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A review by loop
Dark Souls Vol. 2: Winter's Spite by George Mann
3.0
Okay, so my review of the last Dark Souls volume wasn't very favorable. I said it was okay for the most part, but overall not a good comic. This volume does a lot to change that. I think it was a huge improvement.
Focusing on one main character and his existential conflict was a good device to convey the feeling of a Dark Souls setting. Each issue has us follow the main character through a perilous journey, falling victim to many unfortunate events, as is common in Dark Souls. I thought the existentialism and despair were well conveyed, as well as the ambiguous morality of the characters, the concept of undeath, and the cyclical, limbo-like existence of the characters. The writing was significantly better this time around. I think the story flowed much better and the Middle English vocabulary didn't feel as forced.
The art is still a mixed bag, with a lot of my complaints from volume 1 carrying over. Basically, lack of clarity, actions felt stiff, swords look boring, panels don't flow into one another well, body proportions and positions look odd at times, faces change too much from one panel to another to the point of certain characters looking similar, and colors can further muddy up how unclear the pencils can be (though not nearly as bad as volume 1 since the setting is more uniform).
All in all, this was pretty enjoyable, and I'd rate it as a 4/5 as a piece of Dark Souls fan service, but only a 3/5 as a comic. Considering I gave the last volume one point less, I consider this an improvement. Now onto Legends of the Flame, the anthology style Dark Souls comic. Should prove to be a different experience from these.
Focusing on one main character and his existential conflict was a good device to convey the feeling of a Dark Souls setting. Each issue has us follow the main character through a perilous journey, falling victim to many unfortunate events, as is common in Dark Souls. I thought the existentialism and despair were well conveyed, as well as the ambiguous morality of the characters, the concept of undeath, and the cyclical, limbo-like existence of the characters. The writing was significantly better this time around. I think the story flowed much better and the Middle English vocabulary didn't feel as forced.
The art is still a mixed bag, with a lot of my complaints from volume 1 carrying over. Basically, lack of clarity, actions felt stiff, swords look boring, panels don't flow into one another well, body proportions and positions look odd at times, faces change too much from one panel to another to the point of certain characters looking similar, and colors can further muddy up how unclear the pencils can be (though not nearly as bad as volume 1 since the setting is more uniform).
All in all, this was pretty enjoyable, and I'd rate it as a 4/5 as a piece of Dark Souls fan service, but only a 3/5 as a comic. Considering I gave the last volume one point less, I consider this an improvement. Now onto Legends of the Flame, the anthology style Dark Souls comic. Should prove to be a different experience from these.