World of Warcraft comic #1: 2nd print
The first issue of the official World of Warcraft comic sold out fast at DC Comics, and now the premiere issue will be given a second printing. This second printing will reprint the story by Walter Simonson and artists Ludo Lullabi and Sandra Hope, and feature a stunning black and white version of the cover by Jim Lee. Chris Metzen, VP of creative development at Blizzard Entertainment remarked that they have been "absolutely blown away by the book's writing and artwork" and that, judging by how quickly the first printing sold, "it's clear that comics fans and World of Warcraft players are also liking what they're seeing."
The second printing will arrive in stores on January 4th, 2008, although your local retailer will have to confirm orders by this Sunday, December 23rd, in order to receive a shipment. In fact, if they sell out before December 23rd, your retailer may be out of luck. I suggest planning ahead to find out who will have a shipment, and trying to make a deal as soon as possible.
If you would like an in-depth look at issue #1, Elizabeth Wachowski wrote up a detailed summary (spoiler alert).
In addition to this special printing, the third issue is scheduled to arrive by January 16th, 2008, and the fourth issue on February 20th, 2008.
Did you manage to snag the original issue? Are you planning to acquire the second printing? How are you enjoying the storyline, writing style, and artwork so far?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dunwich Dec 22nd 2007 5:12PM
Personally, I found it crap. Nice art, but like every other Warcraft spinoff, it's almost painful to read. I doubt I'll bother with it in the long run.
Brian Dec 22nd 2007 5:28PM
As far as most comics go it's quite good. I'm not sure what was 'painful' to read but there you go. It's a nice intro and mini fix for players. As we are only 2 issues in we are still getting the 'set up' for the main story. From what I saw in the interviews the writers are aiming at 6 issue arcs so we shall have to see what happens in the next few issues. So far the action has been all good and interestingly it's all been based around arena combat which seems to tie into Blizz's emphasis on the arenas lately.
I'm not sure what people expect from the media spin offs as comics are always aimed at the low to mid teens and up. Having been a comic fan of 20+ years the book reads as your average action story there's lots of the different races to make it feel like WoW and there is none of the modern 'introspective' anti hero crud most superhero comics churn out these days. It's just good old fashioned story telling with a slight nod to the overall arc and then a big fight.
Looking back at the rest of my collection of comics the best issues are always the ones were the good guys kick ass and Croc Bait does just that. It's neither taxing or melodramatic which are bonuses for me.
Ogo2k Dec 22nd 2007 6:33PM
Just like i'm sure was the case with most WoW players who frequent a comic book shop, i picked this up because i was like "ok, its a comic, its WoW, how bad can it be?"
Its pretty bad. As it was said above, the writing is painful and the story feels so forced is distracting. Its obviously trying to appeal to new players (to mmo's, not just wow). If it somehow ties into the WotLK i could be interested, seeing as whats-his-bucket nameless human with amnesia (clever) is supposedly heir to the throne of stormwind (wtf arthas's long lost brother?). Plus, watch out for that blademaster hero class being flirted with in the second issue...
Matthew Rossi Dec 22nd 2007 7:20PM
Arthas was the heir to the throne of Lordaeron, not Stormwind. Humans had like seven nations at one point, all descended to one degree or another from the Arathi bloodline and the nation of Strom.
http://www.wowwiki.com/Arathor
The character with amnesia is most likely not related to the Menethil bloodline, but rather the Wrynn dynasty of Stormwind. Unlike the Menethil's, the Wrynn family are descended from the Arathor kings themselves.
http://www.wowwiki.com/Varian_Wrynn
Ogo2k Dec 22nd 2007 7:42PM
You win, so hard.
I can't keep up with Retcons and nonsense.
But still, heir to stormwind, the wrynn thing is kinda obvious isn't it. I guess i just never connected it.
taylor Dec 22nd 2007 8:54PM
Being a pretty committed comics fan (much more for art and story than slashing/action), I have been pleasantly surprised. I like it, though it isn't necessarily compelling or fascinating, the dialogue is actually quite good and I like the clean lines in the art.
doug Dec 23rd 2007 4:23AM
I've picked up both issues and so far i'm not impressed. Fight scenes are incredibly confusing and hard to follow. Just pick up any other comic book and see what i mean. The GL comic that came out this week is an example of well-laid-out panels.
Brian Dec 23rd 2007 7:16AM
I think people have to keep things in perspective think about where the WoW lore comes from: In game quests lines and in game books, which aren't exactly detailed. Blizzard are quite happy to create retcons and take risks (look at the Draenei). The comic makes me want to play the game and do PvP. None of the novels are terribly sophisticated and I don't want them to be.
Warcraft is NOT high literature, the game itself in terms of graphics appeals to the lowest common denominator. This IMO is the key to the game's success. It's not hard to play, doesn't require a high spec machine and you don't have to be a lore nerd to see what is going on and enjoy the game. The Warcraft and Starcraft RTS games did not have sophisticated storylines. you knew who the good guys were and the bad guys adn the good guys always won, even when you swapped sides your team won in a morally acceptable way. Warcraft has never been sophisticated so why start insisting that it should be now?
The sophistication in WoW comes from YOUR imagination and that is great, but that level of sophistication doesn't come directly from Blizzard. At face value the game is as subtle as a George Lucas trilogy of ham fisted characters, but you know what? I love those movies. And I love WoW and I still think this comic is fun.
A note to the non comic readers: This will probably be available as a collected edition (graphic novel) so it may be worth waiting until you can read the whole thing before trying to judge it on small chunks of the story.
Ludovico Dec 23rd 2007 11:40AM
Too bad that at least in the comic book business "selling out" only means the distributors like Diamond have run out, and not that every issue has been purchased off the stores shelves. There could have been massive hype to get the store owners to buy it and now they are just sitting on the shelves until they get placed into the 25 cent bin.
Ogo2k Dec 23rd 2007 7:15PM
I know at both the comic book shops i frequent they have stacks of all 4 covers of the first 2 books... so i'm thinking the distributors out but theres a lot of these things out there...
Jake Dec 29th 2007 11:06PM
Hay I collect comic books and am also a user of world of warcraft.Can anyone tell me were I can find comic book stores in or close to Mughlenberg county, Kentucky.So that I may use purchase a wow (world of warcraft) comic.Thank you for telling or sending a link of such store.
John Sep 12th 2008 6:19PM
I use to big a big comic book collector years ago then sold my collection. So when the World of Warcraft series was soon to be released I put in a pre-order subscription. To my disappointment they were doing to start me with #3. This made no sense since I "pre-ordered" to get #1. So I called them to get it straitened out and they sent me #1. After a few months I received #4. Then nothing for a few months. I called them and they said ok we will put in "an order" for #5 and #6. By then I had received #7. This went ON for 6 more months trying to get my missing issues and they kept giving me the run around. So yeah thanks to DC Comics I will not be renewing my sub, and thats it for comics. Whats the deal with any magazine or subscription anyway these days they know how to screw things up.
Maybe they sold out and didn't wanna tell me. Oh, while I am QQ, they have #11 out this month and I haven't received 10 either. I lose.