Second Look - God of War (WildStorm/DC Comic)

Note: This review contains spoilers for God of War (WildStorm/DC), God of War (2005) and God of War II.

While 2010 would see the release of two God of War titles, including the much-anticipated God of War III and the prequel game Ghost of Sparta, this would not be the only God of War media released that year. Coinciding with the release of the former, a God of War comic book was published on a bi-monthly schedule and ran for six issues, filling in yet another unseen gap in Kratos’ life. Rather notably, while the comic was initially published by WildStorm, an imprint of DC Comics at the time, only five issues would be published before WildStorm was shut down, with the sixth issue and trade paperback collection being published by DC. While I would witness this happen in real time from buying the single issues as they came, including a copy of the first issue signed by writer Marv Wolfman and a less-documented variant cover of said issue, I was still dumb enough to also buy a copy of the trade when it came out, though it has made re-reads a lot easier. While revisiting the God of War series, I thought it fair to also take another look at this comic, not only due to its canon status, but also to hopefully make up for my more lackluster first review. Revisiting this comic again after so many years, I thought it still held up as both a good God of War comic and a decent book on its own merits, but it’s definitely not for people who aren’t already familiar with the games.

Between the events of the original game and Ghost of Sparta, Kratos seeks the healing Ambrosia of Asclepius. On this journey, he thinks back on the last time he sought the Ambrosia, told in a series of flashbacks set prior to the events of God of War: Ascension [which was not in development at the time of publication]. In the past, Spartans had a law in which weak newborns were cast into a nearby chasm, which Kratos had to participate in as a child. When Kratos’ daughter Calliope is born, she is infected by a plague and doomed to the same fate, but Kratos defies Spartan law, convincing his superior to let him seek out the Ambrosia that would be powerful enough to heal her. At the same time, the gods have a bet going on their chosen champions to see who can reach the Ambrosia first, with some gods conspiring to foil Ares’ bet on Kratos.

 

Kratos seeks the Ambrosia of Asclepius.
(It was this or take a photo of the book myself).

The plot, written by comics legend Marv Wolfman, takes an interesting approach to Kratos’ character, with his actions in the past showing how they shaped who he is in the present, as well as exploring a theme of the past coming back to haunt you. While some related events are shown in a non-linear sequence, everything does eventually come together to form a cohesive narrative. Additionally, the comic also provides more of a backstory to the Barbarian King from the original game, as well as giving the reader more insight into how Kratos gained the rank of captain in the Spartan Army and expanding on the characterization of his wife Lysandra. Since I had read through the comic again while deep-diving the Greek games once more, I could even hear the video game cast in my head as I was reading. That said, while the comic does try to tell a more self-contained plot, it casually spoiling the events of the original game renders it impregnable to readers who are not familiar with that game at the least.

While the comic does do a good job of staying consistent with the timeline of the games, there was one moment that stuck out to me in Issue #6, during Kratos’ boss fight with Gygas. At one point, Gygas refers to Kratos as “son of Zeus,” which, while the reader may likely already know this from playing the games, Kratos himself does not yet learn this chronologically until the events of God of War II. While the fan-edited God of War Wiki attempts to reconcile this by suggesting Gygas said this due to most gods being descendants of Zeus, I personally wonder whether this was simply an error on Wolfman’s end or an oversight on the editor’s or licensor’s end, since the final comic would likely have to have been approved by the latter.

 

The continuity error in question.

The writing is complimented well by the art of Andrea Sorrentino, whose more realistic style pairs well with the God of War universe. Taking advantage of the comic book medium, there are also some interesting transitions between past and present events, often with some link through visuals or narration. One general complaint I’ve seen is that his art appears muddy at times, and while I could see that, I would argue that it overall becomes clearer on subsequent reads, especially when read in one go through the trade collection. Special mention also goes to the cover arts by Andy Park, who worked as an artist on the God of War series at the time prior to his current work at Marvel Studios. The lettering is also good, even color-coding the dialogue balloons for the gods to make them stand out, though I did notice a single typo in Issue #6, which I didn’t notice until recently.

 

An errant "t" in "forgotten."

WildStorm/DC’s God of War comic is a comic worth reading for fans of the series, as it experiments with the setting and medium in a way that fits with the games and feels like part of the story. Unfortunately, one major issue is accessibility, in that those who are interested in reading the comic now and don’t already own it will now have to jump through major financial hoops to read it legally, as it commands outrageous second-hand prices and is not available digitally, not even through the official DC Universe Infinite service.