In case you haven’t been keeping track, it’s been almost three weeks since “Game of Thrones” seventh season ended, and we won’t get any more hot dragon/zombie action until 2019 (maybe 2018 if the Lord of Light loves us). So, to fill that “Thrones” void, I went back and reread some of the “Game of Thrones” comics. Dynamite Comics publishes these bad boys and they are meant to closely follow George R. R. Martin’s first novel in the series which is called (you guessed it) A Game of Thrones.
All in all, this series does a fine job. It was a cool idea that was well executed. The creators, Daniel Abraham (script) and Tommy Patterson (pencils) set out on an impressive undertaking. For each page of text in the novel, they attempted to adapt that page with artwork in comic book form. This made for a 24-issue series of 29 pages per issue.
-
Related Story: Has ‘Game Of Thrones’ Finally Jumped The Shark?
While I think this is really cool, I can see where it might not be the first place to further your exposure to the Song of Ice and Fire universe. Those of us that have read the novels and/or watched the TV series already know the story of the first season. But worry not, for the night is dark and full of comics.
If you are in the mood for something you may not have read before, I highly recommend The Hedge Knight series. Published by Jet City Comics, this story occurs 90 years before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire and follows the story of Ser Duncan the Tall (known as Dunk) and his squire Egg. A hedge knight is a wandering knight without a master. They roam Westeros looking for gainful employment as most are very poor.
Dunk and Egg meet and quickly share many great adventures. The story was originally written by George R. R. Martin in a fantasy anthology series titled Legends. This adaptation is scripted by Ben Avery and drawn beautifully by Mike S. Miller.
A short tale, but very worth the read, The Hedge Knight will bring you back to Westeros and provide worthwhile supplemental information about the wider Game of Thrones universe. It is followed by two sequels from the same creative team, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight, the latter of which was recently published by Bantam books.
So, there you have it. If you read one page a day from each of these books we might have new Thrones when you’re finished. Winter has finally come to Westeros, but hopefully with this material, the night won’t be so long for you.
