Alright, standing 6'4" and weighing in at 213 lbs., Lord Rumfish will also weigh in with his opinion on this comic!
I enjoyed the first issue. Part of what I liked were the small details that felt incredibly true to D&D and like an homage to the computer game as well (for instance, weapon breakage in BG1). It felt too short and I really would have enjoyed reading three or four times as many pages... but that must be an endorsement because otherwise I would have just lost interest.
For what it's worth, next issue is going to be extremely telling (I hope). Plot exposition will surely be revealed in greater detail come issue #2, and that's going to set the tone for what's really going on. Issue #1 mostly introduces Minsc and the fact that not-Neera (Delina) is on the run from nebulous foes. There's a few other details, but hey, you should read it rather than me tell ya. ^_~
This is a terrible business strategy. I understand that you should "get out while the getting is good", but why such a small number of issues? That could be why the comic book business is struggling. Thanks for the info.
I don't disagree that it's a terrible strategy. The sad fact is that most comic publishers lack the capital to plan for the longer term, at least in terms of individual titles, and those that do have those resources increasingly find themselves answering to beancounters with little or no love for the medium or industry whose long-term vision ends abruptly at the bottom line of the next quarterly earnings statement.
I could ramble for hours about how the situation came about and the various reasons people think the industry is struggling, but that would 1) probably be horrifically boring to read, 2) definitely take an ungodly length of time to type, and 3) wouldn't affect the present reality as it relates to the Baldur's Gate comic. If people want to see a second storyline, they've got to buy the first one as soon as it hits the shelves, if not before.
Is $3.99... expensive? Where I come from, the cheapest comics cost some 10 Euros, often about 20€, afaik.
Compared to other media, a 24-32 page pamphlet with 18-22 pages of story content can seem fairly pricy, yeah, especially because the price jump over the last few years has generally been from $2.99 to $3.99, which is a fairly abrupt 33% increase.
I also buy almost exclusively in trade paperbacks. You get more bang for your buck and they just collect better. I'd rather find my tpb and read a whole story than scrummage through my collection to find the right issues in the right order.
The only time I buy individual issues is for independent projects I really love to support and hope my purhcase will allow to continue. (Basically EVERYTHING by Ed Brubaker or Greg Rucka... thought I don't think they always need my help). Some individual issues provide you something extra to lure you in, which is cool. For example, my favorite writer (Brubaker) has a few issues that contain essays or interviews by people in the industry discussing their influences or giving a list/recommendation for their favorite pulp works or noir films. These are not always collected in the trades, so its a little extra incentive.
@Calmar I think you might be referring to trade paperbacks aka "collected editions" (basically collections of about 4 to 10 individual issues comprising a story-arc, each being 22-24 pages long). Those usually go for around 10-20 euros (here in the States you usually get them from 12.99 for 4/5 issue collections to up to 30 or even 35 dollars for bigger collections)
Go away now if you don't want this spoiled. It's actually a great read. Very enjoyable, great pace, beautiful written, and very respectful of the source material. Go away and buy it.
This is to provide some answers for people who can't get the comic (it sold out pretty quick at my store) or don't want to.
Minsc has presumably been dead for about 100 years, as this is set after the Sundering. How he comes back is quite hilarious: a heroic statue of him stands in BG marketplace, and during a scuffle with monsters, an Elven Wild Mage named Delina turns the statue into the real Minsc and Boo! The best part is, as soon as she does this, Minsc simply resumes fighting evil as if he had never died... and insists on calling the Wild Mage 'Neera' despite her protestations! Can't wait to see what other references make their way into this series! Congrats to Beamdog: Neera is canon
"And what of Boo? Well, what is Minsc without Boo? The two would never be separated, and some say they are together still, up amongst the stars where hamsters are giants and men become legends."
Nope! They're a goofy statue in the middle of town!
"And what of Boo? Well, what is Minsc without Boo? The two would never be separated, and some say they are together still, up amongst the stars where hamsters are giants and men become legends."
Nope! They're a goofy statue in the middle of town!
*sigh*
They aren't a statue. There was a statue erected in their honour. The Wild Magic transformed the statue into the real Minsc and Boo
That only makes sense if the "statue" was Minsc and Boo in a petrified state, which goes against the perfect game canon ending they had.
It's wild magic. It could be doing anything from creating a simulacrum of Minsc and Boo to summoning their spirit into the statues. No petrification necessary.
