Before it was a video game it was a series of books which goes to show that the root of any franchise relies on good storytelling. In the collected issues of ‘The Witcher: Curse of Crows’ Geralt and his daughter Ciri are witchers for hire. In this journey they encounter changelings, strigas and talking crows. In a world where the fantastic is the norm how do you create drama? Paul Tobin invites you into this expanding world to examine what makes a family.
Witchers know things. They know how and more importantly, when to kill. For Geralt he’s seen a striga before. They’re creatures that are born from horrid circumstances and, or possibly cursed. The common denominator of this story is Ostrit. He sees the woman he supposes to love go to another. That’s not surprising, it’s what he does after that reverberates and affects the woman he says he cares so deeply for and the generation that comes after him. Tobin methodically takes Geralt towards the assignment that will affect his own family relationships. On route, he relays the time when he had to take down a striga. In between this tale he tells his daughter, they meet up with Ciri’s mother. The tension between mother and daughter is strained further when Ciri overhears her parents. Still believing her to be a child they keep things from her, which in turn causes her to do reckless and childish things. This may cost her not only her life, but her soul. Ironically, Geralt’s story acts as a fairytale. It’s supposed to be a warning. For Little Red Riding Hood, it won’t stray from the path. In Ciri’s case it should be don’t be young and arrogant. Then there’s Maerlina, who wants a curse lifted off her own children. Son and daughter are both cursed, but it’s how and why that Tobin takes his narrative to a new level.
‘The Witcher’ takes place in a medieval, war-like landscape. People are on the verge of starvation and Maerlina’s children find a way to survive. The thing is their decision making compounds their suffering and alienates them from the community. Fast forward to their present, the siblings have become a blight on a new neighborhood. For Maerlina her need to protect her children puts Geralt’s in peril. Information is everything and that’s also an important lesson being told here. However, don’t mistake this for some dry, dharma lesson. The pace of this comic reads more like a group of side quests that majorly impact a game. Every move each character makes causes another ripple. Making the storyline interesting. You want to know why Ciri would choose to hunt monsters alongside her father, rather than live relatively safely with her mother. You also want to know how anyone can survive in this apocalyptic world while retaining their sanity.
Overall, ‘The Witcher’ is told in a way that wants you to seek out everything related to this character. It’s a testimony that there will always be a place for good stories. And that place happily resides in comics.
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