Customer Reviews

World of Warcraft: Ashbringer

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Overall Ashbringer was a good read. I bought it because I play the game, and enjoy the lore. I will say it should have been a six issue miniseries rather than the four it is. Some parts seemed very rushed. I guess they had to fill the space allotted or something. I liked the art, on some pages it looked sketchy while others were more polished. On some pages it was hard to define what was actually happening.(Too many dark imagines, shadows, etc.)

I would recommend this to anyone interested in warcraft lore. But you'll have more questions about the scourge and ashbringer leaving than going in. You can tell there's more before, more during, and more after, but you don't get it. You might be a little lost, unless you already know some of the warcraft lore. Like, I said, 1-2 more issues would have flushed this story out for anyone not familiar with warcraft looking for a complete read.

Disclaimer: I am no expert in comics or comic terminology so please bear with me on some points.

I went into the pages of "Ashbringer" with moderate to low expectations, although Ludo Lullabi was an artist I enjoyed and respected, and the premise of a story based on the legendary sword Ashbringer was intriguing. What I got was more than I anticipated.

It has been said before, and I'll say it again: Ludo Lullabi's artistic style lends itself very well to the cartoonish, yet stylized artistic direction of "Warcraft". He pencils the entire graphical novel, so there is no unexpected switching of the pencillers mid-book. The greatest penciller in the world still needs a great inker and colorist in the world of colored, Western comics, and Anthony Washington delivers on this front. His computer colorwork makes each panel look almost hand-painted, and both detailed close-up pencils, and distant less-detailed pencillings look artistic and tasteful, unlike a lot of "harder-inked" comics where close-up pencils look great but using ink line sizes of the same width for far-away, distant objects makes the latter look cheap and uneven comparatively.

I was not a fan of Walter Simonson's work on "World of Warcraft Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2", but having nothing to compare it to, I accepted it. Mickey Neilson's writing in "Ashbringer" is superb: it is epic and more in tune with the writing of the "World of Warcraft" video game. After every page, I was intrigued and compelled to read more about the lore of the Ashbringer, which I could not say about "WoW Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2".

On a side note: it is time to give Lullabi more cover space on these Warcraft graphic novels, rather than guest artists who just pencil the cover.

Loved this book. I can't get enough lore around all the world of Azeroth and this novel delivers. The art is great and the story is well written.

As a World of Warcraft player and a comic book lover, I hate the WoW comic book series that came out. It cheesely moved too fast and was just not that good of a story. Reading the actual game quest text was more enjoyable. However, a certain gem shines like a sparkle on a sword that did have a history that even I was curious about, the Ashbringer. players got a brief history story that was then taken completely out and forced to a NPC in the game. Lo and behold, somebody answered my questions in a comic book form that I would call a good precursor read for the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

Ashbringer was a more enjoyable graphic novel that fans of World of Warcraft's story need to check out. The art work is fantastic even though Darion Morgraine looked too anime ish with the Cloud Strife wanttobe hairdo. The story does move fast like the main WoW comic story, but this time I read it all the way through and felt satisfied for the mini history lesson. The only big problem is if you are not a player or fan of Blizzard's Warcraft universe then this will probably be strange to you. This really is only for World of Warcraft fans.

Read this if you're a true wow player. Neilson, who wrote Unbroken is a great writer. Cant' wait to read Curse of the Worgen.

This is a nice little comic for those interested in warcraft lore and explains some stuff about the Ashbringer you may not have known. However, I wouldn't suggest this to someone just interested in a fantasy read as it it not very in depth nor long enough to justify the price.

This comic was more or less a fast paced timeline of how the Ashbringer (Both the man and the weapon) came to be. I felt the comic went a little too fast, but maybe it's just me wanting more. The presentation of the book was exceptional with highly decorated and coloured pages as well as an extrodinary story which left me wanting more at the end. Highly recommended to those who are interested in warcraft lore.

**Please keep in mind this hard cover comic contain all 4 comics in the Ashbringer series.**

The artwork and story are pretty good, however the price for the ammount of book you get was a real let down. Get this is a used book store if you must have it.

Warcraft has been a force in PC/Online gaming for many years now and so its only natural that this epic fantasy war epic would be translated into comics. There have been numerous Manga titles released by Tokyopop set within the Warcraft setting and Wildstorm has also jumped into the mix with full-color original stories. This hardcover book collects the four-issue mini-series. While its certainly a beautiful looking book, the story leaves a lot to be desired.

The story, written by Blizzard Entertainment's (the company who produces the games) Mickey Nelson, is shockingly disjointed. Clearly narrative storytelling is not his strong suit. Beginning with the second war between humans and Orcs. Alexandros Mograine, Highlord of the Silver Hand, finds an evil Orc artifact, a black orb. The artifact mutilates his hand when he tries to touch it. Still he believes it can be used for good. When a priest tries to destroy it with a holy spell, the orb absorbs the spell and turns good, healing Alexandros...Huh??? Not much of an evil relic...Alexandros has a Dwarven King use the orb to forge a powerful weapon for good: The Ashbringer, which can be used to destroy the undead armies known as the Scourge. Oh, did I forget to mention that Orcs are basically forgotten and the Scourge is the new enemy.

Mix in some demonic Dreadlords, Death Knights, Liches, resurrected characters and it isn't long before the story collapses under its own weight. Too many plots...too many characters, especially for anyone not familiar with the Warcraft World. Lullabi's art is manga-influenced and the best part of the book although there are too many characters that look alike and you can get confused as to just who is who.