RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1 Review

 

Writer: Ryan O’Sullivan

Artists: Daniel Bayliss & Sid Kotian

Colorist: Laurel Dundee

Letterer: Nathan Kempf

Editor: Phoebe Hedges

Art Director: Oz Browne

Cover Artists: Alan Quah, Ivan Shavrin, David Barker, Alex Moore, & Sid Kotian with Prasad Rao

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: November 6, 2024

 

When Larryr seeks refuge from a snowstorm inside the Flying Horse Inn, he sees the Storyteller has returned. As he purchases a frothy mug and sits at a wooden table, Larryr wonders what story he will hear tonight. What will the Storyteller’s tale of the Godsword tell him about his world? Let's strap on our armor, leap into RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1, and find out!

 

Story

The Storyteller whets his listeners’ appetite by sketching the history of their world. After ancient beings created the cosmos, new peoples and gods arose. The God Of Balance brought men, dwarves, gnomes, and fairies to live harmoniously on Gielnor. Other gods followed Guthix but for less noble reasons.

 

When war overtook the planet, the Armadyleans forged the Godsword in the Temple of the Lost Ancients. But Zamorak, the God Of Chaos, decided to use their assassination plan against them. So Zamorak forged a hilt for the Godsword and charged K’Ril Tsutsaroth with finding the blade. As K’Ril led the Zamorakian army against the Armadyleans, the demon entrusted the necromancer Sherok with transporting the Zamorak’s hilt in his caravan. But in RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1, Sherok also has plans for the Godsword.

 

Despite his ambitions, Sherok lacks focus and a thorough grounding in his art. As a Human, Sherok believes he outranks the demon warlord. Sherok assumes that all the soldiers batting the Aramdyleans are there to serve him. The necromancer may not be an expert in any particular field, but Sherok knows enough spells to serve his needs. His familiar Maro bolsters Sherok’s beliefs by sugar-coating how others see the necromancer.

 

Amid Ryan O’Sullivan’s tale of a demon general and a scheming necromancer, Maro emerges as the most relatable character in RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1. Mystery surrounds him. Not even the Storyteller knows his origins. Maro may be unique, yet he’s tired of his job. The familiar dislikes being ordered about by odious people less intelligent than himself. Maro has tired of this bespelled existence among people who revel in death. He may be just a skull that floats through the air and has no prospects for a better future. Still, Maro doesn't let his circumstances get him down.

 

Art

The burly bartender polishes a mug as Larryr enters. Tables await customers who likely want more options than the casks of ale behind the bar. A hood obscures the thin Storyteller's features. His metal-covered hands and arms emerge from his dark cloak as he tells of Guthix. The horned God Of Balance stands as a giant among his fellow immortals. His face dominates the horizon as he gazes down on the land. After Guthix watches people as they emerge from a Stargate, other gods greet arriving elves, goblins, and demons. As the gods study maps and lead their forces into battle, a short, winged Aramdylean hammers a scrollwork blade on a mighty anvil.

 

Green foliage shines under bright blue skies as Sherok drives his brown caravan through the woods. Gray and purple fill the skies when the sun sets on the battle in RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1. The muscular demon K’Ril, adorned in maroon and gray armor, carries a sword that evokes a meat cleaver. After maroon spills from a captured Aramdylean, a green spirit rises toward the ceiling as Sherok continues an interrogation wearing a black robe and a yellow crown. Pink energy surrounds Maro and trails behind him as he floats from the brown caravan to address the purple demons guarding K’Ril’s gray and brown tent. An eerie green light animates the skeletal warriors who guard Sherok’s caravan.

 

Amid Daniel Bayliss & Sid Kotian’s involving art and Laurel Dundee’s attractive colors, Nathan Kempf conjures large uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons and beige narrative boxes. The Storyteller’s words are bold and darken further for intonation. Spirits speak white letters into black dialogue balloons, and K’Ril utters red ones while question marks surround Maro wherever he goes. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When the Aramdyleans forge the Godsword, the followers of the God of Justice set off a contest for the ultimate weapon. As the Zamorakians slay the winged warriors for the power to kill a god, an animated skull could prove the Aramdyleans’ only hope for survival in RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more covers and a look inside see my preview at The Dragon's Cache.