That only makes sense if the "statue" was Minsc and Boo in a petrified state, which goes against the perfect game canon ending they had.
Not to derail my own thread, but you are taking a cheeky nod at the ending of BG as solid canon. It clearly says 'some say they are up amongst the stars' not 'there is empirical evidence that proves they are up amongst the stars'. The way people treat canon in fantasy would be like a historian treating reports that Hitler is alive and well in an Antarctic Nazi submarine base as fact because they read it somewhere.
It also implies he died of old age. The Minsc in the comic is young again, meaning it's probably a simulacrum made from the statue. It doesn't harm the canon or the story at all.
In fact, even it flew entirely in the face of BG (which it doesn't) it would still be a positive thing - sharing the joy of Minsc with a wider audience, and maybe bringing more people to the game, or more gamers to comics.
It's a beautiful thing.
Never did my 1998 10 year old self think that they'd ever see Minsc on a comic book cover.
That only makes sense if the "statue" was Minsc and Boo in a petrified state, which goes against the perfect game canon ending they had.
I don't think a naturalistic view and an insistence on there being *one* true 'canonical' answer to all questions works well with fantasy... (I really don't like the concept of 'canon'.)
Maybe the statue is infused with a strong magical force of minsc-and-booness? Maybe Minsc and Boo can at the same time be long dead and yet come to life from the statue, much like Theodore Roosevelt can in Night at the Museum? Maybe the whole story is just one of the, well, *legends* of Baldur's Gate where someone simply adds to the fantastic tales of the hero Minsc and his wise hamster? Maybe things can happen in the world that aren't on the spell-list of a spellcasting class in the Player's Handbook.
It's wild magic. It could be doing anything from creating a simulacrum of Minsc and Boo to summoning their spirit into the statues. No petrification necessary.
I don't like the "wizard did it" excuse. Would people just accept it if a wild mage somehow brough Irenicus and Bodhi back by randomly casting something on a rock? It's just a very cheap way of getting Minsc and Boo into the 4th edition timeline.
@Grimo88 I never thought I'd see them in a comic either. But my point was Minsc and Boo had a nice ending and became legends(whether canon or not). Bringing them back just ruins some of that... and seems alot like milking.
@Calmar I've never liked canon much either, because all the "canon" changes to Baldur's Gate always seemed like bad ones, just look at Abdel Adrian... But the franchise needs some kind of canon and this comic is probably considered true canon, which means more people should be questioning just what the heck are they doing to the "legends" of Minsc and Boo.
To be honest it doesn't bother me all that much, I don't even read comics... I just like complaining.
It's wild magic. It could be doing anything from creating a simulacrum of Minsc and Boo to summoning their spirit into the statues. No petrification necessary.
I don't like the "wizard did it" excuse. Would people just accept it if a wild mage somehow brough Irenicus and Bodhi back by randomly casting something on a rock? It's just a very cheap way of getting Minsc and Boo into the 4th edition timeline.
@Grimo88 I never thought I'd see them in a comic either. But my point was Minsc and Boo had a nice ending and became legends(whether canon or not). Bringing them back just ruins some of that... and seems alot like milking.
@Calmar I've never liked canon much either, because all the "canon" changes to Baldur's Gate always seemed like bad ones, just look at Abdel Adrian... But the franchise needs some kind of canon and this comic is probably considered true canon, which means more people should be questioning just what the heck are they doing to the "legends" of Minsc and Boo.
To be honest it doesn't bother me all that much, I don't even read comics... I just like complaining.
Rest assured, Minsc and Boo retain their legendary status. When he run pasts commoners and nobles alike in the comic, they all say things like "I could have sworn that was the Beloved Ranger" etc.
I think for these purposes, which are largely comedic, 'a wizard did it' works just fine. Also, it's issue one. I'm sure down the track we'll get a better explanation.
But that only happens if it sells well. So go buy it!!!!!
Not particularly "precisely", I'm not agreeing with you and I don't think you'd be agreeing with me - I wasn't criticising it. Deus Ex Machinas aren't automatically bad, and particularly not when it's not an ending we're talking about. I have no issues with the "wild magic turns statue into the person it was depicting" plot point, in fact I think it is a pretty good way to avoid any contrived time travel plots.
I just wanted to make a pun on how this event literally brought a Minsc from the statue.
