Review by Ian Keogh
When Bartosz Sztybor took over writing The Witcher comics, the franchise wasn’t just a successful series of fantasy novels and console games, but the TV show based on them had begun airing. However, Sztybor makes no concessions of introducing the TV supporting cast. He maintains the idea of Geralt as an isolated and somewhat shunned figure undertaking a disreputable trade as originated in the novels, along with a Witcher’s life being somewhat hand to mouth. If there are monsters to deal with money is earned, but if not, it isn’t, and as Fading Memories starts Geralt is broke. It’s then that he learns of a place where foglets are attacking children, which is unheard of.
Geralt and his ilk occupy a dark and gloomy medieval world, and Amad Mir really puts in the effort to establish it, laying the shadows on thick, having most of the action occur at night, and supplying a gothic air to the small communities. It’s reflected in the twilight colours applied by Hamidreza Sheykh. The people reflect their circumstances, largely haggard and downbeat, and Mir fills the locations. If Geralt’s visiting a pub other people are there, and the monsters manifest in multiples also.
Sztybor surprises with an early injection of tragedy, and sets up an even more disturbing situation than usual by showing a child relentlessly bullied and abused by their mother. There’s no certainty about who this is. Is it a flashback to Geralt’s youth or one of the children latterly killed by the foglets? There’s no great mystery as to why creatures are bolder than usual, with the finger consistently pointing in one direction, and Geralt actively hampered in doing his job, but the finely crafted mood withstands this.
Fading Memories is a clever title for an engrossing story, and going forward Sztybor and Mir have a great handle on the character and the mood combining for a successful Witcher graphic novel. Fading Memories is merged with the previous Of Flesh and Flame and with the next volume Witch’s Lament in the second Witcher Library Edition if you’re going for the hardback, or second Witcher Omnibus in paperback.
