Writer: Bartosz Sztybor

Artwork: Vanesa R. Del Rey

Colors: Jordie Bellaire

Published By: Dark Horse.

Geralt, otherwise known as The Witcher is watching a woman burn at the stake in the middle of the crowd. It seems he was paid to find and bring this witch to the villagers for punishment. She slew 5 men, yet Geralt is feeling guilty. He is hired to bring a little girl back home from another set of witches, but when he finds her, she doesn’t want to leave and now he is surrounded by witches who invite him to stay as well…..

Bartosz weaves a dark tale of horror and regret. The famous Geralt is written with a stoic gruffness that we have all come to love in the character. Kudos to Bartosz for nailing the pre-established characteristics of our story’s main character. The world that has been written is dark, unfair, and unforgiving. No good deed goes unpunished, and women particularly seem to be treated very unfriendly. The world Bartosz has written captures the world of The Witcher in near perfection.

The pacing of the story is a little quick. Each scene is moved through very fast and gives you just enough exposition for you to understand the current situation. We see Geralt get a new job and then be at the conclusion of said job two pages later.

The Artwork is at it should be very dark. It fits the world of The Witcher very well. You know you are in for a blood and guts ride when you see the images on the paper. The issue that I am seeing from art is that on top of the darkness, there is a ton of line shading that makes everything seem blurred in darkness. It takes a bit to understand what you are looking at on some of the pages. Most of the pages seem to have a certain color filter that to me, keeps the images and colors from popping. Perhaps it is a good choice since some of the pages have some unpleasant images to them, but in my humble little world, I like clear images that show good detail.

Overall, I give The Witcher Witch’s lament #1 6 out of 10 capes. I am sure The Witcher fans will really enjoy this and even some none Witcher fans. The Story is good and interesting, I just think the artwork would keep me from going back.