I've struggled to get into MMORPG games in the past. Whilst I like open world games where I have the freedom to go where I want and do what I want there's something about the sheer size and scope of MMORPG's that's been somewhat a little too daunting for me; and any time I've tried them I've found myself being a little overwhelmed by how much there is mechanics wise, and bow out after a few days or weeks at most. However, I have a very close friend who loves Runescape, and have heard them sing it's praises over the years for both it's gameplay style, and for the world that it has managed to craft over the years. As such, when I saw that Titan Comics were bringing out a graphic novel that delved into a part of the massive lore that had accumulated for the franchise I knew I had to check it out to see what made Runescape so special.
Runescape: Untold Tales of the God Wars takes place within the confines of a warm, welcoming tavern on a cold winters night as the owner and patrons are treated to a tale of ancient history by a mysterious cloaked Storyteller. We're given a tiny breakdown of the origins of the Runescape world by the Storyteller, which was fantastic as someone coming in pretty fresh other than the small bits of lore my friend had told me, before we jump into a tale set 4,000 years before the current time of the Runescape game, during the titular God Wars. The God Wars were a time when gods that made the land their home begun to fight for power and influence, crating huge armies of different races to battle in their name. It is here that we meet a number of characters as we learn part of the story of the Godsword, a weapon forged with the hope that its power could kill a god.
Each of the four issues of the mini-series focuses on one of the four different factions taking part in the God War, and their mission to claim ownership over the Godsword. The first issue introduces us to the demon army of the Zamorakian's, where we meet the necromancer Sherok and his floating skull familiar Maro. Whilst the Zamorakian general K'ril Tsutsaroth leads his forces against the bird-like Armadyleans to take the Godsword from them Sherok tortures the souls of his victims, and adds more undead to their forces. By the end of the issue we've witnessed some internal politics, as well as the horrors of war, and Maro finds himself alone and fleeing from his former allies before falling into the care of Armadylean scout Lea'anna.
Maro becomes the central character of the series, this minor familiar who finds his fate intertwined with that of the Godsword, and whilst not the hero of the story, nor a figure around who fate revolves, someone who is witness to important events and figures of legend. As Maro journeys we are introduced to each of the factions, to important people, and we see how each faction operates, their relationships with each other, and what this small part of the God War is like. As an outsider to the franchise it felt like a fantastic way of telling the story, as the reader is swept along with Maro, getting something of a crash-course on the war, as well as the various races and factions. Throughout this, we revisit the tavern from time to time as the Storyteller continues their tale, and those that listen to him become more and more invested in this ancient and long forgotten part of history.
Ryan O'Sullivan does a great job at creating an interesting narrative that weaves through various locations and introduces us to multiple characters. Whilst it could have been easy to become bogged down in the piles of lore, trying to cram in as much history and information as possible to give readers a dense and detailed experience O'Sullivan instead chooses to keep things fairly simple, allowing the shifting narrative to become the important part. I was a little worried before going into the book that it might be too heavy for someone who's not played the game and experienced that lore, that I wouldn't be able to follow things, but it's kept so new reader friendly that it never once felt overwhelming.
It would have also have been easy for the characters to get little to no time to do much, as most of the ones we meet are only in a single issue, or come in and out of the narrative for a page or two every now and then. Despite only Maro really having any decent amount of time every character felt like they had clear motivations and distinct personalities, and there were a few of them that I really wanted to spend more time with as they were so compelling despite how short a time we had them.
The art on the book is provided by Sid Kotan and Daniel Bayliss, with Laurel Dundee on colours. Kotan is the main artist on the book, drawing issues one to four, with Bayliss creating the introductory section in the Free Comic Book Day issue. Despite their being two artists I didn't really notice when I first read it as the two of them managed to match styles relatively closely, which allows for a smooth transition between the two of them. The art's nicely presented, with Kotan able to deliver a surprising range of emotions and expressions of characters that really shouldn't be able to do so, such as the bird-like Armadyleans, and on Maro, who manages to convey a lot despite only being a floating skull.
By the time Runescape: Untold Tales of the God Wars was done I was left wanting more, and not just more with these characters and this particular story, but more of this universe as a whole. I found myself curious to learn more about Runescape and it's lore, and whilst I'm not quite ready to go and play the game just yet it's certainly created an interest in the universe. And whilst I can't say what this graphic novel is like for someone already a fan, who knows the lore and characters, I can say that as someone who knew next to nothing I'm impressed with how it's been able to draw me in and entertain me.
Runescape: Untold Tales of the God Wars is out now from Titan Comics
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