Wiedźmin

Wiedźmin #1-6

by Bogusław Polch, Andrzej Sapkowski, Maciej Parowski

Wiedźmina przedstawiać nie trzeba - postać stworzona przez Andrzeja Sapkowskiego to fenomen polskiej popkultury. Jednak zanim Geralt z Rivii stał się bohaterem filmów, gier komputerowych, fabularnych i karcianych, wystąpił w wyjątkowym komiksie.

Wydawany w latach 1993 do 1995 cykl komiksów o Wiedźminie wyprzedził czasy i zapowiedział narodziny megagwiazdy polskiej popkultury. Scenariusz Andrzeja Sapkowskiego i Macieja Parowskiego brawurowo zilustrowany przez Bogusława Polcha to lektura obowiązkowa dla miłośników wiedźmińskiego uniwersum oraz fanów dobrego komiksu.

Kolekcjonerskie wydanie komiksu łączy w jednym tomie sześć powstałych w latach 90. rysunkowych opowieści. Wraz z wcześniejszymi, jednotomowymi edycjami "Funky Kovala" i "Ekspedycji" tworzy niezwykłą trylogię jednego z największych mistrzów polskiego komiksu, Bogusława Polcha.

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Polish Literature, Graphic Novels Comics

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Robert]

DNF at around 25%.

Not sure if something was proverbially (or perhaps literally) lost in translation but I found these to be difficult to follow and obtuse.

[Ben A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really fun collection of very European and very 1990s (in all the best ways) comic book stories that I’m very glad has seen print here in the States.

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

[GONZA · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a lot of The Witcher comics, but I admit that because the stories more or less all revolve around the same topic, the illustrations make a difference, and I didn't like these at all unfortunately.

Ho letto tanti fumetti di The Witcher, ma ammetto che siccome le storie ruotano piú o meno tutte attorno allo stesso argomento, i disegni fanno la differenza, e questi non mi sono piaciuti affatto purtroppo.

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

[Marcin Wichowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historie ogólnie znane więc nie oceniam a rysunki cóż
Klasyka tamtych lat podczas czytania warto mieć łyżeczkę w kieszeni żeby od czasu do czasu zebrać musz….

[Marcin Zukowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie ma w sobie ani trochę tej magii, którą miały książki. Wizualnie było miejscami nieźle, ale ogólnie miałem wrażenie, że postacie były zbyt prymitywnie oddane. Zwłaszcza Jaskier i Yennefer.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never played the game, read the books or seen the Netflix show this was truly my first exposure to the character l and honestly it was fun BUT I do feel a bit of a language barrier that perhaps reads better in polish- some of the dialogue here felt odd and not in just a medieval way. The story seems simple enough a Witcher helps hunt monsters down - he’s a bit like Conan but seems to be kinder and care more about the people in his world. I enjoyed this story.

[Farseer8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 stars but 5 for the original story itself, so I am awarding it 4 stars.
6 comics put together in this edition, 5 based on Sapkowski's stories and 1 invented by the Polch-Parowski duo presenting their own fantasy about the witcher's character.
Interesting to me is that Sapkowski's work always inspired a visual medium.
The drawings would be better in black and white as I don't like the colors here.

[Angelika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ciężka to lektura była. Fajnie scala uniwersum, ale mnogość treści i surowa kreska nie pomagają w odbiorze.

[Barthymeus (Signe) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The comic collection features some of the most famous early stories from The Witcher.
I knew the classic collection would be a bit outdated, knowing it was made in the 90s, but I did, however, still enjoy reading it.

The artwork is... how to put it... not ugly, but also not pretty? I definitely do prefer the more modern look of Geralt, but probably because I'm a bit biased towards the third The Witcher game.

[Ewelina Nasiłowska · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

[Marta Komar · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the beginning was the word... Later, in the ’90s Bogusław Polch drew the first comic book. Nowadays we have more comics and The Game made by CDProject and other stuff related to The Witcher, but my text will be about this first one comic which was (“quite”) recently released again.

Before I’ll start writing about comics, I need to explain who Bogusław Polch is, because he is a great figure. We owe him lots of great drawings, not only the first Witcher cycle but Expedition (based on Daniken’s theories) and Kapitan Żbik also.

His drawing style is characteristic. I love it very much, but I know there are people who don’t. But for a real fan of the Witcher’s universe, it shouldn’t be an obstacle because these comics contain stories that aren’t in the original books or games… And there is more! Maciej Parowski, the comic scriptwriter said these stories are approved by the author Andrzej Sapkowski, so it seems they are canonical.

What about the stories?