I was in a campaign once where the gnome in our party cast Polymorph Any Object on a suit of armor to temporarily transform it into a dead party member. There are rules for it, so it wouldn't be that far-fetched for Delina's spell to have accidentally transformed a normal statue into a living version of the characters it was built to represent.
Given that it's wild magic, that would make the most sense to me. Jim Zub is doing some great work here!
Go away now if you don't want this spoiled. It's actually a great read. Very enjoyable, great pace, beautiful written, and very respectful of the source material. Go away and buy it.
This is to provide some answers for people who can't get the comic (it sold out pretty quick at my store) or don't want to.
Minsc has presumably been dead for about 100 years, as this is set after the Sundering. How he comes back is quite hilarious: a heroic statue of him stands in BG marketplace, and during a scuffle with monsters, an Elven Wild Mage named Delina turns the statue into the real Minsc and Boo! The best part is, as soon as she does this, Minsc simply resumes fighting evil as if he had never died... and insists on calling the Wild Mage 'Neera' despite her protestations! Can't wait to see what other references make their way into this series! Congrats to Beamdog: Neera is canon
Especially if you get her up to about Lvl 25 - then she is CANNON! :-)
I think a fantasy world with as many weird things going on as the Forgotten Realms allows "a wizard did it" to make sense in the context of the setting.
Would people just accept it if a wild mage somehow brough Irenicus and Bodhi back by randomly casting something on a rock?
Actually, I would. Whether the story then presented Irenicus and Bodhi well is another question.
It's D&D. Resurrections and returns from the dead happen all the time. My current D&D game has a character who died 100 years ago, got her spirit transferred into a sword, then took over somebody else's body.
In my opinion, the method of return is just a plot convenience - what matters more is what the writers (or, in a game, the GM) does with that return.
I never thought I'd see them in a comic either. But my point was Minsc and Boo had a nice ending and became legends(whether canon or not).
I'm not sure I see how it ruins that. The canon ending in the video games is that they went off and became legends, but the current Forgotten Realms timeline happens more than 100 years after Baldur's Gate. Even under the best of conditions, Minsc and Boo died years ago. Now they're back. I don't see how anything happening here contradicts anything that happened in the video games.
Bringing them back just ruins some of that... and seems alot like milking.
It is certainly milking - 5th edition D&D is pretty much all about milking the IP in an attempt to turn the game into a multimedia phenomenon. But I'd rather see Minsc and Boo back for more zany adventures than the other Baldur's Gate followup that has the entire saga rendered pretty pointless because Bhaal comes back anyway.
But the franchise needs some kind of canon and this comic is probably considered true canon, which means more people should be questioning just what the heck are they doing to the "legends" of Minsc and Boo.
The legends are still intact. Minsc and Boo returning could be compared to Teddy Roosevelt coming back from the dead - it's kind of a weird situation, but it doesn't render anything that's happened meaningless. It just means that the legend is about to grow even more.
Heck, the fact that they were legends is what makes the entire story possible. If they didn't have the legendary stature implied at the end of Throne of Bhaal, there would be no statue in their honor erected in Baldur's Gate.
Not particularly "precisely", I'm not agreeing with you and I don't think you'd be agreeing with me - I wasn't criticising it. Deus Ex Machinas aren't automatically bad, and particularly not when it's not an ending we're talking about. I have no issues with the "wild magic turns statue into the person it was depicting" plot point, in fact I think it is a pretty good way to avoid any contrived time travel plots.
I just wanted to make a pun on how this event literally brought a Minsc from the statue.
I don't have a problem with it either? I just liked the pun.
Let's keep everything related to the the Legends of BG in one thread. If it's only one thread, then everybody who's interested in it, can come to one place and find all he wants and needs here.
Here's a review of Dungeons & Dragons: Legends of Baldur’s Gate by Shadowhawk's Shade:
In Legends of Baldur’s Gate №1, a popular fantasy writer Jim Zub goes for the humour, and the results are quite fantastic.
Delina is a moon elf, and also a wild mage who is rather clumsy with her magic. The way she bumbles around with her magic reminds me of this one character from He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of The Sword who liked quite a bit, Madame Razz. She was an accomplished witch but as clumsy with it as Jim’s Delina here. Backfiring magic can be rather fun to read, and under Jim’s pen, it reads much better than you’d expect.
