What do you think?
Rate this book
Gears of War Graphic Novels
Gears of War
In the far future, the planet of Sera is a utopian society - until the Locust, an insectoid race of aliens bent on destroying the humans above - rise up from tunnels deep within the planet's core, and only humans able to fight back are known as the 'Gears'.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published October 27, 2009
10 people are currently reading
852 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Ortega
94 books14 followersJoshua Ortega is an author and journalist best known for his novel Frequencies, as well as his comic book and graphic novel work on entertainment properties such as Star Wars, Spider-Man, Batman, Star Trek, The Escapist, and The Necromancer.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 24, 2012
Me, being the brain dead man-child I'm, am no stranger to Gears of War videogame.
Its portrayal of men as grunting over sized chunks of insecure, pro-macho twats, who wear half a car as an armor and have guns from the “not at all fallistic symbol” catergory.
So being the skinny wimp who regularly gets beaten by 12 year olds like nobody's business, it's quite understandable that I like the game.
The first game being the typical mish mash of all the things went to hell, with nowhere near ass to be found plot, character arcs thin as dog piss, areas that no sane person would ever build but are stuck on your path because someone in the level design department thought that 'shit gotta be there' and the whole mess being hold together by an promise of violence.
And seeing that the game went on to form an trilogy, which gives me at least some hope, that something even resembling a story can be salvaged from the wreck in the later parts, it should not became as an surprise, that there was a whole load of off side merchandise pushed to the market in order to cash in all those Gamespot scores.
It of course wasn’t also a surprise, that there was a Gears of War comic, which found its way into the shelves of my local comic book store.
Just like the owner of the said store was not surprised when I welshed in, yapped about the bathetic try to cash in, started to build up a monolith for the octopus god residing in my brain and leaving the store without actually buying anything.
At this point you gentle reader most likely expect me to accept the error of my hasty judgment, give the comic a proper score, and admit that the book indeed should not be judged by its cover.
Weeeeeell, not gonna bloody happen!
The story picks off a day? A month? A year?
Seriously, the timeline in this thing keeps bouncing like a handful of d6's on fat man’s belly, so if the comic is not interested in keeping a close eye on the timeline, why should I?
The point is, earth is in war with Locusts, a strange alien race that came from….somewhere, inhabited the planet from below ground for….some reason, eventually emerging to the outside world because of….something, and started to kill humans for….FUCK IF I KNOW, OKAY!
See what I mean by saying that the story wasn’t the first games strongest point.
Anyhow humans formed an army in which all the soldiers were called gears instead of calling them soldiers (see, see how clever the title Gears of War is) and after that didn’t work, humans tried to destroy the locusts in an event known as Lightmass Bombing.
A stunt that apparently just fucked up all remaining planet surface, causing terminal lung cancer to every gear that survived the actual bombing.
When the military intelligence is at this state, the long running question of Gears universe, why didn’t we see the locusts coming, don’t seem like that big of a mystery.
Most likely there were just two stranded locust that came to earth to witness a life form that is more stupid than a tapeworm.
Dug themselves a ditch, fornicated there, at the same time shouting ‘We are going to kill you all’.
And after two millenniums of this they finally got bored, decided to actually kill someone and after that humankind was on it's knees crying ‘Oh, they caught us by complete surprise, how could we have seen this before hand’.
And the premise is pretty much all the story you are going to get from this thing.
The whole comic is –like the game- spent on following a bunch of gears, when they wander from point A to B while facing increasingly tougher enemies, only to pull it through to the next bullet fest.
It’s a mish mash of situations, flashbacks, whining and macho bullshit.
And not only that, but it’s also two separate stories, with close to nothing to do whit each other.
And the thing is, this is all there is, no plot or story what so ever.
Gears end up in situations, where five of all four solutions involve violence.
And they just survive from all these situations because writers are too lazy to come up with anything inventive.
At first they are on a helicopter, which gets attacked and the pilot is killed, but one of the gears just so happens to have some piloting experience.
