God of War (Dark Horse Comic)

Around the launch of the 2018 God of War game, the franchise returned to the world of comics under Dark Horse, with a limited series of the same name set within the timeline of the Norse games. While the series ran for four issues, these were preceded by a digital-only #0, available through the PlayStation Store and included with copies of the game starting as low as the Deluxe Edition. While I did want to read the comic physically, and even waited for a trade before doing so, I never got around to obtaining it until I realized a trade was available for the second volume, subtitled Fallen God, but by then the trade for the first volume was becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to find. With some patience, however, I was finally able to acquire a physical trade, by intentionally getting a copy that had some minor wear on the covers to save money. Upon finally reading the trade, which even collects the #0 issue, I thought it was worth the effort, but would have felt differently if I caved to the more exorbitant asking prices.

Prior to the events of God of War (2018), Kratos spends every day in the woods testing himself to control his rage. Although he has made progress, he doesn’t always succeed, succumbing to his rage against a bear in an attempt to save someone’s life. Following this, Kratos faces his ultimate test when a group of attackers follow him home.

The story of this comic, written by Chris Roberson, does a very effective job of bridging the events of the Greek and Norse games, showing a good understanding of Kratos’ character as it expands on his character arc and relationship with Atreus. So good was this that I could hear the characters’ voices in my head as I read their dialogue, with Kratos and Atreus’ dynamic at the time the comic is set feeling more or less consistent with how it stands at the beginning of the game. While not as complex a story as the preceding WildStorm/DC comic, the more linear structure and pacing work in its favor, fitting in line with how the game this comic is a prequel to is presented, as well as fleshing out the world in a way that doesn’t contradict said game. The  true nature of the main antagonists is also interesting after having played God of War: Ragnarök, though it should be noted that the concept is executed a little differently in that game.

While not as photorealistic as the previous God of War comic from WildStorm/DC, the art by Tony Parker, with colors by Dan Jackson, still displays a degree of realism fitting in with the game’s own art direction while still being clear to read and without going overboard. Although the comic is told exclusively from Kratos’ perspective, it takes full advantage of the comic book medium to display action in a way the Norse games could not, using multiple camera angles as needed to bring out the intensity of some scenes.

 

Kratos seeks to control his rage.

I will also mention that, in addition to the lettering being of excellent quality, another element the comic takes advantage of is displaying Norse characters’ speech through the use of Norse runes. This interesting element was made even more interesting when I quickly realized that it was actually possible to mentally translate these runes to equivalent English letters by cross-referencing speech balloons, making the exercise much more satisfying to perform on my own. The amount of care put into this particular element was confirmed for me when, in scenes where Atreus translates the Norse speech to Kratos, his translations actually accurately lined up with what was being said.

For fans of the God of War series, especially those who have followed the Norse games, this comic is well worth the read, though I’m not sure it would fare well with a complete newcomer due to various elements assuming familiarity with Kratos and his backstory. As I alluded to before, physical English copies are unfortunately going the way of the WildStorm/DC comic in terms of pricing, with it becoming harder to come by unless you are willing to save money by buying as copy with reasonable wear. Fortunately, unlike the previous comic, there is still the option to purchase the comic digitally, including through the PlayStation Store, for those looking to read it on a budget.