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Borderlands #1
Borderlands, Volume 1: Origins
For the millions of fans of the smash-hit video game BORDERLANDS, a lingering question how did the Vault Hunters get on the bus with Marcus in the first place? Find out how Roland got on the bus with Mordecai, Lilith, and Brick in this exciting look at the soldiers of the Crimson Lance and what made him leave their ranks and search for the Vault.
104 pages, Paperback
First published May 21, 2013
17 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
March 28, 2016
Since I played Borderlands 1, 2, and Presequel, it was only logical I would become interested in this line of books. I got invested in characters I selected and I though the book would shed some light on their origins and their past, not to mention I considered it a great fan service idea :) Usually, the novels are the ones who get adapted into videogames, this time round it turned out to be different and I am not disappointed. Roland’s past is revealed and we get to discover why he left Crimson Lance. I was especially touched by the revelation of Brick as a child and things that happened to him. As far as Lilith is concerned, I wanted more, I guess, especially since whole that Syren business wasn’t too clear to me while I was playing the game. I mean, how does one become a Syren and how do you learn to use your powers? Also, they are supposed to be extremely rare. Mordecai is my favourite, and his origin story delivered :) The readers get to see how the four adventurers forge an uneasy alliance on a harsh, backstabbing, postapocalyptic planet of Pandora and decide to become Vault Hunters and that background story is what most of us game lovers wanted. Funny, artsy, action-y, easy on the eyes, catchy. More info on your favourite pew-pews. What more can you possibly want?
May 29, 2013
Being a fan of the game, Borderlands I immediately scooped this one up when IDW placed it on Netgalley. The game is a ton of fun and really witty, but you don’t get a lot of back story about the characters you can play as, so I was anxious to see exactly how our Vault Hunters came to be on Marcus’ crappy bus to begin with. I wasn’t disappointed but at the same time I wanted more.
We get to see how each Vault Hunter is perceived by others and we get some good glimpses about their personalities as well…you know other than the one liners we get when were’ blasting skags sky high (“It’s like Christmas!”). I personally think that Roland and Brick get the really good stories in this one, we get to see the exact reason Roland left the Crimson Lance and Brick’s real colors are shown. Lilth’s story was good as well and as my preferred character I wanted to see more of her (*hint* I would be willing to buy graphic novels about their individual adventures before or after the game). We get a bit more info on what a Siren is and just how lonely it is to be a part of something that only allows 6 at one time. I think Mordecai’s story was the one that fell a bit flat for me, it didn’t really tell me what he was doing on Pandora before the event that leads to him getting on the bus. Well I guess it did tell me but I kind of wanted to see a bit of it for myself.
The art is surprisingly not cell shaded like the game, and I think I”m actually a bit thank for that…I’m not sure it would have worked. It’s consistent and I think that Agustin Padilla did a pretty good job with it.
I think it’s a great companion piece for those who really loved the game and the characters, and if IDW decides to put out more like this I would certainly seek them out.
I received this in exchange for an honest review.
We get to see how each Vault Hunter is perceived by others and we get some good glimpses about their personalities as well…you know other than the one liners we get when were’ blasting skags sky high (“It’s like Christmas!”). I personally think that Roland and Brick get the really good stories in this one, we get to see the exact reason Roland left the Crimson Lance and Brick’s real colors are shown. Lilth’s story was good as well and as my preferred character I wanted to see more of her (*hint* I would be willing to buy graphic novels about their individual adventures before or after the game). We get a bit more info on what a Siren is and just how lonely it is to be a part of something that only allows 6 at one time. I think Mordecai’s story was the one that fell a bit flat for me, it didn’t really tell me what he was doing on Pandora before the event that leads to him getting on the bus. Well I guess it did tell me but I kind of wanted to see a bit of it for myself.
The art is surprisingly not cell shaded like the game, and I think I”m actually a bit thank for that…I’m not sure it would have worked. It’s consistent and I think that Agustin Padilla did a pretty good job with it.
I think it’s a great companion piece for those who really loved the game and the characters, and if IDW decides to put out more like this I would certainly seek them out.
