ArcWorlde: Tales from the Journal – Comic Review
ArcWorlde: Tales from the Journal is a comic book tie in to the Warploque Miniatures game. Written by Mike Garley and illustrated by Russell Mark Olson, with colours by Lou Ashworth and lettering from Mike Stock. And it’s a great big ball of fun.
What is ArcWorlde?
ArcWorlde is a narrative battle game where warbands, heroes and monsters are pitted against each other in the field of combat. There are miniatures to paint and scenarios to play through with your friends. All set in the fantasy realms of ArcWorlde.
ArcWorlde: Tales from the Journal Synopsis
A story full of monsters, magic and mayhem set within Warploque Miniatures’ incredible ArcWorlde. A chance encounter between a man and a magical journal sends him, and an unlikely group of Swords for Hire, on a quest deep into the middle of the mysterious ArcWorlde. With danger around every corner, this group of intrepid adventurers need to band together, if they are to survive the trials and tribulations that lie in wait for them.
In ArcWorlde: Tales from The Journal, Mike Garley takes the character of The Explorer, who provides the introduction to the core rules for the game, and sets him on his path in comic book form. Stumbling upon a magical book, the Explorer finds himself, together with a very cheap party of mercenaries, on a quest across ArcWorlde. It’s a really fun story, and provides a great little gateway to the realms of ArcWorlde. I knew nothing about the game before reading the comic, but it definitely piqued my interest. So much so that I downloaded the rule book to see what it was all about.
Is it good?
It’s a simple enough tale – Magical McGuffin (in this case the Journal of the title) sets adventurer on a path to adventure, meets party along the way and gets into all sorts of scrapes – but there is much to keep a reader engaged and laughing. It works for all ages (although some of the monsters might be a little scary for the very young) with enough knowing nods to classical fantasy and tabletop gaming tropes to keep older readers happy. I absolutely loved the way some of what seemed to be throw away lines paid off towards the end. Particularly the cheese. Very clever and definitely chuckle-worthy.
Russell Mark Olson’s art has a charmingly old school fantasy feel to it. Aided by Lou’s colours it almost felt like I was watching an old school 80s cartoon. Definite Dungeons & Dragons vibes. Which was awesome. Nostalgia abounds! I loved the character designs, everything from the Explorer himself down to the Gremlins. Maybe not the Arcanid Queen though. Ewwww spiders!
I would definitely recommend this one, even if you aren’t a tabletop gamer. Maybe this will entice you to play. It’s also worth noting that it says this is Volume 1. Hopefully that means more comic adventures in ArcWorlde will be on the way from Mike, Russell, Lou and Mike.
ArcWorlde: Tales from the Journal Kickstarter
The comic is funding now on kickstarter (with just over a day to go) and is well and truly over the target so any backers will definitely get their rewards. As well as just being able to get your mitts on the comic, there are also tiers for those who want to get into playing ArcWorlde to obtain miniatures of the characters to paint and play with. Miniatures are available in metal or resin, or for those with their own 3D printer you can back to receive files to print your own! Quick, get on board while there is still time!
