The Witcher, Vol. 8: Wild Animals

The Witcher (Dark Horse Comics) #8

by Bartosz Sztybor, Nataliia Rerekina (Illustrator), Patricio Delpeche (Colorist)

From land to sea, Geralt finds that where man and creature coexist, there is an unspoken rule—one where the skills of a witcher go beyond killing monsters.

When a job at sea takes a bloody turn, Geralt is washed ashore on a strange new land. Taken in by local hunters, they discover a bargain to be had—a task for an indebted witcher and a share in the reward. But an omnipresent eye watches their every move, and Geralt is soon dragged into a conflict between the hunters and a mysterious clan known to kill humans.

Created in close collaboration with CD Projekt Red! Collects issues #1–#4 of the Dark Horse Comics series The Wild Animals , written by Bartosz Sztybor ( The The Ballad of Two Wolves, Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners) with stunning art by Nataliia Rerekina ( Moonchosen ) and colors by Patricio Delpeche ( Strange Skies Over East Berlin ).

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics Manga, Supernatural, Mystery

112 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2024

About the author

Bartosz Sztybor - polski dziennikarz, publicysta, krytyk filmowy i komiksowy, scenarzysta komiksowy. Wielokrotny laureat konkursu na krótką formę komiksową na MFK. Publikował m.in. w pismach Ozon, Wprost, Esensja, Chichot, Machina, Cinema, periodykach komiksowych i zinach.

Reviews

[Atalántē · Rating 2 out of 5]

Najgorszy tom. Nie wiem co tu się stało z Geraltem, bardzo lubię jego postać, ale w tym komiksie nie mogłam go znieść. 2⭐

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in a long run of morally ambivalent Witcher stories, aided and abetted by some great art. For the most part I find these comics much closer to the kind of Geralt stories I liked best from the source material, not bogged down by Continent-spanning Politics and Intrigue.

[Václav · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3,9 of 5 for decent but short witcher story)
I have a soft spot for witcher lore and witcher stories. So I look forward to everything "witcher". I don't need Geralt or other main cast, but the mainstream usually does so comic series stick to that. And that's a bit of shame because it goes a bit weary. Like this story. Only four issues long, the art is fine-ish but works well and Geralt swings his classic mantra here. And it wasn't really satisfying, especially the bleak ending. I believe they wanted it to go open, "Witcher doesn't meddle" and "reality is shades of grey" kind of, but more than anything this story is a few pages short. I would love to read more Witcher stuff, but authors please - get good.

[~ Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geralt deve di nuovo scegliere il male minore... ma sceglie davvero? Sembra una bella quest che aggiungerei volentieri a The Witcher 3. Apprezzabilissimo il tratto della fumettista ucraina Nataliia Rerekina e le illustrazioni delle cover variant a fine volume sono spettacolari!

Affascinante il personaggio di Colm Coimeádaí: alto, capelli neri, occhi azzurri, di bianco vestito, senza un braccio, agilissimo, velocissimo e vegano incallito. Il suo si potrebbe definire "animalismo estremo", sebbene alcune sue affermazioni siano condivisibili, ma lascio ai posteri l'ardua sentenza.

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit that of all the comics read so far with this protagonist, this is the one I liked the least, both for the story and the drawings. Perhaps simply this messiah-like character did not "grab" me at all.

Ammetto che tra tutti i fumetti letti fino ad ora, con questo protagonista, questo é quello che mi é piaciuto di meno, sia per la storia che per i disegni. Forse semplicemente questo personaggio simil messia, non mi ha "preso" per niente.

I received from the Publisher a digital Advanced Review Copy in exchange for a honest review.

[Amber Loptien · Rating 4 out of 5]

PETA is now cannon to the Witcher universe.

[Shoggothey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chyba jeden z najgorszych Egmontowych Wiedźminów. Zbytnio przemoralizowany, poruszający tematykę już mocno przerobioną, a do tego dosyć przewidywalny (jeżeli Geralta się już zna).

