The Witcher House of Glass
Dark Horse Comics 2014
Written by Paul Tobin
Art by Joe Querio
Colors by Carlos Badilla
Lets take a step away from the Hero life and slip into the darker world of bounty hunters, monsters, and true love. The life of a Witcher is not an easy one which makes it a fascinating read. If you’re looking
to get away from capes and super powers and dive into a dark fairy tale then this may be the comic for you.
The story starts off with an old haggard looking man muttering to himself as he fishes for his tasty meal. We learn that this scruffy fellow is named Jakob; he’s a hunter with a tale. But before we get into his back story the sudden appearance of a horse and rider give Jakob a fright. The stranger introduces himself as Geralt – quickly followed by Jakob pointing out that Geralt is a Witcher. The tension becomes thick at first until Geralt saves the hunter from certain death thus the two become drinking buddies and camping companions.
After a good meal and drink, Jakob opens up about why he was in such a dismal place camping near the dark forests. It is then we learn his beloved wife had been captured and turned to a blood feasting monster and it was in that forest she lingered ever watching. He remained because he had not the heart to leave her behind. After what we assumed was a good nights sleep, the two decide to travel together deciding that it is no longer safe to camp out and into the dark forest they go.
T
hings start to get interesting. If watching horror films has taught me anything, dark ominous woods are never safe to enter! Alas our poor weary travelers have no other choice and thus are greeted by a graveyard and an old grave-hag that gives them a gibberish warning. Earlier on in the story as Jakob described his past, we learn that his wife has a bond with song birds and where she is they linger. When our adventurers find themselves in trouble, it is the song birds that lead them to safety. Well as safe as a haunted woods can be and it is there that the story ends for volume one.
Not a whole lot of excitement in this first volume but its just the beginning and establishing the characters and the world around them. Now, the biggest issue I’m facing with this particular story is that I have never played the video games. So I had no idea what a Witcher is or what they do, thankfully there is the great and all knowing Internet but a little introduction would have been nice.
The pacing is a bit slow, I try not to judge a comic too harshly on the first volume because the story needs time to blossom. But at the same time in order to wrangle in readers it needs a good hook. Again, I feel that those who have played the games may have a greater appreciation for the characters but as one who is lacking in such knowledge I feel the story is a little lacking. It has peaked my interests enough to continue reading but I am a sucker for a good dark romance. And when a wife is taken from her husband, turned into a monster putting a divide between them and yet she still saves him? You have my interest.
Art is also very important to me, if the art dose not catch my interest it does affect my interest in the story. I think the artists have nailed it, they have captured the dark creepy grittiness of the story so flawlessly. When I look at each panel I can really see the emotions in the 
characters face, see that they suffer. No awkward poses and the flow is very pleasing to the eye. Spot on!
Over all I enjoyed the comic but I feel the first volume lacking. Not necessarily a bad thing as it leaves me wanting more but lets be honest, no one wants to have to do research when they pick up a new comic. So if you are interested in picking up The Witcher maybe do a quick google search and get an idea of what they are before reading. And if you’ve played the games, well I think you are in for a fun ride. The road looks dark and gloomy up ahead, my kind of adventure!
