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Bionicle Graphic Novels #2
Bionicle, Vol. 2: Challenge of the Rahkshi
The Toa Nuva suffer a mysterious loss of their powers which threatens their very existence. It's the work of the Bohrok-Kal, a special squad of mutated Bohrok who seek to free the swarm queens and unleash the Bohrok again. With the help of the legendary Mask of Time, the Toa Nuva are able to defeat the Kal.
Meanwhile, a Matoran village named Takua has stumbled upon the long-hidden Mask of Light. He and his best friend, Jaller, are sent by the village elders, the Turaga, to find the Toa to whom the mask is destined to belong. But Makuta unleashes twisted creatures called Rahkshi against the island in an effort to stop the Toa of Light from coming into being. After many defeats, the Toa Nuva unite to stop the Rahkshi with the help of Takua, who dons the Mask of Light to become Takanuva, Toa of Light. Takanuva challenges Makuta in battle, a fight which leads to the discovery of a huge underground island city – Metru Nui.
Meanwhile, a Matoran village named Takua has stumbled upon the long-hidden Mask of Light. He and his best friend, Jaller, are sent by the village elders, the Turaga, to find the Toa to whom the mask is destined to belong. But Makuta unleashes twisted creatures called Rahkshi against the island in an effort to stop the Toa of Light from coming into being. After many defeats, the Toa Nuva unite to stop the Rahkshi with the help of Takua, who dons the Mask of Light to become Takanuva, Toa of Light. Takanuva challenges Makuta in battle, a fight which leads to the discovery of a huge underground island city – Metru Nui.
112 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2008
About the author
Greg Farshtey
244 books89 followersGreg Farshtey is the author of the popular BIONICLE chapter books and Level 3 readers, as well as the long-running BIONICLE comic book series. His day job is Editor-in-Chief and head writer for the LEGO Club Magazine and the LEGO BrickMaster Magazine.
Greg has been writing since fourth grade. After earning a degree in Communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo, he worked as a reporter, sports editor, game designer and editor, and copywriter before joining LEGO Company in 2000. Before becoming involved with BIONICLE, he wrote game material for such diverse properties as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Tales From the Crypt.
Greg is the author of more than 30 novels and guidebooks, as well as the author or co-author of more than 35 game sourcebooks and adventures.
He lives in West Hartford, Connecticut.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Far...
Greg has been writing since fourth grade. After earning a degree in Communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo, he worked as a reporter, sports editor, game designer and editor, and copywriter before joining LEGO Company in 2000. Before becoming involved with BIONICLE, he wrote game material for such diverse properties as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Tales From the Crypt.
Greg is the author of more than 30 novels and guidebooks, as well as the author or co-author of more than 35 game sourcebooks and adventures.
He lives in West Hartford, Connecticut.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Far...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 21, 2011
This is the second in Papercutz re-release of the Bionicle comics in graphic novel form. The first volume was excellent, and this one continues the trend.
I discussed a lot of the nostalgia factor these books have in my review of Bionicle The Rise of the Toa Nuva book, and the same still holds true here. As a kid I loved the world of Mata Nui and the characters that inhabited it.
Greg's writing continues to get the job done - it tells the story well and gives the characters some personality if not a lot of depth. For a comic based on a children's toy line, I can't complain too much, and at the time I know I ate it up.
Unfortunately the art wasn't nearly as great this time around. Carlos D'Anda left and was replaced my Randy Elliott. Randy's Toa Nuva tend to be too much like the sets, in that he took fewer liberties bending their limbs to make them look realistic. Some of the posing looks like pictures of the sets that has been traced and colored. I guess it helps for advertising the toys, but other than that it doesn't do much. The environments of Mata Nui still look great though, so there's that.
Overall, if you are or were a fan of Bionicle, I still recommend you pick this up. It looks great on your bookshelf and it's a great way to relive past memories.
Side note: I'm not sure what's up with the title of this volume, 'Challenge of the Rakshi.' First up, it's 'Rahkshi,' and second, they don't even appear until the last third of the comics in the issue. That's just a gripe with Papercutz though, and doesn't detract from the comics themselves.