Warto tutaj docenić kreskę, bo tak jak fabularnie i tematycznie komiks nie powala, tak pod względem kreski jest jednym z najlepszych wiedźminowych komiksów.

Zdziwiło mnie zakończenie (dosłownie 4 ostatnie strony) - doszło do jakiejś konkluzji, fabuła dobiegła końca, a wniosków z tego żadnych i wszystko zostało po staremu.

Dalej jest to jednak Wiedźmin (grunt, że Geralt nie miał Netflixowego medalionu), więc jak zawsze polecam.

[Kinga (oazaksiazek) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jak dla mnie to niestety jeden ze słabszych komiksów z tej serii.

Kreska świetna, pomysł ciekawy, ale wykonanie jakoś nie do końca mi siadło. Końcówka wręcz mnie zawiodła, bo wszystko jakoś tak nagle się skończyło i tyle.

Czytanie tej pozycji w autobusie nie jest dobrym pomysłem, bo ilustracje są upiorne...

2,75

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Michal Wojtowicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chyba najsłabszy tom.

[Executionereniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best one yet!

[Mateusz Śledzik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trochę się zawiodłem. Prosta, chyba trochę za prosta historia, która nijak mnie nie wciągnęła. Tak jak fabuły Sztybora bardzo lubię (wiedzminskie i cyberpunkowe), bo zawsze celnie budowały historię w oparciu o charakterystyczne cechy obu uniwersów, tak tutaj - zamiast Geralta można byłoby wstawić dowolnego innego protagonistę i nic by się nie zmieniło. Gdyby nie dobre rysunki, dałbym gwiazdkę mniej.

#twosentencereview

[Vit Raska · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,75*

[Piotr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Klasa. Chyba jedyny z serii, który zapadnie w pamięć. Wybitne rysunki. Dałbym więcej gwiazdek ale konflikt na którym zasadza się fabuła był już wielokrotnie przerabiany w kulturze.

[NMuller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Created account to save others the coin. I've collected most of the witcher stories. This one disappoints. I loved the artwork in this issue. It can be a bit abstract in others. The major issue is the story. It's meh, lame throughout. Even the setup is weak. I wasn't engaged at any point. There could have been something there with a different approach but the execution is poor. Its really surprising as there is nothing rushed about these issues. The breath takers concept really threw me. I was getting some heavy 'vegan' 'peta' vibes. Not good in a witcher comic.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just very bad.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

This Witcher story has everything I like: it is a one-off, there's a moral dilemma and the concept of who is good and bad is not clear. I would have given it a full five stars except for some elements that are out of place for a Witcher story.

Story: After an unfortunate mission at sea, Gerald washes up on shore on one of the islands in Skellige. After being rescued, he is told that the forest is home to a cult of sorts. Inevitably as Gerald meets them he discovers a group who believes all life is sacred, he is told that the real monsters of the island are the humans who kill and torture animals and monsters for pleasure.

This type of twisty-turny plot is nothing new in Witcher; the trope that the first person to hire Gerald is evil is almost a cliché. Yet this one is a bit different in that iI never figured who to root for or even whether everyone is just equally bad. The moral problems Gerald has to deal with cut a lot deeper this time beyond the "do not kill intelligent monsters" theme.

The art is good, if a bit uneven in places. Action is wonderfully depicted and for once the graphic violence hits home the way it should.

I highly recommend this. It's one of the best Witcher comics I've read, and rates high even among all Witcher stories in general. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Andra ♄ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️

A beautiful story about having to choose the lesser between two evils, similar in sentiment to the short story in the first book.

Geralt is stranded on an island where he gets into trouble and has to decide between killing a bloodthirsty jarl and his son, who hunt animals and monsters for pleasure, or a cult leader who was raised in the wild and kills the humans who hurt animals or monsters. When trying to be neutral and walk away proves impossible, Geralt tries to convince them to stop trying to kill eachother. When that also fails, he chooses to kill the cult leader.

