for this work and was not disappointed in the least. The whole story is told here in an abbreviated but thorough way that, together with the art, tells the story of Drizzt's childhood in a powerful way. The strict and wicked society of the drow is nicely captured. I'd even go so far as to say that the art adds more depth to the original story. This is no substitute for Salvatore's novel, but as a supplement it can bring the story to a whole new level.

One thing I hadn't realized about the drow was that all of their women are so very well-endowed. Either drow plastic surgeons are kept very busy, or female drow just naturally have extremely voluptuous bodies. Personally, I thought it added to the story. Very enjoyable. But seriously, the Underdark (particularly Menzoberanzen) was brought to life by the beautifully detailed art in this book. Some of the artistic representations of various monsters was somewhat different than I had pictured in my head while reading the books (such as the handmaiden of Lloth and the earth elemental), but I'm sure Salvatore approved everything so this must be pretty much how he envisions it. Regardless, this is a beautifully done book that captures the magic of the original Homeland and even adds some depth to the story.

The only complaint I had with this adaptation was the omission of Drizzt's letters before each section. Drizzt's writings add feeling to the novels and I would have hoped that they would have included them in these graphic novels. Maybe they'll consider it for some of the later editions.

Overall, I was very impressed with this book. It does an excellent job of representing the original and is fun to read. Excellent art enhances the story.