White Wolf have have just released a PDF of Exalted Volume 1 of the new Exalted comic. I thought I’d check it out.
I was expecting to be pleased. The artwork in Exalted has always appealed to me. I was bang in White Wolf’s target market for the game – an anime fan, someone looking for something different than the Greek and Nordic influenced fantasy world Tolkien created for us and someone willing to mix political gameplay with high powers. The artwork was what had me reach for the book and kept me on returning to look at the supplements.
Sure enough, Exalted Volume 1 from UDON does not disappoint. There’s plenty of curvy anime style art, plenty of choreographed action scenes and supernatural stunners.
I’m not sure how much more than “does not disappoint” I wanted. I guess I was wanted to be knocked off my feet impressed. That was a tough challenge to set UDON. I wasn’t blown off my feet.
Here’s the thing, though, for the few bucks the 160 paged PDF comic cost – it’s fantastic value and a perfectly entertaining way to spend the time. I will buy the next volume and isn’t that the most important test?
My suspicion is that as the the volumes keep coming and the plot ratchets up that the comic will become far more engaging.
I don’t want to give the plot away – but there’s a risk of spoiler here. Stop reading if you’re worried. I thought we had a character introduced early on in the comic to act as the intermediary between the reader and the Circle of Solars. This was the character who the others would explain the world setting too and therefore provide that in-dialog commentary used to orientate the reader. That’s the character we, as readers, are encouraged to relate too.
I was wrong. We don’t have that character. That investment I put into him was a waste. That’s annoying. That made me flick more quickly through the last couple of pages. All I was doing was looking for the twist in the tail.
It’s worth noting that the Exalted comic is more than just a comic. It’s a fat PDF with plenty of pages. The last dozen or so aren’t comic at all – they’re extra Exalted material. There are NPCs and new powers. If you’re a fan of the Exalted RPG and you’re looking for a cheap and fun way to get hold of more crunch then you’ll certainly be tempted by the comic.
There you have it. Wasn’t blown away. Was pleased. Annoyed towards the end and left worried about the direction of the story but I will buy the next one. I’d recommend the comic to any anime gamer or true Exalted RPG fan.