The very first comic had six parts, and every part was released independently. In 2015 polish publishing house Prószyński & S-ka decided to get all together and print in one big, collector’s edition named “The Witcher”. I had all of them in original printing, but at Christmas I got the big one. <3

Four stories are based on novels, so it’s nothing new for fans. But the rest of them (“Droga bez powrotu” i “Zdrada”) are about Geralt’s parents, his youth in Kaer Morhen and witcher’s exercises. There is a story about his gray hair too.

I need to say (with shame) I couldn’t remember where in novels is an explanation of why he had gray hair. I always thought it was because of the trial of the grasses (quick googling confirmed it) but in comic there is an alternative version where Geralt is gray because of PTSD, but I won’t spoil it for you.

Apart from tales about Geralt there are other stories related to sorcerers, magic schools, some politics, the universe descriptions, and other characters. We can find there lots of info about other witcher schools, eg. combat force and reasons for the final end of the witcher guild.

At the end of all stories, the print house decided to add two short texts - an article, a short interview with Maciej Parowski, the director, and a few beta boards without colors and dialogues.

Short and subjectively

I really love comic books, so the Witcher is very precious for me simply because it is a comic book. But I’m a big fan of everything in this universe too, so I had to have it on my shelf eventually.

I strongly recommend this edition, because apart from the new stories it’s really nice and neatly released a big part of the witcher’s universe.

PS In this comic there is one of my favorite neologisms in polish - “ciżmopsuj”. It means something like shoe-breaker but there is an untranslatable charm in this polish word.

[Izzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ✨

Po pierwsze - co to za kreska XD

Po drugie - satysfakcje daje przeczytanie pierwszych pierwszych komiksów z Wiedźmina. Jakby bardzo się na nie cieszyłam oraz sama realizacja i fabuła była świetna.

Minus za dwa zeszyty ze zbioru, bo tą część historii widziałam i znam najlepiej, więc było nudnawo, ale dowoziło <3

[Dominik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Six short stories:
1. A Road with No Return - graphically one of the worst. Screenplay & dialogue-wise also not that good. However, we find out more about Geralt's parents and we meet young Myszowór.
2. Betrayal - much better than previous one. Comic-excusive story. Two witcher schoold fighting against each other. We meet young Jaskier. Geralt's white hair mystery solved.
3. Geralt - Strzyga's story. Cameo appearance of Yarpen and Renfri.
4. The Lesser Evil - graphically one of the best.
5. The Last Wish - first wish of Geralt is not here, I don't know why. Just not present...duh.
6. The Bounds of Reason - extended version of the story.
+ bonus: interviews with screenwriter

[MeskaKsiazka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zupełnie inne od świata Wiedźmina w książkach czy grach, przez co czegoś mi tu brakuję, ale jednakże pozycja obowiązkowa dla każdego fana!

[tammy (eskel's version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

could not have been more perfect if it tried

[Dorota · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ja wiem, to jest historia, klasyka, lata 90te, gratka dla fanów z sentymentem, bo masa ludzi pewnie zachwycała się za młodu tymi komiksami. Ale matko bosko jakie to jest brzydkie... Chwilami nie wiedziałam czy się śmiać, czy płakać. Co do samych historii - z jednej strony bardzo się cieszyłam, że poczytam o nieznanych losach Geralta i jego pochodzeniu, ale z drugiej - te pierwsze zeszyty naprawdę rozczarowują, fabularnie jest bez szału, a są też często chaotyczne i chwilami trudno mi było od razu zrozumieć co się dzieje w danym okienku, bo rysunki nie ułatwiały sprawy (zwłaszcza, że niektóre postaci poboczne są do siebie strasznie podobne). Oddać trzeba jednak, że wraz z kolejnymi zeszytami jest coraz lepiej, historie są już znane z książek, wciągają i nawet kreska nieco się poprawia. Tym niemniej zamknęłam komiks z uczuciem ulgi i zwycięstwa, nie sądziłam, że uda mi się przeczytać całość, mimo że jestem wielką fanką wiedźmina w niemal każdej postaci. Ale w dupkę czesany Geralt z wiechciem na głowie będzie mi się pewnie śnił po nocach jeszcze długo

[Bruno Franco Netto · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a Witcher fan (never played the games but like the show, the books and the dark horse comics) I really commend Dark Horse for putting together this wonderful compilation of the original Polish comic adaptations of the Witcher stories. It's a great effort and a great collectors item certainly for Witcher enthusiasts. But as far as the content itself goes, unfortunately this did not age well. The art does not hold up to modern standards and the writing is really difficult to comprehend, even translated as it is to English. I cannot say if this is a problem with the original writing, the English translation, or both. So I applaud the efforts to bring this to life but if you want to read great Witcher comics I would recommend the modern Dark Horse comics, not this compilation.