The other protagonist, equally hilarious though for different reasons, is Minsc, a warrior with a mighty hamster pet, Boo. Soon as Minsc makes his appearance, you know that you in for a ride since his dialogue is pretty damn awesome, showing a softer side to a tough warrior. Some would call it a cliche, but I call it genius. And fun. Too often we get to see these serious, baddass types in fantasy, especially in comics, so seeing something different is a huge bonus.
The dialogue here is pretty good. Jim captures the essence of both characters and gives the reader an idea of what they are both like, and what we can expect from them. The highlight of the issue definitely has to be Minsc’s pet hamster Boo. He doesn’t do anything really, but just his presence adds an element of excitement to the story, making it that much more palatable for an easy-going audience.
It has definitely been a blast to read. Most of it just deals with Delina and Minsc meeting up and their subsequent adventures in Baldur’s Gate, so the larger plot is quite thin here, but that’s fine since there is ample hijinks to keep you interested and the twist at the end throws you for a loop, creating a nice cliffhanger that assures you are going to want to tune in again next month.
Max Dunbar is the artist here, with colours by John-Paul Bove and letters by Neil Uyetake. The bold and colourful artwork matches well with Jim’s script and is also very appealing too. The comical expressions on Delina and Minsc’s faces really help sell the humour of the script, and the magic scenes are also handled very nicely. And the hamster Boo is just too cute for words… so yeah. The art is overall very energetic, particularly since a lot of it revolves around either Delina running from a bunch of monsters or Minsc fighting them off, so there’s that too.
Comments
I enjoyed the first issue. Part of what I liked were the small details that felt incredibly true to D&D and like an homage to the computer game as well (for instance, weapon breakage in BG1). It felt too short and I really would have enjoyed reading three or four times as many pages... but that must be an endorsement because otherwise I would have just lost interest.
For what it's worth, next issue is going to be extremely telling (I hope). Plot exposition will surely be revealed in greater detail come issue #2, and that's going to set the tone for what's really going on. Issue #1 mostly introduces Minsc and the fact that not-Neera (Delina) is on the run from nebulous foes. There's a few other details, but hey, you should read it rather than me tell ya. ^_~
I could ramble for hours about how the situation came about and the various reasons people think the industry is struggling, but that would 1) probably be horrifically boring to read, 2) definitely take an ungodly length of time to type, and 3) wouldn't affect the present reality as it relates to the Baldur's Gate comic. If people want to see a second storyline, they've got to buy the first one as soon as it hits the shelves, if not before.
The only time I buy individual issues is for independent projects I really love to support and hope my purhcase will allow to continue. (Basically EVERYTHING by Ed Brubaker or Greg Rucka... thought I don't think they always need my help). Some individual issues provide you something extra to lure you in, which is cool. For example, my favorite writer (Brubaker) has a few issues that contain essays or interviews by people in the industry discussing their influences or giving a list/recommendation for their favorite pulp works or noir films. These are not always collected in the trades, so its a little extra incentive.
@Calmar I think you might be referring to trade paperbacks aka "collected editions" (basically collections of about 4 to 10 individual issues comprising a story-arc, each being 22-24 pages long). Those usually go for around 10-20 euros (here in the States you usually get them from 12.99 for 4/5 issue collections to up to 30 or even 35 dollars for bigger collections)
This is to provide some answers for people who can't get the comic (it sold out pretty quick at my store) or don't want to.
Nope! They're a goofy statue in the middle of town!
*sigh*
It also implies he died of old age. The Minsc in the comic is young again, meaning it's probably a simulacrum made from the statue. It doesn't harm the canon or the story at all.
In fact, even it flew entirely in the face of BG (which it doesn't) it would still be a positive thing - sharing the joy of Minsc with a wider audience, and maybe bringing more people to the game, or more gamers to comics.
It's a beautiful thing.
Never did my 1998 10 year old self think that they'd ever see Minsc on a comic book cover.
Maybe the statue is infused with a strong magical force of minsc-and-booness? Maybe Minsc and Boo can at the same time be long dead and yet come to life from the statue, much like Theodore Roosevelt can in Night at the Museum? Maybe the whole story is just one of the, well, *legends* of Baldur's Gate where someone simply adds to the fantastic tales of the hero Minsc and his wise hamster? Maybe things can happen in the world that aren't on the spell-list of a spellcasting class in the Player's Handbook.
