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Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher #1
The Witcher: Ein Körnchen Wahrheit
DER HEXER UND DAS BIEST Auf seinen Reisen durch eine gefährliche mittelalterliche Welt stößt der erfahrene Monsterjäger Geralt von Riva auf mehrere Leichen in einem Wald. Kurz darauf betritt der Hexer ein abgelegenes Anwesen und trifft ein gefährliches Biest – das ihn jedoch dazu einlädt, zusammen mit ihm zu speisen und zu trinken. Dabei erzählt die Kreatur Geralt von schrecklichen Gräueltaten sowie einem Fluch, den bisher keine noch so leidenschaftliche Frau brechen konnte … Das klassische Märchen Die Schöne und das Biest in seiner finsteren, schwarzhumorigen und brutalen Witcher-Variante: Die grandiose Comic-Adaption einer der beliebtesten Original-Kurzgeschichten von Geralts Schöpfer Andrzej Sapkowski – in Szene gesetzt von Autor Jacek Rembiś, dem deutschen Zeichner Jonas Scharf (AVENGERS DER EINÖDE) und Kolorist José Villarrubia (SWEET TOOTH).
60 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2022
30 people are currently reading
764 people want to read
About the author
Andrzej Sapkowski
205 books19.1k followersAndrzej 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
July 8, 2022
I really liked it, I guess because I loved the story from the novel, but still..
..the artwork was amazing, the coloring, the darkness in it, everything was perfect. It was exactly like how I imagined the story was when I was reading the book, and then some.
Nivellen was great, and I really liked the conversation between them, if only everything inside the story was longer. Great art, great story, great adaptation from the Last Wish.
Recommended!
..the artwork was amazing, the coloring, the darkness in it, everything was perfect. It was exactly like how I imagined the story was when I was reading the book, and then some.
Nivellen was great, and I really liked the conversation between them, if only everything inside the story was longer. Great art, great story, great adaptation from the Last Wish.
Recommended!
February 16, 2023
A wonderful tale for Valentine's, with good art by Jonas Scharf. When it comes to adaptations, Dark Horse almost never fails, just don't stop adapting The Witcher, I wanna read the whole thing in comic book format.
June 9, 2022
I have tried to read one of the Witcher books and have yet to get past the first quarter of said book, now in the possession of one my daughters who "borrow" books they want in their collection.
This new comic based upon a short story has been given decent artwork and its story is good enough and probably enjoyable for the literary fans of the Witcher tales.
I did enjoy the comic, was worth my reading time.
This new comic based upon a short story has been given decent artwork and its story is good enough and probably enjoyable for the literary fans of the Witcher tales.
I did enjoy the comic, was worth my reading time.
September 24, 2022
Amazing, true Witcher story!
February 21, 2025
Nigdy nie będę mieć dość
August 7, 2022
This was a pretty good, albeit straightforward and edited-down, adaptation of Sapkowski's short story of the same name.
The art was strong, I liked the style - I enjoyed Nivellen's design in particular.
The panels were clear and flowed nicely, and there wasn't much dialogue, allowing the art to do some of the talking, which I think worked well.
All round this was decent and I enjoyed it. It didn't try to do anything crazy or game-changing and that's ok. This is solid graphic depiction of an already superb short story.
The art was strong, I liked the style - I enjoyed Nivellen's design in particular.
The panels were clear and flowed nicely, and there wasn't much dialogue, allowing the art to do some of the talking, which I think worked well.
All round this was decent and I enjoyed it. It didn't try to do anything crazy or game-changing and that's ok. This is solid graphic depiction of an already superb short story.
October 19, 2022
Ciekawie było wrócić do tej historii w formie komiksu. Kompletnie nie pamiętałem tego opowiadania, a książkę czytałem chyba z dwa lata temu, więc komiks sprawdził się idealnie, by sobie przypomnieć i poukładać wszystko głowie. Kreska bardzo fajna. Historię też szybko się czytało. Nie mam żadnych zarzutów. Jeśli kogoś zniechęcają książki, ale chciałby poznać Wiedźmina, myślę że komiks może być właściwym wyborem.
July 22, 2022
"Mio. O di nessun altro. Ti amo... amo... "
Una splendida trasposizione a fumetti del racconto omonimo di Andrzej Sapkowski, c'è poco da dire! "Un briciolo di veritá" è uno dei miei racconti preferiti che vedono come protagonista lo strigo Geralt di Rivia, Rembis e Scharf hanno fatto un ottimo lavoro: ho avuto la netta sensazione di aver visto disegnato su carta tutto ció che avevo letto nel libro, esattamente come l'avevo immaginato. Il character design è azzeccatissimo, i colori sono fantastici e coerenti con le scene rappresentate, le mie uniche perplessitá riguardano un paio di scelte di traduzione dall'inglese all'italiano forse un po' troppo letterali, ma nulla di insormontabile. Imperdibile per chi ama The Witcher in ogni sua forma.