While the story doesn’t really show the aftermath of the decision, apart from animals being treated poorly, I believe Geralt’s decision was in character. Despite the story trying hard to humanise the drowners, who in the games were far from intelligent creatures, I could never see Geralt saving drowners over humans. Most of the humans in question being just peasants trying to survive.

It did make me think and feel for both sides. I just wish there was more to the fact that the bloodthirst was the son’s and not the jarl’s. The plot twist landed but then didn’t go anywhere. Pity.

I would’ve loved to see this as a quest in the game!

[PrincAListicka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stejně jako u předchozích komiksů s Geraltem v hlavní roli jsem i tentokrát ráda, že jsem se do jeho světa mohla znovu vrátit, musím ale říct, že Divoká zvířata za mě bohužel nepatří mezi ty nejpovedenější. Vlastně ve mně nezanechala takřka žádný hlubší dojem, narozdíl třeba od předchozí Balady o dvou vlcích. Ta se mi i vizuálně líbila o dost víc.

Celkový dojem tentokrát o moc nevylepšila ani kresba, která je sice pěkná, nicméně v porovnání s ostatními díly spíše průměrná a nenabízí nic moc navíc.

Určitě stojí za zmínku, že je to nejspíš první příběh, ve kterém se pracuje s myšlenkou, že topivci a ostatní tvorové obývající tento svět možná nemusí být za každou cenu jen krvelačnými monstry zasluhujícími smrt. Zbytek příběhu je však již jen variací na morální dilema, se kterým už jsme se setkali mockrát v mnoha různých podobách.

Pokud tedy ještě ze světa Zaklínače nemáte tolik načteno, komiks vás nejspíš bavit bude, pokud ovšem patříte mezi skalní fanoušky, budete nejspíš po dočtení Divokých zvířat mít pocit, že tomu zkrátka něco chybí. Věřím však, že dalším dílem si zaklínačské komiksy opět vylepší reputaci.

[Ondřej Puczok · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tarzan sériovým vrahem? Tedy přesněji, tělesně postižený veganský ekoterorista a zároveň vůdce radikálního ostrovního kultu bojujícího za práva zvířat? Podivuhodné, a to jsem se ještě nezmínil o Geraltovi, jehož jediným úkolem v tomto díle je nedělat nic a vyhnout se všemu ději i rozhodování. A když už si myslíte, že jste viděli vše, tak přijde gore souboj ve stylu matrixu, kde se magicky během pár okének hlavní protagonista (ok, tak hlavní vedlejší) léčí a jeho oblečení čistí*, jedno náhodné divné odhalení, které by mělo být superdůležité, ale vyšumí, a konec bez čtenářského uspokojení. Graficky zajímavé, ale když to nemá silný děj, který by to táhl trochu víc, tak... Rozumím, že to bylo asi myšleno jako další díl dumání Zaklínače nad hlubokými morálními dilematy, ale tohle je jako vybírat si, zda si bodnu hřebík do pravé nebo levé ruky a mezitím přijít o nohy. A bohužel to ani nemá žádný pořádný vtip či říz.

*Jestli jsem se přehlédl, tak bych snad jen dodal, že ta kresba není nejpřehlednější a převedení děje do okének zrovna nejvýstižnější.

[mika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought the comic today and was interested to see what's it all about.
The story is about a group who values every creature the same, they want no animal, no monster to be killed, to be handled unfairly and there's this other group, the lord of this island, that kills for fun, to release stress and show off his skills.
Geralt stands between these two factions, but not in typical Geralt fashion, he doesn't choose a side. He tries to appeal to both of them, sees how the two do the wrong thing.
Sadly, the story moves on so fast, you don't really get the time with those characters to see their reasons. And as soon as it gets interesting with the wife and son of the lord, the story just ends, someone dies and Geralt moves on with his life.
It really was an interesting concept, but too short to really make something out of it.
But I really liked the art and the different cover arts, fantastic job in that department. A 3 out 5 stars for me.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Witcher series of graphic novels is much more preferable to the text format stories for me; Both published formats have greater darkness and depth of human philosophy than the visual formats whether gaming or streaming.
That said, sometimes the blurring of black and white/ good and evil appears so extreme that the resultant shades of grey make for very difficult understanding.
In this, the eighth graphic format, the questioning and social ridicule of veganism is explored and not answered. Instead, the question of what it is to be sentient, or human again is explored as is frequently the underlying theme for all of these graphic novels.
Fans if the Witcher genre will easily flock to this new publication; and it does but add to the context and visualisation of that universe. However, it will not be lost to non-fans who pass it by.