[Antonina Nowicka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Komiks dla fanów serii o Geraldzie z Rivii. Jest to tom kolekcjonerski, w którym znajduje się 6 tomów komiksów o Wiedźminie. Rysunki są pięknie i idealnie oddają wygląd bohaterów książkowych. Lepiej przeczytać ten komiks po przeczytaniu dwóch pierwszych tomów serii , czyli: "Ostatnie życzenie" i "Miecz przeznaczenia", ponieważ można zespoilerować sobie kilka historii. Pomimo, że jest kilka niedomówień w tym komiksie i tak uważam , że jest to świetna rzecz i dodatek do całej serii. Polecam bardzo :D

[Xiankowaty01 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bardzo polubiłem styl Polcha w Ekspedycji, więc sięgnięcie po jego kolejne komiksy było tylko kwestią czasu. Wiedźmin jest jednak pozycją inną niż Bogowie z kosmosu, więc adaptacja opowiadań Sapkowskiego (z kilkoma dodatkowymi historiami) jako historia do mnie nie trafiła, ale to może ze mną jest coś nie tak, bo nigdy nie załapałem bakcyla na Wiedźmina. Rysunki natomiast oczywiście są bardzo ładne (w tym polchowym stylu) i chociażby tylko z uwagi na nie polecam sięgnąć po tę serię (+ jak na dzisiejsze standardy jest to też komiks przystępny cenowo w stosunku do rozmiarów)

[Arthur Farestveit · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time the world of the Witcher was ever visualized and good gracious there are some weird, creepy drawings in this one! I also learned that it's not just the Witcher tv show that is difficult to understand but also the comic adaptations which in my naivete hoped would bring more clarity to the stories but I just ended up googling explanations for them.

Overall a fun read though and it was cool seeing where the whole witcher craze started.

[Konrad Śmiałek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mi smakuje!
(chociaż dałem minimum pół gwiazdki w górę z sympatii do tematu)

[Gabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unikalny klimat, rysunki pełne życia

[rocky · Rating 4 out of 5]

za mało ciri

[Mateusz Surowiec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Na ogół fajne
Fest nie mój styl, a dziwne bo bardzo lubie polskie seriale w tym klimacie.
sporo skipnąłem, głównie większy fragemnt znanych juz opowiadań

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of short stories about Geralt of Rivia. They were illustrated by Polsch. It’s a great collection and the obvious inspiration for the first season of the Netflix series.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

occasionally hard to follow.
art not my favorite.

[Ocean Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

an ok adaptation of the short series, couldn’t done without the addition of the origin of his parents.

[Avidreader365 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Laura Zarzyńska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mocno średnie niestety

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

This gargantuan collection gathers in the very original Witcher comics, originally published only in Poland in the early 90's and representing the very first imagining of the whole world of Witcher in anything visual. It's a fascinating view into how everything began, seeing how the characters were originally imagined and how subsequent entries have molded them later.

Storywise, we get six stories:

"The Road of No Return" gives us the story of Geralt's father and is a tale I have never read before. Given its pedigree, I assume this is canonical, though later entries may have retconned some. Still, it is perhaps the most interesting and new thing I have read in a Witcher comic in the last several years.

"Betrayal" shows us a young Geralt early into his Witcher training. It is similarly interesting, though some aspects of it feel unlike the character we know and love.

"Geralt", "The Lesser Evil", "The Last Wish" and "The Bound of Reason" give us the classic original tales of the Witcher. These are as wonderful as ever and feel the best version of the tales outside the books themselves. They are always a pleasure to read, even if you know them already by heart.

The set as a whole left me with mixed feelings. I loved all I read but I also at times felt like I was reading a fanfic, or a retconned early-entry, or even a prequel written after the fact. Despite knowing that none of those were true and these are the true originals. As a lot of things were changed later for both books, comics and the game this is not surprising but maybe took a little away from the enjoyment as I wasn't quite sure how to treat them.

The art, as typical of European comics of the time, is not the best. There are a lot of crude panels, and occasionally it's hard to identify characters - especially as many have appearances different from what we are used to. It doesn't detract from the story though, but occasionally I wished for a bit more.

As a medium, the comic is very word-heavy. A majority of the space is spent on large speech bubbles and I get a feeling that the comic almost tries to be verbatim lines from the book. I like this quite a bit - it makes it feel very different from a fast-paced western comic. It's a good idea to take your time when reading it.

For a true Witcher fan, you can't miss this one. The glimpse into the past is worth the price alone, but you also get wonderful new stories, and a wonderful new retelling of the best stories. You may need to get over the fact that characters look different but it's well worth the effort. The whole set also feels very different from a 'normal' comic which adds to its charm. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.