What a wonderful D&D story G. Willow Wilson is crafting here. Read Full Review

The Hunger and the Dusk #1 is a gorgeous debut that wastes no time in establishing its world and the characters that inhabit it. Wilsons script makes the characters shine against the well-realized world that Wildgoose brings to the page, as both writing and art balances adventure with emotion. Msassyk takes the work even further thanks to the revelry in complementary colors of naturalistic lands and bombastic hues that come with vicious action and flashes of magic. This book should be a new standard for how to establish a fantasy setting in visual mediums and proves that fantasy, romance, and action are not mutually exclusive genres to play in. Read Full Review

There isnt much in Wilsons bigger narrative machinery that feels terribly new. Something about the way that shes casting together the two races feels elegant in its simplicity. All too often, sword-and-sorcery fantasy overloads the page with too many unnecessary details. Wilson knows exactly how much the page will hold and doesnt try to cram it with even one element more than is totally necessary to deliver the story. Its a very patient approach for a very promising new series.  Read Full Review

‘The Hunger And The Dusk' throws the audience into a world that is both familiar and brand new at the same time, laying the groundwork for a possible new epic tale. Lush colorful detailed worlds, fluid swordplay, and deep lore are married together in a well-crafted opening issue. A must-read for fans of this genre, this creative team, and just good comics period. Read Full Review

I adored The Hunger and the Dusk #1. It's the start of a fantasy series that understands the fantasy tropes we know and love so well, bending them slightly as needed and adding new elements. A series with charm and uniqueness, fans of the quest genre have a new fantasy series to explore. Read Full Review

Wildgoose delivers some beautifully detailed and stylish art in the issue. I love the visuals a lot and the characters look fantastic. I love the style of the art as well and how it incorporates both character and action. Read Full Review

The Hunger and the Dusk #1 is a strong pick for fans of the high fantasy genre, as it skillfully explores and revitalizes old fantasy tropes, promising an engaging and exciting read. Read Full Review

Why choose to take a heroic fantasy comics when I have read so much ? Maybe because I miss one.
Why follow Willow Wilson after a disappointing run in Wonder Woman? Maybe for the art.

Well, after a star who could be not original, a surprise happen with the quick death of the orcs.
And the art his very nice even if sometime case with numeric effect.
And he miss the fear face on the farmers. I didn’t understand they was truly in danger before the burning town was show.
The next part was made quite nicely. Both autorise take the time to presenting both characters. And r they succeed to put more information but make all character likable.
The fighting scene was good too even if I’m not found of the red groundlike background. But that is for showing the moment is dire. They even pass on a easy win. Arming Callum was a nice idea and a good moment to show Tara ability.
The end was funny and I wait for the next issue with envy, more

This week saw the release of an exciting new series, THE HUNGER AND THE DUSK from IDW Publishing and the creative minds of G. Willow Wilson and Chris Wildgoose. IDW teased the series as a “high fantasy tour de force” and based on this first issue that may prove to be an understatement!

We open with a short prequel story with a trio of orc scouts are observing a human village from afar when two young boys find them and race back to their village to alert the townsfolk. The villagers prepare to fight back should the orcs invade, but we see the orcs get ambushed by an unknown entity. In this opening salvo, Wilson lays the foundation for the story’s main tension between humans and orcs, the last two remaining species, and establishes the unknown beings as a major threat to both.

We then fast forward several years to the main story, where we see the two races coming together to form an unlikely and shaky alliance against the same otherworldly threat from year’s past, but which are now called The Vangol. We learn that their attacks became more frequent and directed during the years we skip, but Willow continues a superb job keeping readers feeling up to speed throughout the entire book. In addition to crafting a captivating plot, including a battle scene that will keep you at the edge of your seat, Willow develops character who are immediately endearing and nuanced.

Fantasy stories are often allegories for much more realistic problems facing societies and there are shades of that here, though they are subtle and could easily be mistaken for fantasy lore. The hatred between the humans and orcs resembles much of the racial tension facing the United States and the looming threat from a mysterious enemy could go all sorts of directions. I’m very interested to see how Wilson fleshes this villains out and whether or not they will be used to resemble a specific real-world issue.

In addition to the story, the artwork is a perfect visualization of the fantasy genre. I felt like I was watching a comic book adaptation of recent animated fantasy television shows such as Dragon Prince, Vox Machina, or Arcane. All three were visually beautiful and Wildgoose’s art, along with colors by Msassyk and Diana Sousa and lettering by Simon Bowland, were on par with all of them. Scenes were brought to life with vibrant colors and backgrounds, character designs were complex and detailed, and motion and magic were captured with a whimsical grace you’d expect in any good fantasy story.

THE HUNGER AND THE DUSK #1 is instantly one of my favorite debuts of 2023. The entire book feels effortless. Willow isn’t new to writing top-notch stories, but this feels like a coup for IDW. I have already seen others make references to Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, Game of Thrones, and other massively popular quest-based fantasy franchises in their reviews based off this first issue and while I may not go that far, yet — I’d like to see this level of craftsmanship play out over a few issues — I can understand the reasoning. The genre is expertly realized, the creative team is at the top of their respective game, and the world being built feels ripe for expansion beyond the planned 16 issues. Dare I say it…this book feels fantastical.

Rating: 10/10

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This was a very strong debut for this series. I've been hyping this up a lot in my mind due to just how cool this looks, and I'm very glad to say it did not disappoint. The characters are nicely written and I really like the environment presented here. Despite nothing all that unique being done with it, I really like the design of the humans and the orcs. Plus, the Vangol are absolutely insane and I love it. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this plays out and I have a feeling this is gonna get even better.

https://youtu.be/ElQ33ghUwAw

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