Based on one of the world’s most popular online games World of
Warcraft, comes another exciting Manga book from TOKYOPOP, one of the
world’s largest creators of Western styled Manga. For the
uninitiated, Manga is an extremely popular phenomena in Japan that
although is based on the comic book format, it’s far more in-depth
in terms of content and with that unmistaken anime style of artwork.
Generally, these books are always in black and white, however there
have been some exceptions in the past but as they are in black and
white, this also keeps the costs of the printing down, making this
quite an affordable and entertaining read. This current installment
in the series is volume 3 of Warcraft Legends and it contains four
exciting tales set in this wondrous universe.
The first tale is written by Richard Knaak with stunning Manga artwork by
Jae-Hwan Kim
and continues the adventures of Trag Highmountain, a fallen tauren
hero who has been reborn as one of the Lich King’s undead warriors.
Thankfully for the citizens of Azeroth, Trag has somehow managed to
hold onto his soul, however the strings of the Lich King are strong
and he is using his utmost will power to resist the call.
In this
story, Trag continues his journey to defeat the nefarious Lich King
who is responsible for his current predicament and this tale contains action
and adventure in that classic Manga style. Befriended by a village of powerful two legged
beasts, they assist Trag by accompanying him to a dragon graveyard
where he finds a powerful bone fragment of an ancient dragon that
may be the key to defeating this Lich King. Just as the story gets
thoroughly entertaining, it also abruptly ends, so bring on Volume 4
so we can continue the adventurous tale of Trag Highmountain.
The second tale is written by Dan Jolley and features classic Manga artwork
by Fernando Heinz Furukawa that revolves around a moralistic tale about
Captain Lauer, a female leader of
the human Crusades who has been brought up to dispose any sentient
creatures who are non-human. For Lauer, she has been given the task of
tutoring her sister’s son Stefan in order to teach him their strong
edicts. Stefan is always questioning their cause, doubtful that their
way is justice and harbors thoughts that it is only fuelling the
violence between the species. When an elf jewel master meets with a
human to sell her a jewel for her brother, both are merciless cut
down by the Crusades which sets in motion a chain of events that
eventually leads to a devastating conclusion. This is truly the
thinking man’s tale in this book and is brilliantly complimented by
the sharp and impressive artwork.
The third story revolves around a Goblin who has been exiled by his
people for betraying his clients, only to end up in a multiracial
village where he ends up becoming Greatfather, an almost carbon
copy of Santa Claus. As he offers children the promises of toys for
"Christmas", one girl asks for her father back who has gone missing.
With his conscience heavy from betraying the trust of his last
client, he reluctantly helps the little girl as he gets involved
with a dangerous dwarf who has stolen the little girl’s father to
create a robotic giant. This tale is quite light when compared to
the others and is my least favourite, probably due to the references
of the real-world. Unlike the other tales, it’s considerably more
childish.
Lastly, The Thrill of the Hunt is the
last tale and is written by Troy Lewter and Qing Ping Mui which
involves a powerful dwarven hunter named Hemet Nesingwary who
teaches a ground of human hunters, what it means to be a noble
hunter. With heavy action and some great artwork, Lewter really
draws you into this noble tale about a dwarf attempting to save a
defensive creature. With four great tales, this is one Manga book
that will keep you enthralled from start to finish!
Definitely one to check out@!