@Grimo88
I never thought I'd see them in a comic either. But my point was Minsc and Boo had a nice ending and became legends(whether canon or not). Bringing them back just ruins some of that... and seems alot like milking.
@Calmar
I've never liked canon much either, because all the "canon" changes to Baldur's Gate always seemed like bad ones, just look at Abdel Adrian... But the franchise needs some kind of canon and this comic is probably considered true canon, which means more people should be questioning just what the heck are they doing to the "legends" of Minsc and Boo.
To be honest it doesn't bother me all that much, I don't even read comics... I just like complaining.
I think for these purposes, which are largely comedic, 'a wizard did it' works just fine. Also, it's issue one. I'm sure down the track we'll get a better explanation.
But that only happens if it sells well. So go buy it!!!!!
I just wanted to make a pun on how this event literally brought a Minsc from the statue.
Given that it's wild magic, that would make the most sense to me. Jim Zub is doing some great work here!
It's D&D. Resurrections and returns from the dead happen all the time. My current D&D game has a character who died 100 years ago, got her spirit transferred into a sword, then took over somebody else's body.
In my opinion, the method of return is just a plot convenience - what matters more is what the writers (or, in a game, the GM) does with that return. I'm not sure I see how it ruins that. The canon ending in the video games is that they went off and became legends, but the current Forgotten Realms timeline happens more than 100 years after Baldur's Gate. Even under the best of conditions, Minsc and Boo died years ago. Now they're back. I don't see how anything happening here contradicts anything that happened in the video games. It is certainly milking - 5th edition D&D is pretty much all about milking the IP in an attempt to turn the game into a multimedia phenomenon. But I'd rather see Minsc and Boo back for more zany adventures than the other Baldur's Gate followup that has the entire saga rendered pretty pointless because Bhaal comes back anyway. The legends are still intact. Minsc and Boo returning could be compared to Teddy Roosevelt coming back from the dead - it's kind of a weird situation, but it doesn't render anything that's happened meaningless. It just means that the legend is about to grow even more.
Heck, the fact that they were legends is what makes the entire story possible. If they didn't have the legendary stature implied at the end of Throne of Bhaal, there would be no statue in their honor erected in Baldur's Gate.
I feel quite a bit stupid now.
In Legends of Baldur’s Gate №1, a popular fantasy writer Jim Zub goes for the humour, and the results are quite fantastic.
Delina is a moon elf, and also a wild mage who is rather clumsy with her magic. The way she bumbles around with her magic reminds me of this one character from He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of The Sword who liked quite a bit, Madame Razz. She was an accomplished witch but as clumsy with it as Jim’s Delina here. Backfiring magic can be rather fun to read, and under Jim’s pen, it reads much better than you’d expect.
The other protagonist, equally hilarious though for different reasons, is Minsc, a warrior with a mighty hamster pet, Boo. Soon as Minsc makes his appearance, you know that you in for a ride since his dialogue is pretty damn awesome, showing a softer side to a tough warrior. Some would call it a cliche, but I call it genius. And fun. Too often we get to see these serious, baddass types in fantasy, especially in comics, so seeing something different is a huge bonus.
The dialogue here is pretty good. Jim captures the essence of both characters and gives the reader an idea of what they are both like, and what we can expect from them. The highlight of the issue definitely has to be Minsc’s pet hamster Boo. He doesn’t do anything really, but just his presence adds an element of excitement to the story, making it that much more palatable for an easy-going audience.
It has definitely been a blast to read. Most of it just deals with Delina and Minsc meeting up and their subsequent adventures in Baldur’s Gate, so the larger plot is quite thin here, but that’s fine since there is ample hijinks to keep you interested and the twist at the end throws you for a loop, creating a nice cliffhanger that assures you are going to want to tune in again next month.
Max Dunbar is the artist here, with colours by John-Paul Bove and letters by Neil Uyetake. The bold and colourful artwork matches well with Jim’s script and is also very appealing too. The comical expressions on Delina and Minsc’s faces really help sell the humour of the script, and the magic scenes are also handled very nicely. And the hamster Boo is just too cute for words… so yeah. The art is overall very energetic, particularly since a lot of it revolves around either Delina running from a bunch of monsters or Minsc fighting them off, so there’s that too.
A damn good start for sure.