I discussed a lot of the nostalgia factor these books have in my review of Bionicle The Rise of the Toa Nuva book, and the same still holds true here. As a kid I loved the world of Mata Nui and the characters that inhabited it.
Greg's writing continues to get the job done - it tells the story well and gives the characters some personality if not a lot of depth. For a comic based on a children's toy line, I can't complain too much, and at the time I know I ate it up.
Unfortunately the art wasn't nearly as great this time around. Carlos D'Anda left and was replaced my Randy Elliott. Randy's Toa Nuva tend to be too much like the sets, in that he took fewer liberties bending their limbs to make them look realistic. Some of the posing looks like pictures of the sets that has been traced and colored. I guess it helps for advertising the toys, but other than that it doesn't do much. The environments of Mata Nui still look great though, so there's that.
Overall, if you are or were a fan of Bionicle, I still recommend you pick this up. It looks great on your bookshelf and it's a great way to relive past memories.
Side note: I'm not sure what's up with the title of this volume, 'Challenge of the Rakshi.' First up, it's 'Rahkshi,' and second, they don't even appear until the last third of the comics in the issue. That's just a gripe with Papercutz though, and doesn't detract from the comics themselves.
March 31, 2026
The next entry in the Bionicle series and… it was a little disappointing.
As with the first entry, the art here continues to be fantastic, with great character and environment renderings and lots of detail. I also liked that this one gave a little bit more character depth and personality to the six Toa, as each of them feel a little bit more distinct than they had previously. This one also felt like it delved a little deeper into the overall story, as it not only ties into other Bionicle media but also shows that there’s a little more going on here than what is initially assumed.
As for what didn’t work for me, I mostly just thought the story here was a bit boring. While the first graphic novel was nothing incredible in that department, I did think it set up the story well and had a simple but fun plot. This one just doesn’t capture the same interest to me. Also, while I appreciate the inclusion of references and tie-ins to other material, at times it feels like there are bits of story missing; this makes sense, given that Bionicle was very much a multimedia franchise which had lots of interweaving stories between mediums, but I still wish it had felt a little more complete.
Overall, a decent but underwhelming graphic novel. However, the next story arc set in Metru Nui is by far the one I know the least about in the whole series, so I do look forward to checking that out.
Rating: 6/10
As with the first entry, the art here continues to be fantastic, with great character and environment renderings and lots of detail. I also liked that this one gave a little bit more character depth and personality to the six Toa, as each of them feel a little bit more distinct than they had previously. This one also felt like it delved a little deeper into the overall story, as it not only ties into other Bionicle media but also shows that there’s a little more going on here than what is initially assumed.
As for what didn’t work for me, I mostly just thought the story here was a bit boring. While the first graphic novel was nothing incredible in that department, I did think it set up the story well and had a simple but fun plot. This one just doesn’t capture the same interest to me. Also, while I appreciate the inclusion of references and tie-ins to other material, at times it feels like there are bits of story missing; this makes sense, given that Bionicle was very much a multimedia franchise which had lots of interweaving stories between mediums, but I still wish it had felt a little more complete.
Overall, a decent but underwhelming graphic novel. However, the next story arc set in Metru Nui is by far the one I know the least about in the whole series, so I do look forward to checking that out.
Rating: 6/10
April 12, 2022
Clearly, this was a product placement book (for Lego Bionicles) and I bought these because my son poured over them, was glued to them, at the time. And I was desperate to get him reading. Anything. I didn't care for the story; I couldn't really make heads or tails of it, but I believed it's okay to slide whatever works under their noses, if they're motivated to read it. We bought all 9.
April 1, 2021
Devolved too far into random nonsense for me
February 28, 2023
The art remained high quality as the story became a little repetitive for my taste.
December 5, 2013
It's weird. I'm trying to figure out when they decided to make Lewa talk funny. It doesn't start until over half-way through this book. So strange. And I'm trying not to read into it ~ but it seems like Gali has to be rescued more than the other Toa, but maybe I just noticed it more. I don't know.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews