Daddy issue(s).
Creative Staff
Writers: Jody Houser, Matthew Mercer
Artist: Olivia Samson with Juan Pablo Massa
Colorist: Diana Sousa
Letterer: Joamette Gil
Cover Artist: Tula Lotay
What They Say
[So, Dark Horse didn’t write a new description for this issue. They accidentally copy-pasted the last issue description but missed the first line. Good job!]
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
When we last left Vox Machina they were trying to find out who put out a hit on Westrun. The trail leads to the city of Emon, a city that Vox Machina has no real knowledge of. Without any leads, the group decides to get a drink and talk over their options.
Two paths present to the group to find information. Path one is Vax straight-up asking the Clasp who put out the hit, which is a dangerous path for a low-ranking Clasp member like Vax to take. The second is asking the only powerful local who would likely be willing to meet with the group, Syldor Vessar, the twin’s father.
This is a slow burn issue that is short on combat and long on family dynamics. Humor is brief and fleeting, regulated to the final few pages and the moments with Grog being Grog. The scenery is also a generic fantasy town without much to differentiate it from other places except for the occasional airship overhead. The first shot we have of the city is very pretty though. Despite Emon being a cosmopolitan city, there are few other bloodlines/races/species on display outside of human. (Something the animated series didn’t have a problem with.)
I imagine the enjoyment that readers will get from this volume will be proportionate to how a particular reader vibes with Vex and Vax. The twins are not very lovable at this stage of the story. Prickly and grumpy, sure, but not exactly the wort of folks you’d want to hang out with.
A strange thing that I didn’t take into account with the comic version of events is that for these pre-stream events we now have multiple conflicting versions of accounts. In the original version of events, Tiberius was still in the party. He has been written out of the comics by this point. That was expected. What I wasn’t expecting what that now we have readers that are likely coming into the comic having watched the animated series. A series that presents a different version of events that the comic is ramping up to.
The comic, even with rearranging some things and changing others, is sticking closer to the original table events. And yet, the design of Fince looks very similar to the animated version of the character. That’s not confusing at all!
In Summary:
I knew there was no satisfactory way to end a story arc that had no end. So Vox Machina Origins doesn’t attempt to. This issue is intended to roll along directly into the next mini-series and makes no concessions that previous issues might have to crush the story to fit the page count. I had been saying that comics are perhaps the worst way to adapt the story, with the novel and animated series handling events in a far more fluid and entertaining way. If this means that going forward the comic will be able to pace things more appropriately without trying to hit a page count I am all for it. Yet the change in direction means this particular issue is a lot of talking and absolutely no action. The twins haven’t been made out to be the most endearing characters that they eventually become so the focus on them and their father might come across as ho-hum to the casual reader. I look forward to the cognitive dissonance the next mini-series creates in regards to the pre-stream events adapted for the animated series.
Grade: C +
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: May 18, 2022
MSRP: $3.99 US
