Customer Rating:  
Summary: Too much talk, not enough rock
Comment: The idea behind the comic is sound: The World of Warcraft is a big, superheroic sort of place, with larger than life characters and epic conflicts.
Unfortunately, someone told Walt Simonson to EXPLAIN IT ALL in the first few issues, so instead of just bringing readers along for the ride, and letting them figure it out as they go along, every person, place and thing is described in awkward detail.
Speaking of awkward, Ludo Lullabi's action sequences mostly consist of barely connected poses, making it often hard to figure out what's just transpired. He's got the poses down -- the sketchbooks at the beginning and endpapers of the book show off some really exciting figurework and backgrounds -- but the actual comic itself makes it appear like he's either got a ways to go before being ready to handle the assignment, or he doesn't have an editor who's pushing him for clarity and maximum storytelling potential.
That said, there's a lot of potential here, and about halfway through this volume, both Simonson's and Lullabi's rough edges begin to be sanded away.
Worth a look for fans of the World of Warcraft game or Simonson's previous fantasy comics.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very good comic
Comment: Excellent story of the King of Stormwind and the overall comic is well put together. The images are well drawn and it is overall very good. Helps explain why the King is back now in the game. Recommend for all the lore people and non lore people alike.
Customer Rating:
Summary: From PC to paper, does it translate?
Comment: I am a longtime fan of the Warcraft game series going all the way back to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans the first PC title.
I have been buying this comic since the first issue came out and by issue 10 I have yet to be totally impressed. First off don't be fooled by the cover art of this trade collection, neither Samewise nor Metzen (the usual Warcraft artists) contribute art to the inside of this book. The art's not bad it's just nothing like what we're used to seeing over the years. The story is a rather blandly told romp of a cast of characters that begins similarly to the movie Gladiator. The story centers on an amnesic Human Warrior, a Blood Elf and a Night Elf Druid who must band together to rise through the ranks of arena fights and ultimately overthrow their Orc master and discover the true destiny of said amnesic human. Would you believe that destiny might involve becoming a noble warrior and hero of the land? I guess you'll have to read to find out but let's just say this book is filled with a fair amount of clichés.
The story telling isn't horrible for a comic book I have just read better in the likes of books likes Batman: The Long Halloween or Ultimate Spider-Man. The book's mythology does seem to get deeper with each issue and the universe they live in doesn't seem too dissimilar to me from the like of Gargoyles the animated series during the flashbacks. In fact the book at time seems to employ Saturday-morning-cartoon-like plot devices from time to time.
If you are coming in as a fan of the series you need to know that familiar characters from the game seldom make an appearance. By issue10 we've seen Jaina Proudmoore but there are few other references the make this comic familiar to fans of the PC world. I personally think there have been missed opportunities to show characters like Cairne Bloodhoof in the issue features Tauren or to even showcase Tharall in some of the more Orc-centric locations. Actually, quite a few of the characters in this comic have been adapted from the current line of DC Direct World of Warcraft Action figures. The first issue alone features 3 characters from wave 1 and 2 of the toyline with 2 more toy personalities showing up relatively soon thereafter.
Bottom line is, if you're a real fan of Warcraft there is the potential for entertainment to be had with this series. However, if you're a casual fan of the franchise and are hoping this comic will give you some extra insight in the world you love know you're better of pickup of the actual Warcraft Novels or just run through the campaign modes of all three original games again.
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