Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Chris Metzen, Comics, dark horse, entertainment, Peter Lee, world of warcraft

World Of Warcraft Chronicles Vol 1 – 24 Trades of Christmas

Published Sun, 18 Dec 2016 16:00:21 -0600

This one is not really a trade, but it would make a great gift, tells the collected history of a vast universe of characters and has amazing art. So I think it counts. Just before the Warcraft movie came out earlier this year, Dark Horse Comics published World of Warcraft Chronicles Volume 1. It's a huge book… or rather tome… it feels like a tome, and it's only the first part of the story.

World of Warcraft is an MMORPG that at it's peak had over 12 Million subscribers around the globe. It has a rich history that goes back to the dawn of existence… I don't mean it was created then, I mean the history traces back to that point. Blizzard Entertainment has spent years building up this universe and now it's sharing it in chronological order over multiple volumes.

The first volume focuses on everything that happened up until about 40 years prior to the opening of the Dark Portal. This is a huge moment in Warcraft Lore as it is what pits the Humans vs the Orcs which was what the original Warcraft RTS game focused on. It tells of the founding of the universe, the forming of Azeroth, the battle of Titans, what drove Sargeras to maddness, all the way up until Medivh hits adulthood. This book works in the same way that the Silmarillion does for the Lord of the Rings, filling in the backstory for the characters we meet later on and connect the dots that would take too much time to do while in the game. The book gives a detailed explanation of how each school of magic is derived, and how they interact with each other.

The book is written by Chris Metzen, Matt Burns and Robert Brooks and includes 20 full-page illustrations by Peter Lee. What makes this book special is that Metzen, up until his recent retirement, was the Senior Vice President, Story and Franchise development. He was the guiding hand for the Warcraft universe, he was a major part of the motion picture and he helped put this book together. This is the guy who knows what's what and all the secrets. And he's involved in the second volume that is due out in March of 2017.

This would be a great gift for anyone that plays Warcraft, and with a second volume coming, you have a gift idea for their birthday as well. It's a good read and would make a nice coffee table book. It would also be a nice gift for any up-and-coming writers as an example on just how to built a universe.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!