Una splendida trasposizione a fumetti del racconto omonimo di Andrzej Sapkowski, c'è poco da dire! "Un briciolo di veritá" è uno dei miei racconti preferiti che vedono come protagonista lo strigo Geralt di Rivia, Rembis e Scharf hanno fatto un ottimo lavoro: ho avuto la netta sensazione di aver visto disegnato su carta tutto ció che avevo letto nel libro, esattamente come l'avevo immaginato. Il character design è azzeccatissimo, i colori sono fantastici e coerenti con le scene rappresentate, le mie uniche perplessitá riguardano un paio di scelte di traduzione dall'inglese all'italiano forse un po' troppo letterali, ma nulla di insormontabile. Imperdibile per chi ama The Witcher in ogni sua forma.
September 14, 2022
A familiar Witcher tale that was adapted into the best episode of the second season of the Netflix program. The story is well served by some great murky art.
June 17, 2024
Komiks ciekawie zrealizowany, chociaż bardzo krótki, no ale w końcu to komiks na podstawie jednego opowiadania.
Ciężko jakkolwiek ocenić to pod względem fabularnych, bo kto oryginalne opowiadanie czytał i pamięta, co się tam działo, to tutaj się nie zaskoczy. Większym plusem są same ilustracje, mroczne, brudne - czyli tak, jak w Wiedźminie być powinno.
Niemniej to nadal Wiedźmin, więc polecam bardzo!
Ciężko jakkolwiek ocenić to pod względem fabularnych, bo kto oryginalne opowiadanie czytał i pamięta, co się tam działo, to tutaj się nie zaskoczy. Większym plusem są same ilustracje, mroczne, brudne - czyli tak, jak w Wiedźminie być powinno.
Niemniej to nadal Wiedźmin, więc polecam bardzo!
January 8, 2026
Possibly one of my favourite Witcher short stories and the comic didn't disappoint as well. Short, to the point, but not skipping anything important and with good art. - especially Vereena was a standout. Not much to say here, definitely a high point for the Witcher comics.
January 3, 2023
I love this short story from the witcher world.
the illustrations and the colours were awesome too.
first of 2023.
the illustrations and the colours were awesome too.
first of 2023.
December 19, 2023
okej, to było znacznie lepsze niż mniejsze zło. klimat był mega mroczny i kreska też bardzo ładna+ sama fabuła prosta, ale jaka dobra. miłe zaskoczenie
April 18, 2022
The publisher, Dark Horse Books, has provided me a digital copy for review.
Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher Volume 1: A Grain of Truth is a graphic novel adaptation of one of the short stories written by Sapkowski in the first Witcher short story collection, titled the same. The adaptation follows the story closely enough, and the artwork is on-point.
The story itself is one I've enjoyed in a number of formats (written, audio, and the TV show, S2:E1), but I have heard a number of people don't like this one. It's a somewhat-distanced retelling of Beauty and the Beast, for what it's worth.
Also, I don't mean to gloss over the controversy surrounding the short story. Just note that this is a true-to-form adaptation, more so than the episode of the show.
The adaptation, script, and overall verbal design goes a long way of capturing the tone of the original story. The characters feel as I expected them to, and everything flows well.
The artwork is where this volume shines. Jonas Scharf does a fantastic job.
This is a good read for any Witcher fans, and it's not a bad place to start, either. This story is a bit heavy, but most of Sapkowski's world is. I'm quite excited for the rest of the series of adaptations, assuming they maintain the quality of this one.
Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher Volume 1: A Grain of Truth is a graphic novel adaptation of one of the short stories written by Sapkowski in the first Witcher short story collection, titled the same. The adaptation follows the story closely enough, and the artwork is on-point.
The story itself is one I've enjoyed in a number of formats (written, audio, and the TV show, S2:E1), but I have heard a number of people don't like this one. It's a somewhat-distanced retelling of Beauty and the Beast, for what it's worth.
Also, I don't mean to gloss over the controversy surrounding the short story. Just note that this is a true-to-form adaptation, more so than the episode of the show.
The adaptation, script, and overall verbal design goes a long way of capturing the tone of the original story. The characters feel as I expected them to, and everything flows well.
The artwork is where this volume shines. Jonas Scharf does a fantastic job.
This is a good read for any Witcher fans, and it's not a bad place to start, either. This story is a bit heavy, but most of Sapkowski's world is. I'm quite excited for the rest of the series of adaptations, assuming they maintain the quality of this one.
July 14, 2022
(4,2 of 5 for a nice comic adaptation of one short Witcher story)
This one is well known now. Netflix TV series did this one, with some alternations, in the first episode of the second season. It was nice. And the comic version is also nice, maybe even better. Jonas Scharf's art is great, dark, with strong lines and high contrast and together with Villarrubia's colouring, it perfectly fits this dark fantasy theme. There is not much to tell, the adaptation is very good, the comic is excellently executed and it was thrilling and fun to read. Some new hookup for us, Wither fans.
The only downside is - it's really short, like two issues worth of comics.
This one is well known now. Netflix TV series did this one, with some alternations, in the first episode of the second season. It was nice. And the comic version is also nice, maybe even better. Jonas Scharf's art is great, dark, with strong lines and high contrast and together with Villarrubia's colouring, it perfectly fits this dark fantasy theme. There is not much to tell, the adaptation is very good, the comic is excellently executed and it was thrilling and fun to read. Some new hookup for us, Wither fans.
The only downside is - it's really short, like two issues worth of comics.
September 15, 2022
I love this
October 16, 2022
Sto procent Wiedźmina w Wiedźminie ☺️ A rysunki majstersztyk.
February 15, 2023
Annyira szépek a rajzok és nagyon szeretem ezt a történetet. Lehet egyszer festek is hozzá.
May 11, 2022
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
This graphic novel is adapted from the short story of the same name from The Last Wish. The same story (with some modifications) also appeared on the Netflix show's second season episode with the same name. The story is one of the stronger ones from the short stories, which in themselves are usually a bit better than the full length novels.Story: Beauty and the Beast, but more witchery. Most of the graphic novel is a discussion between Geralt and Nivellen (the 'Beast') with only a small amount of action thrown in. While the ultimate conclusion is perhaps predictable, it is the 'how and why' which makes this story very enjoyable.
I liked the art in this novel more than some of the others of late. The style is gritty enough to suit the story but not a mess nor too gloomy and dark. Quite a bit of the story is just talking heads and the artist manages to make these segments enjoyable without distracting from the text that you'll be reading. Appearances in this graphic novel match those in the Netflix show extremely well - I have to admit I know which one drew inspiration from which.
I would probably give this 5 stars if I had not read the story already once as a novel, and a second time seen the TV series episode. For readers who have not seen the other versions this should be considered a must among the Witcher comics. More experienced fans will still enjoy this, as did I. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
October 25, 2022
3.5 Stars
A pretty good retelling of Sapkowski's short story A Grain of Truth, which is itself a retelling or even a slight parody of the classic Beauty and the Beast story.
The art was fantastic, but I feel like the writer rushed the story a bit at the end, robbing the ending of some of the impact it could've had.
A pretty good retelling of Sapkowski's short story A Grain of Truth, which is itself a retelling or even a slight parody of the classic Beauty and the Beast story.
The art was fantastic, but I feel like the writer rushed the story a bit at the end, robbing the ending of some of the impact it could've had.
January 3, 2025
A story of monsters, blood, and love. I've read the short story before, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the graphic novel, especially Geralt's design and the blue roses. This is also one of those stories that shows my favorite Geralt trait: he might be a monster hunter, but his definition of monster is not based on appearances.
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April 21, 2025Lubię to opowiadanie, nie jest moim ulubionym, ale wypada naprawdę ciekawie w wersji komiksowej. Tak dobrze już pamiętam słuchowisko, że jak czytałam dialogi to normalnie słyszałam głosy lektorów XD
Bardzo podobają mi się ilustracje i klimat komiksu, na pewno sięgnę po kolejne części. Szczególnie podobały mi się szkice postaci na końcu komiksu, super!!!
Bardzo podobają mi się ilustracje i klimat komiksu, na pewno sięgnę po kolejne części. Szczególnie podobały mi się szkice postaci na końcu komiksu, super!!!
February 9, 2024
A place of mystery, darkness and sadness. A curse that has benefits but how to break it is unclear. Good artwork. I like the manor that is controlled magically by the owner with various things such as food on demand and cleaning.
December 3, 2025
Nie czułam żadnego zaskoczenia, bo oryginalne opowiadanie czytałam wiele razy, ale i tak miło jeszcze raz wrócić do tej historii, zwłaszcza, że "Ziarno prawdy" uważam za najlepsze ze wszystkich wiedźmińskich opowiadań :)
January 24, 2026
The artwork is quite good and the story too. I've read the book before so I know the plot but without it I probably wouldn't understand the ending as it wasn't really explained. Very short book, read it very quickly.
March 4, 2023
As graphic novels go, the artistic elements on the page were well done. This isn’t my favorite Witcher story, but it was still pretty good. It matches well with my memory from the book and the show too (except in the show I’m pretty sure Geralt has Ciri with him).
August 23, 2023
Oh, that was a good story. A bit Beauty and the Beast with things I can't say without spoilers. This was much smarter than I had been lead to believe from the TV show.
June 12, 2024
„miłość musi być prawdziwa”
July 28, 2025
Bardzo udana adaptacja.
March 25, 2024
brooo the ending was so good
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews