Throw a coin on the witcher’s comic book – review of the comic book “The Witcher: Lost memories”, vol. 5

Geralt’s streak continues. The second season of The Witcher from Netflix, apart from its quality, was very popular. Dziki Gon returned to the top of the most-chosen games. How is it in the comic? Very good too.

That’s the way it is, every geek / nerd has a backlog of pop culture. For me, CD Projekt Red games are such a shame. Although I can describe myself as a player (casual, but always), so far I have not had the opportunity to join the Geralt trilogy. But I read comics based on this popular franchise, which were published in the US by Dark Horse, and for us by Egmont . And well, the first two volumes were so average I don’t remember any of them anymore. The only thing left in me was the conviction that there was more poverty-Hellboy in them than understanding the character of the White Wolf. Therefore, I did not even reach for volumes three and four. However, when Bartosz Sztybor, one of the most talented Polish screenwriters, started to write Geralt’s adventures, I absolutely had to check how he coped.

 

For fish

Geralt is suffering. There are fewer and fewer monsters, and thus there are no clients for witcher’s services. The protagonist decides to try another trade and agrees to help catch the fish. Until he is summoned by the mayor of a certain town. This place seems almost utopian – the inhabitants live in prosperity, nobody is missing anything. And yet, every now and then there is an attack of foggy trees that kill children. The problem is, these monsters are quite talkative, which is unusual for this species. That is why Geralt, against the threats of the mayor, decides to find out what secret the city hides and where the mysterious creatures come from.

They say imitation is the highest form of recognition. I Blurred memories confirm this thesis. This comic book is of no new quality, but Bartosz Sztybor is extremely skilful in using the clues known from Andrzej Sapkowski’s books. The moral ambiguity of the situation in which Geralt becomes entwined is great. There is no typical villain here (although many wicked people show up), the heroes are faced with dilemmas, and none of the problems seem to have a positive solution.

Spoiler time

And here’s the time for spoilers – if anyone is allergic to them, jump to the next paragraph. I really enjoyed the show of the mage with dementia. Of course, Alzheimer’s disease is shown here in a simplified dimension, because Blurred Memories , even if they are a sad comic book, still serve as entertainment. However, the authors should be praised for taking up this topic, which does not appear too often in pop culture. And Sztybor in a great way showed in his comic both the loss of the wizard and the consequences of his not fully conscious spells.

Geralt in a sleeper

The Iranian artist Amad Mir is responsible for the visual layer, who fulfilled his task quite decently. However, what caught my attention was the cover art by Evan Cagle. First of all, it is a beautiful painting, reminiscent of Art Nouveau art. Secondly, I like its subject. Geralt asleep in the field. Beautiful view. After so many fights with monsters, after traveling tens of kilometers, after numerous skirmishes with wicked people – he can finally get enough sleep. He should be. And I would love to hang such an innocent Witcher on my wall (lest it be – in the form of a picture!).

There is no smell

How difficult it is to get into Andrzej Sapkowski’s shoes can be seen in the Netflix series. I know he has his fans and he has a huge audience, but for me the second season was chaotic, poorly written and with little of the wisdom in the books. Blurred memories are definitely a better title (with a greater dose of “The Witcher in The Witcher”) and were a kind of antidote for me after the production with Henry Cavill. I think that a work has been created that will satisfy both fans of original books, games and the series – and this is great art.