Comic Review: Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame #2

Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame #2

Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Aleksandra Motyka

Artist: Marianna Strychowska

Following the events of the previous issue, Geralt and Dandelion find themselves trapped in a foreign land and at the mercy of the local government. Similarly to a quest in the CD Projekt Red games, the initial goal of the quest has long been forgotten and many new storylines are branching out.

Geralt of Rivia, assuming a false name, is now tasked by the Ofieri government to kill the witcher known as Geralt of Rivia for his crime of killing an Ofieri prince (play Hearts of Stone for full details). Meanwhile, Dandelion is attempting his own escape mission with the help of a pair of concubines he won over.

Something I’m really appreciating in this comic, as I did with the IDW Sonic the Hedgehog series as well, is the connection with the source material games. Having this storyline tie directly to events from the video games is fun and allows fans to continue to journey along with Geralt on another adventure. And having Motyka as the writer really adds to the immersion; as the story plays out, it’s easy to imagine something like this happen to the Geralt we fell in love with through the game series.

While Motyka’s writing feels familiar yet smart, Strychowska’s artwork brings the experience to life. The characters always look very lively and expressive when they speak, and it helps to get each personality across well, from Dandelion’s smug arrogance to Geralt’s wry wit. This issue the details weren’t as crisp as the former issue in my opinion, however, and I’m sad to say the action scenes were rather lackluster. There’s even a panel of nothing but a magical explosion that looks as comical as the action bubbles that appeared in the 1966 Batman show. The art in this issue just felt a little bit lazier than the first and that’s a shame because that was one of the highlights for me previously.

Despite that, the writing in this issue is solid, and the humor got more than a few chuckles out of me. There are also a couple references to the games in the issue as I mentioned before, and none of them feel like the writer just throwing in fanservice. Each throwback feels natural and is more of just a nod rather than a “hey, look at me” sort of thing.

While Of Flesh and Flame #2 wasn’t quite as strong as the first, the story and characters keep me wanting more. Hopefully, the next issue will keep the ball rolling and build towards a satisfying climax.