***THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE NERD BLITZ PATREON***
Well, as I write this, I have officially finished Campaign 1 of Critical Role.
I still have some one shots to get through, but I pretty much know the full history of Vox Machina.
So it adds an extra layer to the fun by heading back to the very beginning and seeing how it all started, maybe it’s a bittersweet feeling?
Now, three issues in, are there some knicks starting to show in the armor of this tale or is it all just smooth sailing?
Let’s dive in a find out
Heads up, gang, this is your official ***SPOILER ALERT***
Cover By Aleksis Agustin: Once again, this is another eye catcher.
This woman is incredibly striking in the most witchy of ways, with her flowing hair and the beginnings of an evil little smirk as she stares down at the apparently marble trapped Grog sets an off kilter tone.
While this is the first cover of the lot that I don’t necessarily feel would be great to see on a wall, it is purty as hell to look at.
Art By Olivia Samson: Just as great as the last 2 issues.
Vax & Vex in the sewers and looking through the storm drains gives the opportunity for Samson to show off with plenty of different types of materials and textures.
Her fire is wonderfully menacing and lively!
She just does great fuckin’ work.
Story By Matthew Colville & Matthew Mercer: We start off with Keyleth of the Air Ashari and Tiberius Stormwind (most well known around these parts for their cameos from the first 2 issues) with their pre-Vox Machina group and find out that they too are trying to track down just what in the ever lovin’ shit is going on in Stilben.
Then we catch up with Vax & Vex as they are tailing the alchemist they believe created the poison.
Next we catch up with Scanlan and Grog as they’re making progress runnin’ down the same ball of wax as the other 2 duos, which leads to 6 of the 8 future members of our titular group all finally converging in a big ass battle with the poisonous fiends.
I’ve intentionally not shown or mentioned the opening page of any of these issues just incase this happened, I know, I’m a real devious fuck.
But as you can see above, and I assure you the others followed the same trend, it kind of implies which members of the group we’ll be following in that particular installment.
This is an issue that breaks the mold of the previous two, in a big bad way!
Not that I mind one bit, because it gives us a taste of what they all bring to the table…but it is kinda fuckin’ weird, at least enough so that it must be mentioned.
When the 3 duos come together we get a great Scanlan fourth wall breaking moment, that’s almost Deadpool-esque, where he points out that a lot of plot threads seem to be converging in the scene.
And with that moment, he solidified his place as my second favorite member of the group after Grog.
As I sort of touched on in the review of the last issue, that character does an incredible job of breaking the tension through humor.
His casting of cutting words on one of the Myriad assassins and his anger/banter with Vax snipping at him being a shitty Bard are all played perfectly spot on.
The plot threads do all converge in that scene, and, well, after two issues, we have great forward momentum in the story and all of our characters finally meeting.
Which sets the bar high for introductions in issue four, seeing the true groundwork laid in a more solid way for what will eventually drive these characters to being the strongest of allies.
And the rather unexpected twist ending sets up a great potential battle next time out as well.
So far, these three issues have featured an assload of set up, but unlike some comic books we’ve read in episodes of the podcast in the past, it’s not wheel spinning horseshit set up.
It’s all great plot work that helps you get comfortable with this world while also actually inching the story toward something that promises to be at least some what satisfying.
I’m starting to think I was wrong in my issue one review, I think that non-critters might be able to latch on to this and get plenty of enjoyment.
While I felt it could possibly be a bit overwhelming at first, by this point I feel enough context has been provided that it’s not just a long inside story.
This isn’t just me wanting to have people to talk with about it, but give it a shot.
Especially if you dig fantasy or specifically D&D, it’s damn fun, gang.
And also, I want somebody to talk about it with.
Special thanks to @ACFerrell1976 for her continued editorial assistance.
Be sure to check out our reviews of Issue 1 & Issue 2 for more TNB/Vox Machina.
Let us know what you think of this review in the comments below or share this post on Twitter with the Hashtag #TNBBookReview, or tweet with us @NerdBlitzPod.
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And finally, given the state of the world, do what you can to leave it a little bit better than you found it.
As difficult as that may be currently, it can have an impact far greater than you know.
Until next time, stay safe out there, gang.
