Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: The Edge of the World

Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher #3

by Andrzej Sapkowski (Creator), Magdalena Salik, Tommaso Bennato (illustrator)

A devilish tale full of shocking twists is presented in this graphic novel adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's original short story.

Work is hard to come by for Geralt and with Dandelion, not a subject for his rhymes or ballads. As they travel to the edge of the known world, townsfolk speak of many stories but it seems that’s all they are—recitals of monsters and superstition—until a man follows Geralt with news of a devil scavenging the local fields. Rid the beast, but under no condition is he to be killed. Only how can Geralt hunt the creature, for there is no such things as devils . . .

This graphic novel is the third in a series of adaptations from Sapkowski's acclaimed short story collection The Last Wish!

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

56 pages, Hardcover

Published January 21, 2025

About the author

Andrzej Sapkowski, born June 21, 1948 in Łódź, is a Polish fantasy and science fiction writer. Sapkowski studied economics, and before turning to writing, he had worked as a senior sales representative for a foreign trade company. His first short story, The Witcher (Wiedźmin), was published in Fantastyka, Poland's leading fantasy literary magazine, in 1986 and was enormously successful both with readers and critics. Sapkowski has created a cycle of tales based on the world of The Witcher, comprising three collections of short stories and five novels. This cycle and his many other works have made him one of the best-known fantasy authors in Poland in the 1990s.

The main character of The Witcher (alternative translation: The Hexer) is Geralt, a mutant assassin who has been trained since childhood to hunt down and destroy monsters. Geralt exists in an ambiguous moral universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At the same time cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to Raymond Chandler's signature character Philip Marlowe. The world in which these adventures take place is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology.

Sapkowski has won five Zajdel Awards, including three for short stories "Mniejsze zło" (Lesser Evil) (1990), "Miecz przeznaczenia" (Sword of Destiny) (1992) and "W leju po bombie" (In a Bomb Crater) (1993), and two for the novels "Krew elfów" (Blood of Elves) (1994) and "Narrenturm" (2002). He also won the Spanish Ignotus Award, best anthology, for The Last Wish in 2003, and for "Muzykanci" (The Musicians), best foreign short story, same year.

In 1997, Sapkowski won the prestigious Polityka's Passport award, which is awarded annually to artists who have strong prospects for international success.

In 2001, a Television Series based on the Witcher cycle was released in Poland and internationally, entitled Wiedźmin (The Hexer). A film by the same title was compiled from excerpts of the television series but both have been critical and box office failures.

Sapkowski's books have been translated into Czech, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. An English translation of The Last Wish short story collection was published by Gollancz in 2007.

The Polish game publisher, CD Projekt, created a role-playing PC game based on this universe, called The Witcher, which was released in October 2007. There is also a mobile version of the game which has been created by Breakpoint Games and is being published by Hands-On Mobile in Western Europe,Latin America and Asia Pacific.

The English translation of Sapkowski's novel Blood of Elves won the David Gemmell Legends Award in 2009.

Reviews

[Ben A · Rating 3 out of 5]

The next entry in the series of graphic novels adapting Andrzej Sapkowski's original The Witcher short stories. I enjoyed how it explored the world of the Witcher, but the art didn't quite work for me and so the graphic novel ended up being just okay. I would really like to see them up their art game, as the adaptions themselves have been really well done.

Special Thanks to Dark Horse Comics and Edelweiss Plus for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh short story turned into a comic. Way too short for me to call it a graphic novel

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tommaso Bennato's illustrations are different from those of those who have drawn the Issues I have read so far of The Witcher. It took me a while to get used to them, but I have to say that I eventually like them even though he looks nothing like Henry Cavill. The story is also sort of funny but certainly not unforgettable.

Le illustrazioni di Tommaso Bennato sono diverse da quelle di coloro che fino ad ora hanno disegnato gli albi che ho letto di The Witcher. Ci ho messo un pochino ad abituarmi, ma devo dire che alla fine mi piacciono anche se il protagonista non assomiglia per niente a Henry Cavill. Anche la storia é carina ma certo non indimenticabile.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

[Ver · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the first the creature in the story appears strong and intelligent. Therefore, the witcher wants to negotiate with him. Later it turns out the creature is scared and fooled by the others whom he was helping. The situation got completely out of hand and the Witcher got barely alive. I don't remember being it exactly this way in the story, it was written in a much better way. But it was nice that Jaskier was there for a change.

[Filip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good story that the comic doesn't do justice. The art is worse than in previous and the key moments - especially the Geralt/Filavendrel argument don't land that hard, same with Jaskier's sudden bravery, Torque's intervention and the finale. That didn't mean I didn't enjoy it but there are some things that are easier to adapt and some that are more difficult.

[Aluniuha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Całkiem dobrze się czytało, trochę mało czytelna treść i rysunki.

[Z książką po mojemu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo lubię te komiksowe adaptacje, bo jednak jest dużo łatwiej przyswajalna niż w formie powieści. Dla mnie styl autora jest toporny, a w formie komiksu czyta się zdecydowanie lepiej.

[OmniBen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
Yet another in the ever-growing list of Witcher stories that are either painfully average, or just plain painful. Then again, it's 2026, so it's all just par for the course, really. Wasn't as galling as some of the other stuff I've had the misfortune of reading. Though it did commit the cardinal sin of being unimaginably dull and boring. The solid art deserved a better story. There is an abundance of great stuff you could do with this character and this world. It's really not that hard. 2/5


OmniBen.