I received this in exchange for an honest review.
December 10, 2013
I wanted to have some more back story about the characters of borderlands 1, I wanted to know who they where and what's there history... After reading this I still want all that... almost no character info no explanation you don't feel close to any of the characters no love for non of them and no humor. Hope they give this license to someone who can actually right something cool and canon for this.
June 5, 2013
I received a free copy from the writer. NO SPOILERS (does that even make sense here?) I have no familiarity with the game. I don't read graphic novels.
This was my introduction to the whole sh'bang and I *loved* it. I didn't expect the humor and I think that was what won me over. A comic book (or is it insulting to call it that?), a graphic novel that doesn't take itself too seriously. I'm hooked. I'll be looking for more Borderlands at the bookstore and more of Mikey Neumann everywhere. (I might have to get my children hooked so I don't have spend all of my own money on this...)
This was my introduction to the whole sh'bang and I *loved* it. I didn't expect the humor and I think that was what won me over. A comic book (or is it insulting to call it that?), a graphic novel that doesn't take itself too seriously. I'm hooked. I'll be looking for more Borderlands at the bookstore and more of Mikey Neumann everywhere. (I might have to get my children hooked so I don't have spend all of my own money on this...)
August 14, 2018
This is not *really* an origin story, nor is it *really* a story about how they got on the bus. It's basically just random stories about a vague past each character has, and that they eventually end up on the bus.
Did I enjoy? Yes. Did it live up to expectations? Definitely not, especially considering the blurb on the back: "exciting back stories".
Story: 3. Mediocre at best. Interesting, but not as advertised and gives more new questions than answers.
Art: 4. Nice take and style of the characters.
Did I enjoy? Yes. Did it live up to expectations? Definitely not, especially considering the blurb on the back: "exciting back stories".
Story: 3. Mediocre at best. Interesting, but not as advertised and gives more new questions than answers.
Art: 4. Nice take and style of the characters.
August 13, 2018
This gave me more questions than it did answers, and some of the art did not do the characters justice. What were they doing before they got on the bus? This book does not answer that question in an interesting way for me.
I probably liked Mordecai's story best because it actually answered the question of how he got on the bus in the most straight-forward, cohesive manner of them all. The other three all go back and open up more confusing questions about their distant pasts.
I opened this book hoping for answers and I closed it with a few more questions than I had before. Meh.
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September 21, 2024Now, that was quite a ride.
June 10, 2013
A graphic novel that serves as a preface for the popular video game Borderlands. This sets the stage for how the main Vault Hunters Roland, Mordecai, Lilith, and Brick got to be on the crappy blue bus with Marcus. The fact that you have these heroic types riding around in such transport should give you a clue to the humor in the game and this graphic novel.
Borderlands is set on a harsh planet that feels a little post-apocalyptic, and it is populated by opportunistic people, so there is plenty of rough talk and backstabbing to go around, and these characters all experience some betrayal along the way. Enough origin for each character is given to leave room for more backstory, and uneasy alliances are beginning to be forged as they meet each other.
I've not had a chance to play the game yet, but if the characters are this interesting, I'll have to give it a try (my Steam library of unplayed games is about as big as my books to be read list). Art by Agustin Padilla serves the story well, and Mikey Neumann's writing is filled with unexpected humor (dark and otherwise) that accompanies the characters in their harsh existence.
Borderlands is set on a harsh planet that feels a little post-apocalyptic, and it is populated by opportunistic people, so there is plenty of rough talk and backstabbing to go around, and these characters all experience some betrayal along the way. Enough origin for each character is given to leave room for more backstory, and uneasy alliances are beginning to be forged as they meet each other.
I've not had a chance to play the game yet, but if the characters are this interesting, I'll have to give it a try (my Steam library of unplayed games is about as big as my books to be read list). Art by Agustin Padilla serves the story well, and Mikey Neumann's writing is filled with unexpected humor (dark and otherwise) that accompanies the characters in their harsh existence.
