Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

4 stars

My review of The Guild vol. 1

Whereas the first volume of The Guild shows Codex's life before the first season of the web show and is done by one artist, the second volume focuses on the backgrounds of the other five members of The Knights of Good, hence the title, with each one-shot done by a different artist. As expected of a good prequel, they tie-in people, events, and conversations in the show.

First up is Vork and his grandfather, who turns out to be a crazy old hell-on-wheelchair wild child and bears an identical albeit more wrinkled resemblance to Vork. I found this story a little boring, honestly, because it raised more unanswered questions about Vork's past. How did he end up living with his grandfather? What happened to his mother and father? Why is his way of living so reserved, the complete opposite of his grandfather? I know it's meant to just be a funny little piece of his past, but I couldn't help wondering if more could've been explained. The art is good with a strong likeness to Vork in the show.

Next is Tinkerballa, which is my favorite one-shot because, hell, it's just so Tink. The guildees tell each other the version of Tink's past that she told each of them privately to get them to stop asking her personal questions and just play, which all turn out to be mashed-up references to books (I love Jane Eyre!), movies, and other games. Her place looks like mine! The reason she wants to remain a mystery to everyone is hinted at the end of the one-shot and revealed at the end of season 5, which came out before this comic. I think this piece has the best art because it's crisp and dynamic, changing depending on which version of Tink's fake pasts it's illustrating.

Then comes Bladezz and his sister Dena, who I like even more now because she really shows off her nerdiness and sarcasm. The origins of "Finn Smulders" is revealed! I'm glad it shows how their parents' divorce affected them, which is a big life event that didn't come up in the show that often. The art is good too with plenty of sibling fights.

Clara seems more funny in the show than she is in her one-shot; her laziness and bad parenting are a parody of people who actually game so much they neglect everything else, which is strangely amusing in the show but isn't here. I think it's because this shows she's been ditzy and self-absorbed her whole life, it's not something she became after The Game. I also felt the art was the weakest of the five; it was too cartoony and didn't look much like the characters compared to the other comics. But I thought it was hilarious her husband "Wiggly" was in juvie and had a "gangsta" phase!

Last comes the tale of the smitten "Hind-Jew" Zaboo and his fiercely protective mom, Avinashi, leading up to his first out-of-game encounter with Codex in season 1. I felt this was the most creative of the one-shots because of the choose-your-own-adventure-style EXP panels that let you see what level of stalker you are compared to Zaboo. The art was good and fit the characters well.

What I like most about The Guild comics is that they're true to the characters, who represent many in the gaming community -- the insecure nice girls, the anal-retentive rule-enforcers, the mysterious vixens, the inappropriate teenage boys, the reluctant parents, the bullied eccentrics. And when you mix them all up, some crazy-fun high jinks can ensue in- and out-of-game!