[Bartek Maciej · Rating 5 out of 5]

bardzo fajny rysunek, diaboł i jakie świetnie narysowani

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

This comic is based on the original short story by Andrzej Sapkowski and has all the classical elements of a Witcher story - Geralt and Dandelion arrive in a town looking for work and upon taking it on, start to question whether everything is as it appears. The comic is quite short so it's not really possible to give out more details without also giving away the plot.

It would be unfair to call the story predictable given that it's one of the originals on which many other more recent Witcher stories are built on. But if you're an experienced Witcher reader the twist won't exactly surprise you. It is still enjoyable to see how things unfold and the end itself is at least a bit surprising.

The art in is not the best I've seen in the recent Witcher comics. It doesn't detract from the story, but I've never been a fan of a bit messy, thick-line style. The panels are great and interesting though.

For a Witcher fan, this is one of the 'middle' stories. There's nothing super memorable here but it does have all the elements you would expect in a good Witcher story. Grab this is you are desperate for Witcher content - otherwise, there are better Witcher comics out there. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geralt and Jaski- I mean, Dandelion, run afoul of a 'devil', only to find that the truth of the matter is much deeper than it first appears.

Not a bad set-up, a decent twist, but the ending feels like it comes out of nowhere. Maybe it was a failing of the art, but I had to double check who someone was at the end, since they were meant to be someone we knew, and I thought it was someone entirely new. Otherwise the visuals are fine enough.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all Witcher comics, it's twisty, dark, and brief. The Witcher and lute guy show up in a dead-end valley at the end of the world, encounter a jerk monster, get captured by elves, and then saved by a more magical elf?. It's fast, looks good, and is pretty fun. Can't fault it one bit.

[Cris M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything that does justice to the original material gets a 5/5 from me. Sure, Dandelion should have been blonde but that matters very little. What counts is that it captured the atmosphere of the original short story.

[Fredrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toss a coin to your Witcher. ⚔️🐺⚔️

[The Ladies Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better adaptation than what Netflix gave us.

[Charles Eldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well paced stand-alone Witcher story with unique artwork. Pricey for the size, but a really enjoyable read.

[Antonio Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

el arte disminuye bastante la nota. Historia interesante

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad this one at least didn't involve SA. Overall, though, it felt kind of run of the mill.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story loses something in the adaptation to comic format. Read the book or watch the show.

[Martti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dol Blathanna, Lillede oru Lille? Sarviline kurat ehk sylvan ehk faun.

[Amelia Bonikowska · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nudaaaaaaaaaa

[Piotr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rysunki w porządku (choć sam diaboł może być postrzegany dyskusyjnie). Fabuła z początku ładnie się trzyma pierwowzoru, ale w drugiej połowie robi się już mniej spójna. I duży minus za wycięcie mojej ulubionej kwestii ("wiedźmak chutliwy jest ponad miarę wszelką").
Lekko zaniża średnią serii (która za chwile raczej wzrośnie, bo przecież Zielińska i Krajewska).

[Czterysta Czterdzieścicztery · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Kraniec Świata" nie jest moim ulubionym opowiadaniem wiedźmińskim, ale oczywiście ma swoje ważne miejsce, to tu pierwszy raz spotykamy Jaskra, Filavandrela i Toruviel. Lepiej poznajemy o co chodzi elfom i jakie jest ich obecne położenie. Magdalena Salik zrobiła sprawną adaptację, którą dobrze się czyta, a właściwie wszystkie najistotniejsze fragmenty pierwowzoru zostały uwzględnione.
Tommaso Bennato operuje sprawną i przyjemną dla oka kreską, w tym ciekawy projekt Jaskra i Geralt który w adaptacjach opowiadań wygląda niczym w książkach (rozpuszczone włosy, spięte opaską okalającą głowę i częściowo zakrywającą bliznę na czole), a nie jak w grach. Az się prosiło o format albumowy, a nie zeszytowy, żeby lepiej zaprezentować rysunki. Bardzo doceniam zamknięcie opowieści w odpowiedniej objętości 50-kilku planszach, zamiast rozwlekać na 5 zeszytów.
Co mi nie przypadło do gustu w tym komiksie, to projekt Diaboła, ni to straszny, ni to zabawny, trochę pokraczny (ale w porównaniu do netflixowej wersji - klasa światowa) i bardzo ciemna kolorystyka, a tu mamy przecież Dolinę Kwiatów, przydałyby się kolory jak w lipcowy, upalny dzień na polach pełnych żyta i łąkach pełnych kwiatów. Zabrakło mi też opisu "wiedźmaka" z księgi cytowanego przez wioskową starszą.

Scenariusz: ***
Rysunki: ***

[Zuzia]

Sprawna adaptacja, są wszystkie najważniejsze momenty, świetna kreska, ktoś w opiniach napisał, że kolorystyka mogłaby być inna, żywsza i oddająca klimat Doliny Kwiatów i w sumie rzeczywiście się z tym zgadzam. Świetny projekt Jaskra, bardzo mi się podobał!! Diaboliczny taki no ujdzie, ale Geralt w tym konkretnym wydaniu CUDOWNY!

[autumnlove · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5