August 30, 2014
Awful. I love the Borderlands games, and I was cautiously optimistic that this would be okay, especially since one of the main writers of the games would be writing the comics. But...they're dreadful. And they don't really make that much since considering what the characters say in the second game.
This isn't funny. But it should be, since it's Borderlands. This isn't fun. But it should be. This isn't action-packed, but it should be. It's not well-written, and it's not a good origin story at all. I can't believe people gave this a 5-star rating!!!
This isn't funny. But it should be, since it's Borderlands. This isn't fun. But it should be. This isn't action-packed, but it should be. It's not well-written, and it's not a good origin story at all. I can't believe people gave this a 5-star rating!!!
May 2, 2019
#5 for 2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge: A LitRPG book.
“Sup?”
That was cool. I obviously never played Borderlands 1, but this gave the origins of the four main characters in the first game in the franchise. I’m a HUGE fan of Borderlands 2 and always go back to that game. The art work, the world, the characters, the phrases (“explosions”), and the play style have been enjoyable to me for years and has been a shared leisure activity with my husband. Very grateful for this belated gift. Too bad I read it in 25 minutes 🤣
“Sup?”
That was cool. I obviously never played Borderlands 1, but this gave the origins of the four main characters in the first game in the franchise. I’m a HUGE fan of Borderlands 2 and always go back to that game. The art work, the world, the characters, the phrases (“explosions”), and the play style have been enjoyable to me for years and has been a shared leisure activity with my husband. Very grateful for this belated gift. Too bad I read it in 25 minutes 🤣
April 27, 2015
Pretty good! So i am a huge fan of the borderlands game series, and this is great fan service! So this consists of four stories, each an origin for the four Vault Hunters from the first game, and for the most part these well done! I liked Lilith's origin the most, Mordecai's one was disappointing though! Artwork is also great! Overall highly recommended for borderlands veteran!
May 4, 2014
As a fan of the game it is fine as an extra story, but I actually hoped to get a bit more of the background story of each character. I mean, Roland and Lilith stories are ok, but Mordecai and Brick ones actually disapoint me.
November 4, 2014
I never expected to get sucked into Borderlands the way I did. But I just finished the first game and as a fan of Mikey's other works, had no qualms about picking up Borderlands: Origins. It's a great intro to the original Vault Hunters and how they ended up together on the bus. Highly recommended!
July 17, 2013
The artwork was fine, but the stories aren't very long and none of them had a great deal of substance. I would just stick to the video games.
May 6, 2019
Just single dimension origin stories, nothing interesting.
October 20, 2024
Borderlands Origins is your basic, paint-by-numbers tie-in comic with each of the four issues focusing on one of the playable characters from the first Borderlands game. Unfortunately it's very bland, unfunny, and generally uninteresting.
The general thrust of the series is that we get to see a little peak at the characters' lives before they ended up on the bus they're on at the beginning of the game. I found the playable characters to be one of the least interesting parts of the game (so many other characters stole the spotlight), so I was interested to see them fleshed out a bit more. But they're *barely* fleshed out here, and they don't do much that's very interesting.
In Issue 1, we see why Roland left the Crimson Lance. It's a simple story where it's easy to see all the twists coming, it doesn't shed much light on him as a character, and it jarringly jumps forward in time to try and tie back to the game. Issue 2 focuses on Lilith, and contains the most interesting material by far when she encounters an old woman who tells her more about being a Siren. This one is the only one that feels like it has any real lore implications for the series. Issue 3 is the Mordecai issue -- not much happens in this one, he basically just fights some people and establishes that he's one of those sad sack samurai types who goes around looking for a fight or a death. And finally, Issue 4 is all about Brick -- with the simplest motivations and least backstory possible. If you want to really learn much about him, you won't do it here.
There are a couple through-lines here: 1) The art is uniformly basic and unappealing. It captures likenesses of characters from the game, but environments are as bland as can be and new characters look noticeably more generic. 2) There are a few attempts to capture some of that Borderlands humor, but they fall completely flat. For all intents and purposes, this is a serious comic series with some weird attempts at jokes within.
You also get a few alternate covers and character design sketches in this collection. The sketches have legible notes, which is nice, but there's not a lot to it.
Overall, Borderlands Origins probably isn't worth your time unless you're absolutely obsessed with collecting everything Borderlands. It's a generic comic series that does almost nothing to add to my enjoyment of the game except add a little texture to Lilith's story.
The general thrust of the series is that we get to see a little peak at the characters' lives before they ended up on the bus they're on at the beginning of the game. I found the playable characters to be one of the least interesting parts of the game (so many other characters stole the spotlight), so I was interested to see them fleshed out a bit more. But they're *barely* fleshed out here, and they don't do much that's very interesting.
In Issue 1, we see why Roland left the Crimson Lance. It's a simple story where it's easy to see all the twists coming, it doesn't shed much light on him as a character, and it jarringly jumps forward in time to try and tie back to the game. Issue 2 focuses on Lilith, and contains the most interesting material by far when she encounters an old woman who tells her more about being a Siren. This one is the only one that feels like it has any real lore implications for the series. Issue 3 is the Mordecai issue -- not much happens in this one, he basically just fights some people and establishes that he's one of those sad sack samurai types who goes around looking for a fight or a death. And finally, Issue 4 is all about Brick -- with the simplest motivations and least backstory possible. If you want to really learn much about him, you won't do it here.
There are a couple through-lines here: 1) The art is uniformly basic and unappealing. It captures likenesses of characters from the game, but environments are as bland as can be and new characters look noticeably more generic. 2) There are a few attempts to capture some of that Borderlands humor, but they fall completely flat. For all intents and purposes, this is a serious comic series with some weird attempts at jokes within.
You also get a few alternate covers and character design sketches in this collection. The sketches have legible notes, which is nice, but there's not a lot to it.
Overall, Borderlands Origins probably isn't worth your time unless you're absolutely obsessed with collecting everything Borderlands. It's a generic comic series that does almost nothing to add to my enjoyment of the game except add a little texture to Lilith's story.
May 23, 2020
I have been a lover of the Borderlands games since I played the first one on my Xbox 360. So suffice to say, I was really excited to get the backstory on the first playable vault hunters.
Roland's made me a bit angry while I knew he left the Crimson Lance, I never understood fully how and why. I am glad it was cleared up for me.
Lilith's left me both confused and heartbroken. I am glad to know her origins and how she became a Siren but it hurt to see how it happened.
Mordecai's left me very confused and I wish there would have been a bit more detail. There wasn't as much depth as I would have hoped.
Brick's left me both happy and sad. I know enough from the games and now this book to wish I could just hug him. Big lug deserves so much love himself.
~~~
My biggest complaint though is that there really wasn't much detail to any of their backstories for me to give it a 5-star rating. I figured there would be so much more than what was there but we only get a snippet of each.
I still recommend it though to lovers of the game series because it does show enough for more understanding than the games fully offer on the surface.
Roland's made me a bit angry while I knew he left the Crimson Lance, I never understood fully how and why. I am glad it was cleared up for me.
Lilith's left me both confused and heartbroken. I am glad to know her origins and how she became a Siren but it hurt to see how it happened.
Mordecai's left me very confused and I wish there would have been a bit more detail. There wasn't as much depth as I would have hoped.
Brick's left me both happy and sad. I know enough from the games and now this book to wish I could just hug him. Big lug deserves so much love himself.
~~~
My biggest complaint though is that there really wasn't much detail to any of their backstories for me to give it a 5-star rating. I figured there would be so much more than what was there but we only get a snippet of each.
I still recommend it though to lovers of the game series because it does show enough for more understanding than the games fully offer on the surface.
July 13, 2017
I have been obsessed with the Borderlands game series since its release in 2009. It was one of my first FPS shooter games, and the one that re-sparked my love of gaming. My boyfriend found me this comic at a recent book store trip and picked it up for me. I absolutely loved the back story, the art, and the composition. It is very well done.
August 17, 2019
Me pillé este cómic porque me gustó bastante el videojuego Tales from the Borderlands, de Telltale Games, pero ha sido una decepción total. No tiene nada que ver con este juego, sino con el universo del juego Borderlands, que, contrariamente, no me puede interesar menos. No seguiré leyendo más entregas.
November 21, 2021
For a video game tie-in comic, this is surprisingly solid! The art and tone stays true to the game's style, and though I think anyone who didn't play the games wouldn't understand all the references here (I'm thinking about Brick and the dog), this does add some life to the sketched-out backgrounds in the game without just retreading them.
May 10, 2017
Just for an fan of the game, not very exciting drawings or story. If you really like borderlnds try "THE FALL OF FYRESTONE" comics - much better.
August 4, 2017
boy do i love borderlands
March 21, 2018
Hmm. loved the game. Did not love this.
Maybe aimed at much younger readers than me. Probably good for kids.
Maybe aimed at much younger readers than me. Probably good for kids.
December 26, 2018
3.5 stars
July 20, 2019
I loved it. I wish we had more Borderlands comics.
September 5, 2023
Love Borderlands so much, really enjoyed this and seeing more of the original Vault hunters!!
June 11, 2025
Short back-stories about the very first vault hunters, Roland, Lilith, Mordecai and Brick. Art is great and so are the dialogues. It's a quick read with only 4 issues for any Borderlands fan.
April 20, 2018
Great artwork and an interesting look into what led them all to get on the bus at the beginning of Borderlands. The end of Lilith’s story was cute while Brick’s was sad.
March 5, 2017
This collects origin stories for the original four heroes in the First Borderlands, telling how they all ended up on the bus at the beginning of the game. I'm not sure if this fits in the canon of other stories , but most of the stories are pretty inconsequential anyway. Roland's is the best, showing how he ends up leaving the Crimson Lance, although Lilith's background as a Siren is relatively important too, though not explored very well. Mordecai and Brick's stories were pretty disappointing, though. At least the art is effective at conveying the feel of the games for the most part. It's not a bad collection, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't a big Borderlands fan. And you kind of need to know the games to get anything out of it.
July 22, 2014
Really enjoyed this Graphic Novel. Putting 1k Hours into the first Borderlands game I Decided to pick this gem up since I Never knew how the Vault Hunters Brick, Mordecai, Lilith & Roland started off as vault hunters.
Each chapter is based on what happened before each character climbed aboard Marco's bus, and how they ended up meeting Marco.
A Surprise fan-favourite appearance (Scooter) is also brought into the story through Mordecai's chapter.
Although this book is a quick-read, you get the point of what each chapter is bringing to the table quickly, although As an avid Borderlands fan I Wished they added in a more descriptive and blood-thirsty-bad-ass-boss-fighting part to each chapter, and I Only got that In Roland's story. Also their is no mention of Claptrap, Psycho's or Bandit's through-out the whole storyline which is pretty disappointing as that's what borderlands is about. Shoot & Loot.
My favourite part of this whole Graphic Novel would have to have been Brick's storyline, finding out how he got his name and how he became such a bad-ass.
To Conclude this Review, I'de like to see if this could be lifted off into another Graphic Novel for the "Pre-sequel" since their is ALOT Of story-lines that have been left untied in Borderlands 2.
Each chapter is based on what happened before each character climbed aboard Marco's bus, and how they ended up meeting Marco.
A Surprise fan-favourite appearance (Scooter) is also brought into the story through Mordecai's chapter.
Although this book is a quick-read, you get the point of what each chapter is bringing to the table quickly, although As an avid Borderlands fan I Wished they added in a more descriptive and blood-thirsty-bad-ass-boss-fighting part to each chapter, and I Only got that In Roland's story. Also their is no mention of Claptrap, Psycho's or Bandit's through-out the whole storyline which is pretty disappointing as that's what borderlands is about. Shoot & Loot.
My favourite part of this whole Graphic Novel would have to have been Brick's storyline, finding out how he got his name and how he became such a bad-ass.
To Conclude this Review, I'de like to see if this could be lifted off into another Graphic Novel for the "Pre-sequel" since their is ALOT Of story-lines that have been left untied in Borderlands 2.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews