MOUSE GUARD: LEGENDS OF THE GUARD VOLUME 1

MOUSE GUARD: LEGENDS OF THE GUARD VOLUME 1 by G-Man

March 15, 2012, 1:27 am
Filed under: Archaia, Comic Reviews | Tags: Alex Kain, Alex Sheikman, Craig Rousseau, David Petersen, Fall 1152, Gene Ha, Guy Davis, Jason Shawn Alexander, Jeremy Bastian, Karl Kerschl, Katie Cook, Legends of the Guard, Lowell Francis, LSCC, Mark Smylie, Mouse Guard, Nate Pride, Sean Rubin, Ted Naifeh, Terry Moore, Winter 1152

This latest Mouse Guard title from creator David Petersen sees him take a bit more of a backseat from writing/art duties.  With a mix of creators handpicked by Petersen himself given free-reign to explore the Mouse Guard myth’s with their own brand of storytelling and keen eye for drawing a mouse armed to the teeth.

With a storytelling competition in the local June Alley Inn acting as a backdrop and the winning story which must contain a lie and a truth to have their bar-tab cleared….if only ALL pubs worked like this.  We see Petersen weave his own Mouse Guard continuity in among some top tales being passed from mouse to mouse over a drink…..as it should be.  The stories themselves is where we see Jeremy Bastian, Ted Naifeh, Alex Sheikman, Sean Rubin, Alex Kain, Terry Moore, Gene Ha, Lowell Francis, Katie Cook, Guy Davis, Nate Pride, Jason Shawn Alexander, Karl Kerschl, Craig Rousseau, and Mark Smylie all contribute to a surprising mix of Mouse Guard legends.

Ranging from the poignant tale to the far-fetched through to the action-packed battles and solo quests that only a mouse could under-take.  There’s such a wide range of writing and art styles on show here that you can get lost in them pretty easily as you re-read sections, take time reading parts or just rush excitedly to the end to find out what happens and if anything the Mouse Guard spirit is captured in each tale, even with these differences.

If you don’t know anything about Mouse Guard – it’s kind of a ‘Lord of the Rings’ meets an army of mice kind of deal…….with involving adventures which have you hooked from the start.  That being said, this mix works well too…..as much for a change of pace in the Mouse Guard world as it is for almost filling in some back-story to the history of the mice we’re somehow rooting for as we would any human hero.   This actually works as an introduction to the Mouse Guard vibe but I’m pretty sure if you start here, you’ll go back to the previous volumes, Fall 1152 & Winter 1152, as well as the current Black Axe arc nearing its epic conclusion.

An excellent addition to the Mouse Guard books and you can check out our interview with creator David Petersen at London Super Comic Con here.

G-Man

1 Comment

1 Comment so far
Leave a comment

RSS feed for comments on this post.