[Baruš · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divoká zvířata sú ôsmym dielom komiksového Zaklínača a tentokrát som bola rozpoltená z tých recenzií.

Opäť príbeh spestrujú nádherné ilustrácie a nechýba v nich ani veľa krvi či násilia.

Tento raz je príbeh viac morálne zameraný. Máme tu veľa otázok, ktoré môžeme poznať už od Geralta. Či je správne zabíjať príšery, ak nikomu neubližujú, a, že aj človek môže byť v podstate monštrum.

Táto časť sa mi veľmi páčila. Zaujalo ma, akým smerom sa dej podieľal, bolo tam veľa bojových scén, ale naopak aj tých intelektuálnych? Asi tak by som to nazvala.

Jediné, čo mi prišlo zvláštne, bol koniec. Neviem, či som ho pochopila, alebo mal byť taký otvorený a každý čitateľ si mal z toho zobrať to svoje. Ktovie.

Každopádne aj tento diel mi toho veľa ponúkol a už sa teším, keď sa znova vrátim za Geraltom z Rivie.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

These books get worse and worse with each one. They always ha some flaws going against the main canon but now this is just straight up awful and bizarre. Geralt is an enviromentalist in this book?? And a fighter for animal rights? An exterminator of animals practically if i have to remind you. DOnt buy this its not even remotely close to witcher someone wanted to write something else but knew nobody would even bother with something this shit without the Witcher brand being attached.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geralt finds himself trapped between two warring factions whose outlook on monsters differs massively.

There's a very good moral quandary at the heart of this book, but it's very hard to find. It tries to present both sides equally so you can make up your own mind, but the actual conclusion is unfulfilling for everyone involved, from Geralt and the two factions to the reader.

Not the best Witcher book, for certain. A good idea, but not as well-presented as it could be.

[Universal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ładne toto i niewiele więcej. Ale nie broni się jako historia - zbyt jaskrawe przedstawienie stron, moralizatorstwo, brak zakończenia. Emocji właściwie brak, raczej irytacja. Geralt (który nie przypomina mi zbytnio oryginału) po prostu odchodzi, proste czy wręcz prostackie podejście do neutralności wiedźmina. Nie ma tu niuansów, nie ma szarości - po prostu wszyscy są durni lub wprost źli.

Jeden z najgorszych tomów. Nie rozumiem skąd regres.

[Bookwalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the things I enjoy most about the Witcher is the moral questions that it puts forward about humanity and how we respond to the challenges we face. In this case, a question of what makes someone truly monstrous and how we treat animals. I think this books contains one of the most interesting depictions of a Nature-loving villain I’ve seen. Good read, but I would not recommend it if you’re squeamish about gore.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those stories where no one's really in the right and Geralt is caught in the middle. He washes up on this island and gets stuck between two factions. One thinks that all life including animals and monsters should be treated like humans. The other is the opposite. It's pretty solid stuff.

[Pulek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jakoś mnie ten tom mocno nie przekonał do siebie. Mamy jak zwykle charakterystyczny dla Wieśka klimat, potwory i dylematy moralne przed którymi stoi Wiedźmin. Natomiast konkluzja jakoś się rozmyła i nie wybrzmiała. Poza tym trochę schematyczna historia, zwłaszcza porównując do świetnego poprzedniego tomu.

[Lucien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like these comics and the games tend to forget that geralt's central ethos is literally not killing "monsters" or humans unless they have done harm. like that's always been his character, why are they always acting like this is a hard decision for him to make lol