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Pathfinder Comic Anthologies
Pathfinder Volume 4: Origins
To prove themselves to the Pathfinder Society, Valeros the fighter and his companions must recount tales of their early exploits in a world beset by magic and evil. Thrill to the solo adventures of Valeros, holy warrior Kyra, Seoni the sorcerer, martial artist Sajan, Harsk the dwarven ranger, and Ezren the wizard, as they journey treacherous lands, survive wild creatures and fairy magic, unearth ancient threats, and prove their heroism time and time again!
With six captivating stories (each connected by a common narrative thread) and explosive artwork, this fourth volume in the Pathfinder graphic novel series expands upon the mythos of Paizo's award-winning fantasy world, fiction line, and tabletop RPG. The collection features Pathfinder: Origins issues #1-6 by Erik Mona (Publisher of Paizo Publishing, LLC), game designers James L. Sutter and F. Wesley Schneider, and artists Tom Garcia, Kevin Stokes, and Leandro Oliviera; a cover gallery of 30 beautiful images; twenty-four pages of characters and world detail for the Pathfinder RPG, and a removable poster-map of the region explored in the graphic novel.
With six captivating stories (each connected by a common narrative thread) and explosive artwork, this fourth volume in the Pathfinder graphic novel series expands upon the mythos of Paizo's award-winning fantasy world, fiction line, and tabletop RPG. The collection features Pathfinder: Origins issues #1-6 by Erik Mona (Publisher of Paizo Publishing, LLC), game designers James L. Sutter and F. Wesley Schneider, and artists Tom Garcia, Kevin Stokes, and Leandro Oliviera; a cover gallery of 30 beautiful images; twenty-four pages of characters and world detail for the Pathfinder RPG, and a removable poster-map of the region explored in the graphic novel.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2015
27 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
James L. Sutter
116 books208 followersJames L. Sutter is a co-creator of the best-selling Pathfinder and Starfinder roleplaying games. He’s the author of the young adult romance novels DARKHEARTS and THE GHOST OF US, as well as the fantasy novels DEATH'S HERETIC and THE REDEMPTION ENGINE. His short stories have appeared in Nightmare, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, the #1 Amazon best-seller Machine of Death, and more. James lives in Seattle, where he's performed with musical acts ranging from metalcore to musical theater.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 29, 2019
This fourth compilation in the Pathfinder series features a number of stories centered around each of the main characters in our adventuring troop. The story that links the individual adventures is a little weak and somewhat contrived, however that does not lessen the enjoyment of each tale. Eric Mona writes two of the six original issues with James L. Sutter and F. Wesley Schneider splitting the remaining four. Eric's work shines a always with the other authors maintaining the high bar that has been set.
Tome Garcia illustrates three tales, Leandro Oliveira does two and the remaining work is done by Kevin Stokes. All of the work presented is to a very high standard, and although different in approach, it is all very enjoyable.
With the addition of variant covers and some Pathfinder RPG scenarios included, this is a well done compilation with a lot of bang for the buck.
Tome Garcia illustrates three tales, Leandro Oliveira does two and the remaining work is done by Kevin Stokes. All of the work presented is to a very high standard, and although different in approach, it is all very enjoyable.
With the addition of variant covers and some Pathfinder RPG scenarios included, this is a well done compilation with a lot of bang for the buck.
May 9, 2022
The framing device is really well implemented. Most collections of one-shots don't put nearly this much consideration into how the stories should fit together.
July 20, 2020
This entry in the Pathfinder comics outlines the backstories behind the game's iconics, with a thin plot linking each story together as Valeros, Ezren, Seoni and the rest try to win entry into the Pathfinder Society. I've always had a fondness for Pathfinder's iconic characters (largely due to the strength of their designs at the hands of artist Wayne Reynolds) so learning more about them before they became the game's representatives was fun. Also present are a few iconic figures who haven't gotten the spotlight yet in this series - ie, Amiri the barbarian and Seelah the paladin, who probably stars in the best tale of the lot, featuring a team-up with iconic cleric Kyra as the pair try to defend a community of ratfolk from some nasty beasties.
October 19, 2022
It’s a good thing that this book has the Pathfinder name attached to it, because these individual stories of each adventurer read like a session zero from a tabletop RPG. You’ve got a warrior, a cleric, a wizard, a sorcerer, a thief, and a ranger recounting their origin stories to the head of the Pathfinder society in order to prove their worth to her. They start off with a quest or a job of some kind and end with either a life-changing revelation or a desire for more adventures. This is basic character building 101, especially when creating new ones to use in role-playing games. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated, but I appreciate the authors putting in the extra work to make them feel fleshed out. That’s part of the fun in playing a pencil-and-paper RPG, which also overlaps with being an author. Fun is the number one priority of any gamer, but playing D&D or Pathfinder can be training for budding authors wanting to break into the industry. It doesn’t have to be the end goal, but it could be if the player or DM wanted it to be.
Having said that, I do wish the more dramatic and heavy parts of these stories had more time to breathe instead of just bolting from one scene to the next. The wizard discovered that he comes from a family of ruthless slave traders and wants to abandon them. The monk who hires the thief wants to rescue his sister from being traded like a slave herself. The barbarian who saves the fighter’s life has a history of surviving horrible violence. These moments shouldn’t be glossed over so quickly. They need to be drawn out. They need to be expanded upon. Otherwise, it’s over too soon and it’s a wasted chance to make the reader feel everything that’s going on. Sherman Alexie, the author of War Dances, is a master of making everything feel important and heartbreaking. I don’t get that sense when I’m reading this graphic novel. It could be because it’s a graphic novel and they’re fast reads by nature. But still, I would have loved to spend more time in these heavy moments to make the characters feel even more human than they were before.
