Writen by: Mikey Neumann
Art by: Agustin Padilla
Publisher: IDW
It’s always great to hear more from the Borderlands universe. Mikey Neumann’s storytelling sucks you right back in to the world established by the game, and the gorgeous artwork makes this a really easy story to get lost in. The story opens with our four heroes – Mordecai (and Bloodwing), Brick, Lilith, and Roland – who have come from Marcus’ bus and have been tasked by him to save the town of Fyrestone from the bandit Nine-Toes in exchange for free guns. Now, fans of the franchise will know roughly how it pans out, but for those who have not played the original game, it’ll be even more interesting to see.
In the original Borderlands game, the protagonists didn’t show much personality in the way of personality or even dialog so a comic series is a great medium for some character development. Now, in this issue, Lilith is the only character who shows any sign of development, but I have high hopes for the coming issues and faith in Neumann in development terms.
The art in the comic is done by Agustin Padilla who, other than a few inconsistencies with the game, captures the graphic art style very well indeed. I had a few problems with Lilith’s and Marcus’ faces, as they seemed too smooth and weren’t on par with the game. This said, if you hadn’t played the games and had jumped into the series with no prior knowledge, it wouldn’t be noticeable. Other than that, the environment was done great, the shading had the style of the games and the bandits were done in good detail.
Overall, I think that fans of the franchise will be pleased with this new series, and I am excited for the next issues. This first issue is fun, engaging, and mostly hilarious without trying too hard, which is a difficult feat to accomplish with the weight of the franchise hanging over it. Readers who are new to the Borderlands universe may be slightly overwhelmed by the lack of background this issue gives it, but it can be enjoyed at face value, so you might want to still pick this one up.
