Advance Review – The Witcher: Fading Memories #1 (Dark Horse)

Posted on November 11, 2020 in Dark Horse Reviews

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Bartosz Sztybor
Artist: Amad Mir
Colours: Hamid Sheykh
Lettering: Steve Dutro
Release Date: 25th November 2020

In a world where monsters have all but disappeared, times are hard for a Witcher. Make no mistake, life has always been tough for Geralt of Rivia, but without any threats to deal with, his coin is rapidly drying up and his instincts are starting to dull.

His travels take him to a small village in Poviss where he meets a fisherman who presents him with an unusual offer – an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. However, when the mayor of a nearby village reaches out with what appears to be some actual monster slaying, Geralt drops what he’s doing and leaps into action.

Series writer Bartosz Sztybor pens a fairly restrained opening issue here, light on action but heavy on character, with a neat little wrinkle to the narration that retrospectively gives the proceedings a little extra gravitas. Geralt himself is thankfully a little more verbose than the growling Henry Cavill version that a lot of Witcher newcomers will be familiar with, but his direct, matter-of-fact tone and delivery still feels fully authentic to the source material.

On the visual side of things, Amad Mir adopts a slightly stylised approach which works well with the story and character-focused tone of the issue. There are some occasional moments of roughness and inconsistency along the way, and the brief flurry of action feels a little muddled, but for the most part this is a solid visual package, with Mir’s work being given some added moodiness courtesy of the muted but striking colours of Hamid Sheykh.

A solid opening then, and while the full scope of the story is still to be revealed, the emotional impact of the final page and the confident delivery throughout is more than enough to draw this particular reader in. I’ll definitely be picking up the next issue when it goes on sale, and for readers looking to delve a little deeper into the world of Geralt of Rivia, this new series comes highly recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]