And despite them crashing in middle of nowhere after a short walk they just so happen to come by an village, that just so happens to have an completely working tank lying around.
The village is ready to give them a tank, if they in return kill the five locusts that have been raiding the village.
Later on the thank gets shot in an ambush, but they just so happen to come by another gears that have heavy artillery (this after whining page after page how all the left behind gears must be dead) and after that it turns out, that the tank just so happened to hold couple of motorcycles with heavy weaponry.
And the saddest part is that Gears seems to need all the luck they can get, since they themselves are as logical as Ed Gein.
Gears kill the five locusts bothering the village, making the village safe.
And despite them admitting that their mission is a suicide run, they decide to take an little girl with them, because…I don’t know, I guess they figured out that it was the best way to kill the kid, since they can’t burn her with napalm, or something.
And since the girl is orphan, naturally our lead promises to find the girls’ parents, even though most of the humanity has already been killed and rest of them are being hunted in a war zone.
And of course the girl’s mother is eventually found alive, because if not, some of the points about wars terrorizing effects might actually stick.
The reader must constantly be reminded about how though the gears are, since apparently he's as thick as the rest of them.
Marcus’s name is something that automatically stops every would be rapist and is constantly met with awe by others, like Pedobear’s name in a NAMBLA meeting.
In order for gear to die in this comic, he must be a depressed lung cancer victim, who takes off his armor and charges against the enemy army bare handed.
Yup, this is the level of retardness we are dealing with.
In the second story we follow, who I guess is supposed to be Dom, but is drawn so badly, that he looks like Equardo ChiciChici Hulio, the love child of an Spanish immigrant and inbred chimpanzee.
In a hack-together-tale about some firefight, flashbacks and melodramatic mumbo jumbo about how war is hell, but he still has hope.
The only reason to actually have this segment here I guess, it’s the pathetic attempt to cash in that promise of working as a bridge between games one and two.
Dom’s epic motive is that he is looking for his missing wife, a lady who was so missing in the first game, that you barely noticed the whole thing.
So now the audience needs a quick recap about the fact, just so we understand that deep inside Marcus and his pals are all human, who’s lives has been torn apart by the never ending suffering of war…Or some jazz like that.
Comic pulls this off as gracefully as a blind elephant in a dance floor full of stoned hippies.
Given the franchise most of these down sides are somewhat understandable.
When trying to make it as a major hit videogame in the AAA department of videogames and in order to make up its oversized budget, Gears of War has to play like its consumer base.
And when the majority of the world’s consumer base is made by retards, who’s brains go hurdi-hurdi-hurr ones you present the with idea more complex than “humanity good, big ugly aliens bad” and who consider all the over clichéd nonsense about “how I still have hope” to be the new Shakespearian prose.
And yes, sometimes it does work…In a bloody video game, where the constant action and over whelming rush keep you distracted.
But comics are stale, the lack of adrenaline rush makes the story ever more important.
And so the comic can’t simply use the exact same tricks as its video game predecessor, it has to play by different set of rules.
And that’s what Gears of War comic here doesn’t realize.
Gears of War may be an epic game series made by Epic Games, I’m not questioning that.
But the only thing epic in this comic is the fail.
Its portrayal of men as grunting over sized chunks of insecure, pro-macho twats, who wear half a car as an armor and have guns from the “not at all fallistic symbol” catergory.
So being the skinny wimp who regularly gets beaten by 12 year olds like nobody's business, it's quite understandable that I like the game.
The first game being the typical mish mash of all the things went to hell, with nowhere near ass to be found plot, character arcs thin as dog piss, areas that no sane person would ever build but are stuck on your path because someone in the level design department thought that 'shit gotta be there' and the whole mess being hold together by an promise of violence.
And seeing that the game went on to form an trilogy, which gives me at least some hope, that something even resembling a story can be salvaged from the wreck in the later parts, it should not became as an surprise, that there was a whole load of off side merchandise pushed to the market in order to cash in all those Gamespot scores.
It of course wasn’t also a surprise, that there was a Gears of War comic, which found its way into the shelves of my local comic book store.
Just like the owner of the said store was not surprised when I welshed in, yapped about the bathetic try to cash in, started to build up a monolith for the octopus god residing in my brain and leaving the store without actually buying anything.
At this point you gentle reader most likely expect me to accept the error of my hasty judgment, give the comic a proper score, and admit that the book indeed should not be judged by its cover.
Weeeeeell, not gonna bloody happen!
The story picks off a day? A month? A year?
Seriously, the timeline in this thing keeps bouncing like a handful of d6's on fat man’s belly, so if the comic is not interested in keeping a close eye on the timeline, why should I?
The point is, earth is in war with Locusts, a strange alien race that came from….somewhere, inhabited the planet from below ground for….some reason, eventually emerging to the outside world because of….something, and started to kill humans for….FUCK IF I KNOW, OKAY!
See what I mean by saying that the story wasn’t the first games strongest point.
Anyhow humans formed an army in which all the soldiers were called gears instead of calling them soldiers (see, see how clever the title Gears of War is) and after that didn’t work, humans tried to destroy the locusts in an event known as Lightmass Bombing.
A stunt that apparently just fucked up all remaining planet surface, causing terminal lung cancer to every gear that survived the actual bombing.
When the military intelligence is at this state, the long running question of Gears universe, why didn’t we see the locusts coming, don’t seem like that big of a mystery.
Most likely there were just two stranded locust that came to earth to witness a life form that is more stupid than a tapeworm.
Dug themselves a ditch, fornicated there, at the same time shouting ‘We are going to kill you all’.
And after two millenniums of this they finally got bored, decided to actually kill someone and after that humankind was on it's knees crying ‘Oh, they caught us by complete surprise, how could we have seen this before hand’.
And the premise is pretty much all the story you are going to get from this thing.
The whole comic is –like the game- spent on following a bunch of gears, when they wander from point A to B while facing increasingly tougher enemies, only to pull it through to the next bullet fest.
It’s a mish mash of situations, flashbacks, whining and macho bullshit.
And not only that, but it’s also two separate stories, with close to nothing to do whit each other.
And the thing is, this is all there is, no plot or story what so ever.
Gears end up in situations, where five of all four solutions involve violence.
And they just survive from all these situations because writers are too lazy to come up with anything inventive.
At first they are on a helicopter, which gets attacked and the pilot is killed, but one of the gears just so happens to have some piloting experience.
And despite them crashing in middle of nowhere after a short walk they just so happen to come by an village, that just so happens to have an completely working tank lying around.
The village is ready to give them a tank, if they in return kill the five locusts that have been raiding the village.
Later on the thank gets shot in an ambush, but they just so happen to come by another gears that have heavy artillery (this after whining page after page how all the left behind gears must be dead) and after that it turns out, that the tank just so happened to hold couple of motorcycles with heavy weaponry.
And the saddest part is that Gears seems to need all the luck they can get, since they themselves are as logical as Ed Gein.
Gears kill the five locusts bothering the village, making the village safe.
And despite them admitting that their mission is a suicide run, they decide to take an little girl with them, because…I don’t know, I guess they figured out that it was the best way to kill the kid, since they can’t burn her with napalm, or something.
And since the girl is orphan, naturally our lead promises to find the girls’ parents, even though most of the humanity has already been killed and rest of them are being hunted in a war zone.
And of course the girl’s mother is eventually found alive, because if not, some of the points about wars terrorizing effects might actually stick.
The reader must constantly be reminded about how though the gears are, since apparently he's as thick as the rest of them.
Marcus’s name is something that automatically stops every would be rapist and is constantly met with awe by others, like Pedobear’s name in a NAMBLA meeting.
In order for gear to die in this comic, he must be a depressed lung cancer victim, who takes off his armor and charges against the enemy army bare handed.
Yup, this is the level of retardness we are dealing with.
In the second story we follow, who I guess is supposed to be Dom, but is drawn so badly, that he looks like Equardo ChiciChici Hulio, the love child of an Spanish immigrant and inbred chimpanzee.
In a hack-together-tale about some firefight, flashbacks and melodramatic mumbo jumbo about how war is hell, but he still has hope.
The only reason to actually have this segment here I guess, it’s the pathetic attempt to cash in that promise of working as a bridge between games one and two.
Dom’s epic motive is that he is looking for his missing wife, a lady who was so missing in the first game, that you barely noticed the whole thing.
So now the audience needs a quick recap about the fact, just so we understand that deep inside Marcus and his pals are all human, who’s lives has been torn apart by the never ending suffering of war…Or some jazz like that.
Comic pulls this off as gracefully as a blind elephant in a dance floor full of stoned hippies.
Given the franchise most of these down sides are somewhat understandable.
When trying to make it as a major hit videogame in the AAA department of videogames and in order to make up its oversized budget, Gears of War has to play like its consumer base.
And when the majority of the world’s consumer base is made by retards, who’s brains go hurdi-hurdi-hurr ones you present the with idea more complex than “humanity good, big ugly aliens bad” and who consider all the over clichéd nonsense about “how I still have hope” to be the new Shakespearian prose.
And yes, sometimes it does work…In a bloody video game, where the constant action and over whelming rush keep you distracted.
But comics are stale, the lack of adrenaline rush makes the story ever more important.
And so the comic can’t simply use the exact same tricks as its video game predecessor, it has to play by different set of rules.
And that’s what Gears of War comic here doesn’t realize.
Gears of War may be an epic game series made by Epic Games, I’m not questioning that.
But the only thing epic in this comic is the fail.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2011
All gear heads like mauhh lol well love this
January 21, 2016
Now I miss my XBox and GoW games... Awesome.
January 15, 2014
ART:8.5
STORY:7
CHARACTERS:8
ACTION:9
(out of ten)
STORY:7
CHARACTERS:8
ACTION:9
(out of ten)
November 24, 2014
One for fans, but a good one.
December 29, 2024
(read in 2009, review from 2024)
It's your pretty standard comic book tie in to a video game series. Unlike the Karen Traviss novels, there's not too much of a detailed plot or character work. It's just a standard Gears of War mission that's pretty inconsequential beyond the presence of Jace and Barrick whom the games did ultimately use. It's a fun enough read though I guess so check it out if you are desperate for Gears content.
It's your pretty standard comic book tie in to a video game series. Unlike the Karen Traviss novels, there's not too much of a detailed plot or character work. It's just a standard Gears of War mission that's pretty inconsequential beyond the presence of Jace and Barrick whom the games did ultimately use. It's a fun enough read though I guess so check it out if you are desperate for Gears content.
February 8, 2025
I’ve been a big Gears of War kick since I started playing through the games again. I must say that I really enjoyed this comic more than I thought I would! The story isn’t anything to write home about, but it does a good job bridging the gap between GoW 1&2. I like seeing more of Dom and Marcus and liked the introduction of Jace and Barrick. I feel like you do have to be a little familiar with the games to really get enjoy this and if you are I’d definitely recommend.
February 5, 2011
If you're a total Gear-Head then you'll love this comic book series based on the smash hit Gears of War video game. It just hits all the right marks. Plenty of action, spot on artwork by Liam Sharp and totally faithfully portrayed characters from the game who are also supported by some pretty cool new recruits. Big chunky guys, firing big chunky guns at big chunky aliens - it's cracking military sci-fi. Marcus and Dom lead Delta squad on a mission to find survivors after the events in the first Gears of War game. Other favourite characters also get welcome cameos like Cole... and, well Baird... not so much (Gears joke). Even if you don't play the game I think any sci-fi military fan should get a kick out of this.
April 30, 2010
I loved this book!!! I think since the book was a graphic novel it really helped the idea and story plot. I also liked the new characters they had that weren't in either games. I would've liked if they had put the Beserker in the book a little bit more than they did but, they had a lot of locust and boomers. If I were to compare myself to any of the characters it would be Dom. The reason i would compare myself to him is because he would just go out in the battlefield and fought anyone who got in his way. And thats what I would do to.
September 1, 2013
The art in this gears of war graphic novel just blows my mind, awesome graphic novel for anyone who loves the games and just wants to know more of the back story without really compromising the games, its cool they included another character which basically narrates what it is to be a entry soldier in the cog army at the end of the first issue i was at the edge of my seat, i just feel like i was actually there playing this in a possibly the best way ever just like the games captured my imagination, Just awesome!
March 15, 2010
Yeah it is based on a video game that I know nothing about. But here we have with an independent company what is so sorely missing in the big publishing companies (Marvel D.C.,) consistency of quality within a given book. The art was very strong, tightly rendered scenes of sci-fi military violence. The writing was nothing that I haven't seen before but it was the kind of stuff I like, and it was well done.
September 18, 2015
Definitely worth a read for Gears of War fans. Written from the point of view of a new character in Delta squad, Jace Stratton, we get to see all our favourite characters from the first game as well as a large variety of Locusts. There's also a new type of creature that we don't see in the games which is quite exciting. The artwork is also spot on, capturing the mood of the franchise very well.
I'll definitely be continuing with this series.
I'll definitely be continuing with this series.
March 9, 2015
I enjoyed it pretty well. The storyline arc was still pretty congruent with the games minus the fact that when Barrick showed up he had no idea who Jace was, and vice versa. That and some of the artwork could've been a little bit better is the only real gripe I have about this book, but otherwise it was still a great read. Looking forward to the second which I already have on my to read pile downstairs.
February 11, 2010
Would have liked to score this more of a 3.5 but that's not an option so it got a 4.
Fans of the series are introduced to new gears in some very familiar setting, but the characters are what are going to keep you coming back each month for the next part (I originally read this as the ongoing comic series).
Fans of the series are introduced to new gears in some very familiar setting, but the characters are what are going to keep you coming back each month for the next part (I originally read this as the ongoing comic series).
June 17, 2016
I'm not one usually for graphic novels, but I love GoW videogames and the books by Karen Traviss. This one was good, but not the best.
However, in the book's defense, it was well-written, with good dialogue and excellent art. It focuses on Jace, though, and he's not my favorite character. So, it was hard to get into everything.
Reading the 2nd GN right now, and I like it much better.
However, in the book's defense, it was well-written, with good dialogue and excellent art. It focuses on Jace, though, and he's not my favorite character. So, it was hard to get into everything.
Reading the 2nd GN right now, and I like it much better.
October 3, 2012
A good book showing how humanity takes it's last stand and the sacrifices people must make to save the people they love. Also there is stupidity in the world yet this comic delivers usually scary and gory situations in a funny innovative way. A good comic book but it gets a bit dry.
October 27, 2015
Really enjoyed it :) just been playing through the games recently and this has really added to both the mythos and the emotional weight of the series as a whole. Would recommend for fans of the series.
October 26, 2010
Was suprised that this was as good as it was considering it was a video game crossover.
June 5, 2011
Awesome! One of the best graphic novels I've ever read and helps brings the Gears of War story to life!
June 11, 2012
Very detailed and graphic. Good for those who love the game and book of Gears of War. <3
September 17, 2012
I'm a gear head so I have to give a five star :D
February 21, 2013
Great story and very good artwork. out of the realm of GNs or comics that i normally read but, excellent for an adaptation.
January 23, 2014
"Al, why did you read this?" "Uh, I played the video game and I wanted to see pictures of guys fighting with chainsaws and read some military sci-fi, get off my back."
November 29, 2025
Nota 6,5.
Me surpreendeu até.
A arte é a melhor coisa, serve bem o propósito nos cenários, armaduras e ação.
A história é simples, mas o tiroteio e frases de efeito entretém. Muita violência tbm obviamente. Só tem algumas coisas bregas e corridas a cada punhado de páginas, mas acho que serve o propósito de Tie-in aos jogos e tem algumas coisas que eu não sabia sobre a lore aqui.
Por exemplo, eles queimarem os corpos das pessoas que se vão, pq enterrar seria um desrespeito dado o fato de que os Locust vêm de dentro da terra.
Me surpreendeu até.
A arte é a melhor coisa, serve bem o propósito nos cenários, armaduras e ação.
A história é simples, mas o tiroteio e frases de efeito entretém. Muita violência tbm obviamente. Só tem algumas coisas bregas e corridas a cada punhado de páginas, mas acho que serve o propósito de Tie-in aos jogos e tem algumas coisas que eu não sabia sobre a lore aqui.
Por exemplo, eles queimarem os corpos das pessoas que se vão, pq enterrar seria um desrespeito dado o fato de que os Locust vêm de dentro da terra.
August 17, 2020
it's funny that i can hear the voice actors/actress from the game while reading this comic, artwork is good but i feel like the story is kinda rushed if you enjoy the games you might enjoy this one
December 16, 2020
Just a couple a Gears being dudes, nothing more, nothing less
January 2, 2022
Great Comic!
April 29, 2023
Good all action hero game into comic!
Heroic brave storyline
Heroic brave storyline
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2023
Pretty much the definition of mediocre tie-in content. At least everyone involved had a baseline level of competence.
February 4, 2011
Utterly mindless. There is little to no background given for any of the characters. Instead they are played for the hackiest of the hack archetypes, if they're even given that chance. And with only 4 lead characters, you'd think a little time would be put into this.
Instead, you've got the narrator, Jace. His narration sounds like someone who has watched all the shittiest, most cliche war movies and memorized the dialogue. He's the rookie. He acts like a rookie a bunch, and was apparently an orphan. We are occasionally forced to watch flashbacks of one instance of his life where he had to hide from the Locust (the antagonists), but are never shown why that event matters at all to anything going on in the present.
Then we've got Fenix. He's the badass. He kills stuff, barely talks, and does nothing spectacular, but is for some reason treated like an amazing war hero.
Then we've got Barrick. He smokes! They talk about how he smokes a lot! You guys, smoking kills. Except this is war! Why does anyone care if he smokes? It is the biggest waste of time.
Then we've got Dom. He is not even given any distinguishing characteristics other than "I miss my wife." I wish you would go to your wife, Dom! You are boring!
The story is amazing, in that someone at Wildstorm had to read this and say "Sure! This is printable!" No reasons are given for anything that happens. The Gears just go from battle to battle, getting (SURPRISE) ambushed like every 10 feet and having to fight a new giant monster, which they inevitably kill within seconds. There's no tension, no drama, no foreboding. Just shoot, kill, move, shoot, kill, move, talk about how war is hell, shoot, kill, move.
The best I can say about this "story" is it took me about 45 minutes to read in its entirety, so at least I didn't waste much of my life on it.
Instead, you've got the narrator, Jace. His narration sounds like someone who has watched all the shittiest, most cliche war movies and memorized the dialogue. He's the rookie. He acts like a rookie a bunch, and was apparently an orphan. We are occasionally forced to watch flashbacks of one instance of his life where he had to hide from the Locust (the antagonists), but are never shown why that event matters at all to anything going on in the present.
Then we've got Fenix. He's the badass. He kills stuff, barely talks, and does nothing spectacular, but is for some reason treated like an amazing war hero.
Then we've got Barrick. He smokes! They talk about how he smokes a lot! You guys, smoking kills. Except this is war! Why does anyone care if he smokes? It is the biggest waste of time.
Then we've got Dom. He is not even given any distinguishing characteristics other than "I miss my wife." I wish you would go to your wife, Dom! You are boring!
The story is amazing, in that someone at Wildstorm had to read this and say "Sure! This is printable!" No reasons are given for anything that happens. The Gears just go from battle to battle, getting (SURPRISE) ambushed like every 10 feet and having to fight a new giant monster, which they inevitably kill within seconds. There's no tension, no drama, no foreboding. Just shoot, kill, move, shoot, kill, move, talk about how war is hell, shoot, kill, move.
The best I can say about this "story" is it took me about 45 minutes to read in its entirety, so at least I didn't waste much of my life on it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews