The hunger and the dusk vol 1 by G. Willow Wilson

Illustrated by Chris Wildgoose, colored by Msassyk and Diana Sousa, lettered by Simon Bowland

The world is dying - scarce farmland is being fought over by orcs and a desolated human population, but now the two sworn enemy races find themselves in a tentative alliance against a more violent foe - the Vangol. In an effort to ally the races, Tara, a promising young healer and cousin to one of the most powerful orc overlords, is stationed with the human warrior Callum Battlechild and his group known as “The Last Men”. Their mission is to discover how the Vangol are finding their way so far in from the shores where they land, but to also secure the shrinking farmlands from further violence.

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This was an engrossing fantasy with a rich world that I am excited to find out more about in volume two. This volume only scratched the surface of the complex society of the orcs, and we barely got to see why there was such a collapse amongst the humans, but all that did was pique my curiosity. What we saw of the Vangol was also mysterious and ferocious, but there were hints that they also had reasons behind their actions that were left unexplained.  I appreciate the way Wilson built characters through flashback sequences and political intrigue but balanced that with action  that drove the story forward.

The illustration team of Wildgoose, Msassyk, and Sousa created a beautifully colored fantasy world that fully engrossed me as I was reading, and it was full of some amazing details. I enjoyed the character designed, especially the different details for the orcs in the different climates we saw them in throughout the book.

There is one sexual scene where the overlord and his wife finally get to consummate their marriage, so teen collection development folks be warned.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12

Publisher: IDW
Publication Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9798887240824 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: High School, Comicbooks, Fantasy, Action Adventure, Magic, War, ​IDW