The closest I got to feeling anything for the characters was Kyra the Cleric’s story. She serves the god of redemption and yet finds nothing redeeming about the prisoners she and a paladin take with them on a rescue mission against blood-sucking demons. Her hypocrisy is a major character flaw that makes her feel three-dimensional. And it’s her experiences with the paladin that make her overcome this flaw. Not all redemption takes place on its own. Sometimes we all need somebody to show us the way. We as people don’t often know that we’re making mistakes or going down a bad path until someone else points it out to us. It’s what we do with that information afterwards that will make or break our redemption arcs. That makes a lot of sense to me and it’s why Kyra’s story is my favorite out of all the ones I’ve read in this book.
Overall this was a fun graphic novel to read. Even if you don’t play tabletop RPG’s, you’ll get some enjoyment out of this as a standalone fantasy story. Yes, I know it’s the fourth volume of a much larger series, but it stands out enough on its own that the reader won’t be confused about which part of the story goes where. That’s what good books should do regardless of where they are in the series: stand out on their own and not have to rely too heavily on their back catalogue for vital information. Pathfinders Origins gets four stars out of five. Not perfect, but ultimately a nice way to spend some alone time with your nose in a book. Well done to everybody who was involved in the making of this story from the authors to the artists.
Having said that, I do wish the more dramatic and heavy parts of these stories had more time to breathe instead of just bolting from one scene to the next. The wizard discovered that he comes from a family of ruthless slave traders and wants to abandon them. The monk who hires the thief wants to rescue his sister from being traded like a slave herself. The barbarian who saves the fighter’s life has a history of surviving horrible violence. These moments shouldn’t be glossed over so quickly. They need to be drawn out. They need to be expanded upon. Otherwise, it’s over too soon and it’s a wasted chance to make the reader feel everything that’s going on. Sherman Alexie, the author of War Dances, is a master of making everything feel important and heartbreaking. I don’t get that sense when I’m reading this graphic novel. It could be because it’s a graphic novel and they’re fast reads by nature. But still, I would have loved to spend more time in these heavy moments to make the characters feel even more human than they were before.
The closest I got to feeling anything for the characters was Kyra the Cleric’s story. She serves the god of redemption and yet finds nothing redeeming about the prisoners she and a paladin take with them on a rescue mission against blood-sucking demons. Her hypocrisy is a major character flaw that makes her feel three-dimensional. And it’s her experiences with the paladin that make her overcome this flaw. Not all redemption takes place on its own. Sometimes we all need somebody to show us the way. We as people don’t often know that we’re making mistakes or going down a bad path until someone else points it out to us. It’s what we do with that information afterwards that will make or break our redemption arcs. That makes a lot of sense to me and it’s why Kyra’s story is my favorite out of all the ones I’ve read in this book.
Overall this was a fun graphic novel to read. Even if you don’t play tabletop RPG’s, you’ll get some enjoyment out of this as a standalone fantasy story. Yes, I know it’s the fourth volume of a much larger series, but it stands out enough on its own that the reader won’t be confused about which part of the story goes where. That’s what good books should do regardless of where they are in the series: stand out on their own and not have to rely too heavily on their back catalogue for vital information. Pathfinders Origins gets four stars out of five. Not perfect, but ultimately a nice way to spend some alone time with your nose in a book. Well done to everybody who was involved in the making of this story from the authors to the artists.
Read
March 21, 2023After enjoying volume one I was looking forward to this but unfortunately, after the first issue and halfway through the second, I stopped because the dialogue was so long. I know this is a nitpick, but it was really distracting where it was. Just a word salad where I would just glaze over the speech bubbles because of how big they were in comics, you have to be very economical with your words some people can pull off long dialogue, but majority can’t, and it’s a shame, because, I enjoy high fantasy and the art wasn’t bad.
October 4, 2022
All in all pretty nice. My favourite was the bit with Kyra and Seelah, I really like Seelah's backstory (and the look at a less accepting Kyra). It did a good job drawing in some other iconics instead of just our main cast, and making all the stories connect in a good way. They're not the most jaw-dropping adventures but I liked them.
January 25, 2018
Fourth compilation of the adventuring crew finds them petitioning for entrance into the Pathfinder Society by telling a past tale of each ones reason for adventuring and deserving entrance. Check it out.
October 26, 2017
We did get some interesting background stories on our favorite characters.
And it all came together as one in the end...
Nicely done!
And it all came together as one in the end...
Nicely done!
March 6, 2016
Origins as a whole: The Iconic party of PFRPG, made of the six core classes (fighter, rogue, cleric, sorcerer, ranger, and wizard), each tell a story of their early adventures all framed as an interview of sorts with the Pathfinder Society, of which the wizard Ezren had been allowed to join in City of Secrets. These stories address concerns about each of the companions that Ezren adventures with, and include cameos of other Iconic characters ("official" representative of a character class). They also by the end all interweave with a final test as aspects from all their stories are brought together to tell another story, and at the end of it all they all become members or affiliates of the Society, the whole group thus able to use its quest leads.
December 20, 2015
I'm a pretty big fan of the pathfinder comics. In storytelling in general, one of my favorite types of things is the origin story. At what point did someone decide to be a hero, to put aside their own goals and do things that helped others. That is what this book is all about. One story for each member of the party about why they chose to be an adventurer... and later a hero.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews