Writer: Felicia Day
Artist: Jim Rugg
Colorist: Dan Jackson
Cover Artist: Jim Rugg
Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog) concludes her hilarious origin story of the Knights of Good, the stars of her multiple award-winning web series!
Cyd Sherman has finally assembled her in-game team: Vork, Bladezz, Zaboo, Clara, Tinkerballa, and her own character, Codex, but is the guild ready for its first quest? With her boyfriend pushing her away for a bandmate and her therapist only confusing matters, Cyd decides it’s time to find out, and pushes for the guild to join a major tournament. Leading directly into the web series, this prequel has all the touching humor and insight of Day’s cult sensation, and is a great read for Guild fans new and old!
See the show at watchtheguild.com!
Follow behind the cut for my thoughts on the issue.
As much as I am not a hardcore gamer anymore, I still can find relations to that kind of lifestyle. It’s in this that, even though I’ve never actually touched a computer that has World of Warcraft on it, I’ve found the Guild humorously relatable for it’s take on the internet gaming subculture. On that note, I’ve actually done a review of the Guild already, for issue 2, which I declared a definite buy. So as the (what I am assuming is the first) series draws to a close, am I still holding the series up to this highly?
Yes. Yes, I am.
All the elements that made the Guild a fun internet show to watch is still here, from Cyd’s humorous opening vlogs to the quirky dialogue between the obviously flawed cast of characters. Each person is so unique in their own idiosyncrasy that it of course makes sense to put them together. We’re talking about a woman here who is so addicted to her game that she brings her laptop with her to a hospital to play the game as soon as she’s done giving birth! Now that’s an addiction. And it’s all brought to life hilariously by the talented writing of one Felicia Day.
There are a lot of great moments to bring in with this issue. As far as characters go, Vork really shines in the hilarity this issue. As everyone goes off the kill kittens, Vork rides off on his self righteous pig. Amazing. And as the Guild finally pulls together at the end, Cyd is finally given her first form of validation as she sets her ex’s possessions on fire and moves fully into the world of the gamer. While we always knew that this was her ultimate destiny, I’m very glad that this ultimately went into a comic as opposed to trying to take time out of the show to tell this tale. While this story is great and helps to enrich our love of the characters, I don’t think we ever needed an origin story. It’s nice to have one regardless, and the comic makes for a great medium because we actually get to see the game now.
So this book, and this series/mini in general, get the big thumbs up from me. For fans of gaming, comics, and The Guild in general, this book makes for a fun addition to your collection. If nothing else, it proves the amount of quality that comes out of Dark Horse, and it shows that Felicia Day should be putting her writing talents to things besides just her show! I’d love to see her work on another series of comics, though I’m not picky on the content. As long as she keeps the same level of snark and wit throughout, I’m sure it’d be great.
Final Verdict: 8.7 – Buy
