Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: The Edge of the World

The Witcher (Dark Horse Comics) #0.3

by Andrzej Sapkowski, Magdalena Salik, Tommaso Bennato (illustrator)

A devilish tale full of shocking twists is presented in this graphic novel adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's original short story.

Work is hard to come by for Geralt and with Dandelion, not a subject for his rhymes or ballads. As they travel to the edge of the known world, townsfolk speak of many stories but it seems that’s all they are—recitals of monsters and superstition—until a man follows Geralt with news of a devil scavenging the local fields. Rid the beast, but under no condition is he to be killed. Only how can Geralt hunt the creature, for there is no such things as devils . . .

This graphic novel is the third in a series of adaptations from Sapkowski's acclaimed short story collection The Last Wish!

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction

56 pages, Hardcover

Published January 21, 2025

About the author

Andrzej Sapkowski, born June 21, 1948 in Łódź, is a Polish fantasy and science fiction writer. Sapkowski studied economics, and before turning to writing, he had worked as a senior sales representative for a foreign trade company. His first short story, The Witcher (Wiedźmin), was published in Fantastyka, Poland's leading fantasy literary magazine, in 1986 and was enormously successful both with readers and critics. Sapkowski has created a cycle of tales based on the world of The Witcher, comprising three collections of short stories and five novels. This cycle and his many other works have made him one of the best-known fantasy authors in Poland in the 1990s.

The main character of The Witcher (alternative translation: The Hexer) is Geralt, a mutant assassin who has been trained since childhood to hunt down and destroy monsters. Geralt exists in an ambiguous moral universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At the same time cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to Raymond Chandler's signature character Philip Marlowe. The world in which these adventures take place is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology.

Sapkowski has won five Zajdel Awards, including three for short stories "Mniejsze zło" (Lesser Evil) (1990), "Miecz przeznaczenia" (Sword of Destiny) (1992) and "W leju po bombie" (In a Bomb Crater) (1993), and two for the novels "Krew elfów" (Blood of Elves) (1994) and "Narrenturm" (2002). He also won the Spanish Ignotus Award, best anthology, for The Last Wish in 2003, and for "Muzykanci" (The Musicians), best foreign short story, same year.

In 1997, Sapkowski won the prestigious Polityka's Passport award, which is awarded annually to artists who have strong prospects for international success.

In 2001, a Television Series based on the Witcher cycle was released in Poland and internationally, entitled Wiedźmin (The Hexer). A film by the same title was compiled from excerpts of the television series but both have been critical and box office failures.

Sapkowski's books have been translated into Czech, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. An English translation of The Last Wish short story collection was published by Gollancz in 2007.

The Polish game publisher, CD Projekt, created a role-playing PC game based on this universe, called The Witcher, which was released in October 2007. There is also a mobile version of the game which has been created by Breakpoint Games and is being published by Hands-On Mobile in Western Europe,Latin America and Asia Pacific.

The English translation of Sapkowski's novel Blood of Elves won the David Gemmell Legends Award in 2009.

Reviews

[Ben A · Rating 3 out of 5]

The next entry in the series of graphic novels adapting Andrzej Sapkowski's original The Witcher short stories. I enjoyed how it explored the world of the Witcher, but the art didn't quite work for me and so the graphic novel ended up being just okay. I would really like to see them up their art game, as the adaptions themselves have been really well done.

Special Thanks to Dark Horse Comics and Edelweiss Plus for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh short story turned into a comic. Way too short for me to call it a graphic novel

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tommaso Bennato's illustrations are different from those of those who have drawn the Issues I have read so far of The Witcher. It took me a while to get used to them, but I have to say that I eventually like them even though he looks nothing like Henry Cavill. The story is also sort of funny but certainly not unforgettable.

Le illustrazioni di Tommaso Bennato sono diverse da quelle di coloro che fino ad ora hanno disegnato gli albi che ho letto di The Witcher. Ci ho messo un pochino ad abituarmi, ma devo dire che alla fine mi piacciono anche se il protagonista non assomiglia per niente a Henry Cavill. Anche la storia é carina ma certo non indimenticabile.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

[Z książką po mojemu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo lubię te komiksowe adaptacje, bo jednak jest dużo łatwiej przyswajalna niż w formie powieści. Dla mnie styl autora jest toporny, a w formie komiksu czyta się zdecydowanie lepiej.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

This comic is based on the original short story by Andrzej Sapkowski and has all the classical elements of a Witcher story - Geralt and Dandelion arrive in a town looking for work and upon taking it on, start to question whether everything is as it appears. The comic is quite short so it's not really possible to give out more details without also giving away the plot.

It would be unfair to call the story predictable given that it's one of the originals on which many other more recent Witcher stories are built on. But if you're an experienced Witcher reader the twist won't exactly surprise you. It is still enjoyable to see how things unfold and the end itself is at least a bit surprising.

The art in is not the best I've seen in the recent Witcher comics. It doesn't detract from the story, but I've never been a fan of a bit messy, thick-line style. The panels are great and interesting though.

For a Witcher fan, this is one of the 'middle' stories. There's nothing super memorable here but it does have all the elements you would expect in a good Witcher story. Grab this is you are desperate for Witcher content - otherwise, there are better Witcher comics out there. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all Witcher comics, it's twisty, dark, and brief. The Witcher and lute guy show up in a dead-end valley at the end of the world, encounter a jerk monster, get captured by elves, and then saved by a more magical elf?. It's fast, looks good, and is pretty fun. Can't fault it one bit.

[Cris M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything that does justice to the original material gets a 5/5 from me. Sure, Dandelion should have been blonde but that matters very little. What counts is that it captured the atmosphere of the original short story.

[Fredrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toss a coin to your Witcher. ⚔️🐺⚔️

[Erin Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better adaptation than what Netflix gave us.

[Charles Eldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well paced stand-alone Witcher story with unique artwork. Pricey for the size, but a really enjoyable read.

[Antonio Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

el arte disminuye bastante la nota. Historia interesante

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad this one at least didn't involve SA. Overall, though, it felt kind of run of the mill.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story loses something in the adaptation to comic format. Read the book or watch the show.