Thanks to NetGalley & IDW Publishing for the advanced e-copy.

4.5 stars
What an amazing beginning to this fantastical story of war, survival and alliances.

In this world, humans and orcs are the only species still alive. They have been at war with each other for ages. But lately their conflict is not one based on hatred, but on survival. The land is dry and the cattle is dying, the world is at the brink of extinction. Humans and orcs are battling each other for land. The story begins when a group of orcs scouts find a human village, but they don't get the chance to prepare a raid, cause an ancient enemy is upon them. The Vangol. They are fast, and strong, and they come from the sea but no one sees them approach until is too late and only death is witness to their presence.
The Vangol are a threat to both civilizations, so an alliance is forged between orcs and humans. They must work together to survive this humanoid threat, and for that a young female orc called Tara joins a company of human warriors, The Last Men Standing, led by commander Callum Battlechild. However, centuries of prejudices and resentment threaten this new found peace.

This story surprised me. The plot might not seem original, yet I enjoyed this tale so much. The writing is great, we see both humans and orcs societies and points of view. I actually really enjoyed the pacing and the balance between storylines. We follow two main stories. One in the south, focused on Callum and Tara's adventures with The Last Men Standing, the other in the north where we follow Troth Icemane, Tara's cousin and Overlord of the Icemane dynasty, who's betrothed to Faran Stoneback from another powerful orc dynasty. With them we see how the orc society and alliances work. It's such an interesting point of view, and it gives so much to the worldbuilding, while keeping you engaged with the main characters and their complex relationships with each other.

And for me, that's the highlight in this book, the way characters are building new dynamics under urgent circumstances. Tara is an orc abandoned by their people to humans, but The Last Men Standing are loyal to a fault and the friendship that grows between them is fragile but so endearing. Meanwhile, Troth, who was raised with the belief that he'd end up marrying his cousin Tara, is thrust to a political marriage and forced to let the woman he loves go.
The friendships and relationships are so well written here, I have to confess that's the selling point of this title for me. It's the reason I will continue with the story and also purchase the physical copy. I want to see how Troth and Faran's marriage will fare, will they grow closer or fall apart in the presence of Tara? I also am so invested in Tara's relationship with Callum. For a while their friendship grew closer, but resentment and dire circumstances are the eternal threat to the foundation of this bond.

The artwork is also a highlight of this title. I love the character design. I love how the action scenes are depicted. It's not gory but there's a lot of violence. The danger of the Vangol feels heavy. The artwork just goes so well with the tone of the story.

Truly, I think this is a great first volume and I think if you love fantasy and the classic tropes within the genre you will enjoy this graphic novel. Like I said, though it's not maybe the most original premise, the writing is great and the focus on characters and the balance between action scenes, politics and survival are engaging and well done. Can't wait for the next volume because the ending leaves you wanting more.

WHAT?! That cliffhanger, though. I’m screaming. I want to know what happens!! This story was full of blood and gore, so I wouldn’t suggest it to someone with a weak stomach, but it was so full of action and suspense as well! I seriously need to know what happens next!

A fun adventure with adequate scale and worldbuilding

Thanks to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who did not love R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt series in book format, I realized with that series & now this one that comics are a great medium for fantasy stories that don't use longer form storytelling. As is the case with the other fantasy comics I've read, most of the enjoyment comes from the merging of story (which tends to fall on the simpler and clunkier side) with visuals that add some much needed flair. In <i>The Hunger and the Dusk</i>, the setup is the best aspect presented. I love the change of approach to making the narrative revolve around orcs and humans having to find peace to defeat a mutual enemy. The scope, while large in theory, is told thru the lens of individual characters. The history of the world (when it's sprinkled throughout) is very enjoyable and fascinating to explore. Similarly, the characters are sufficiently interesting, the action is displayed very effectively, and the events that take place feel right at home within the narrative and I always enjoy a good adventure.

But on the other side, the main detractor that plagues this introductory volume is the dialogue and intentional focus of the plot. While the story is enjoyable enough to read, so much is told and not shown. Much of the dialogue is very typical, standard, and expected. The races don't get along, there are those falling in love, there is a hidden evil revealed-it's all executed in a very standard way. To note one specific highlight though, just after the halfway mark, dialogue is replaced by a narrator that gives some overview that helps the story feel more interesting rather than relying on clunky dialogue doing all the work. I think adding more narration and doing more showing for the characters would go a long way in future entries.

All being said, I'm interested to see where this story leads and am sufficiently intrigued by this first volume. I'm so glad there are more creators interested in doing traditional fantasy stories in comics and this was an enjoyable and worthy addition to that trend! I look forward to seeing where this story goes and hoping it can find some depth along the way!

Humans and Orcs have been fighting for generations, but a new threat has emerged that threatens to kill them all. They form an alliance and start fighting the new threat but will the alliance survive after generations of hating each other. Maybe we will find out in the next book.

Gorgeously illustrated and well-written. The Hunger and the Dusk doesn't reinvent the wheel, and it doesn't need to. So far, it's simply an enjoyable story set in a fairly interesting fantasy world that actually seems to be informed by meaningful history. The orc cultures are cool and the conflict between orcs and humans feels organic and makes tons of sense: environmental changes and wildfires are diminishing grazing fields for the orcs' livestock while humans are simultaneously encroaching on their territory to set up farms because they, too, need more resources, amplifying anxieties on both sides. I love how natural and sensible the mutual distrust feels, a result of decades of fighting over territories.

The "secret origin" of the Vangol seems fairly obvious to me, but I don't need a plot twist in this story and thus don't care. The Hunger and the Dusk knows what it wants to do and does it well imo. The characters are likable, the conflicts have the potential to get pretty interesting, and the gorgeous art and beautiful color work help elevate the comic book. Both G. Willow Wilson and Chris Wildgoose know what they're doing, so what can I say? It's good!

The art style is interesting, though the storyline is confusing at times. It feels more like a second volume than a first, plopping you in without fully explain what thing are. It would help to a have more in-depth knowledge of D&D to be able to genuinely understand this story, because as a reader without such knowledge, I found the plot to be quite confusing at time. Some characters and choices would have likely made more sense in that regard. I don't see myself continuing this series until I gain more outside knowledge, but this comic does set up the beginnings of a vast and intriguing story.

I love Wilson's writing, so I was hopeful, but sadly, the world just didn't grab me! I am normally shakey on fantasy, but comics have always gripped me, but not in this case. I felt like I was dropped into volume two, and I wish I had liked it more.

Arts Style is gorgeous. I really like the way they drew the Orc characters.
I normally read Korean manhwas. This was refreshing art style with a great story.
Fantasy, adventure, action and a unique romance story. I love the dynamics of each group with one another, it feels realistic especially having to work along side someone from a different culture.

Instantly my favorite G. Willow Wilson work to date - to flesh out the core dynamics and conflicts in an original fantasy world as quickly as this, AND give us a pretty large and far-flung cast of characters that we actually care about? No small feat. It gets better and better as it goes along. Loved how rich Wildgoose’s art is, too - each frame is so dense with detail without ever feeling overcrowded or too fussy. I’m very in on this series, which I feel silly for not knowing about until now. This trade was over too soon and I can’t wait to read more - this will probably something I start following monthly after reading this volume. Can’t wait to see where it goes.

As always, thanks to IDW and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was excellent. I really enjoyed the story. It was nicely paced and I became quickly invested in the story.

Plot:
Orcs and humans work together to fight Vagrols, an enemy so vicious, I had never read a more badass introduction to an enemy. The first ten pages hooked me, but the mystery, the action, and the budding romance kept me going. It was a steady predictable plot, but there were interesting moments thrown in.

Characters:
Callum Battleborn is figuratively born from battle. Orphaned from a war, he leads an incredible group of The Last Men. He’s a pretty straight forward leader, but his motives are pretty flimsy with getting the job done vs. caring for his men.
Tara is a healer with powers that are severely underplayed. She pretty much carries whatever scene she’s in. In the next installment, I hope to learn more about her.

Art:
I loved the character designs of the orcs. They’re not your stereotypical warriors. Even the Vagrols are horrific in their own design.

Overall: Thank you to #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of #TheHungerandtheDuskVol1. 5/5 Graphic Novel was approximately 170 pages and I finished it under an hour.

IDW Publishing provided an early galley for review.

The story right out of the gate has a different feel than most other fantasy adventures I've read. It definitely has to do with the way that Wilson presents the orc characters. These are not your parents' orcs; they are smart and funny and "human". That change from the typical is a welcome one.

Equally too, Wildgoose's art has a classic, clean approach to it. It reminds me of the comics I grew up on during the Bronze age. It also has an animation aspect as well that appeals to me.

All together, this is a very engaging volume of a story that I eagerly look forward to continuing.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

The Hunger and the Dusk Vol. 1, by G. Willow Wilson and Chris Wildgoose, is a vibrant and pacey graphic novel blending DnD tropes with great character beats. Following the adventures of a tentative human-orc alliance against an invading evil, this story offers a great balance between action, political intrigue and the kind of moving relationships that Wilson specialises in.

I definitely enjoyed this first volume, however I felt that the story was progressing quite slowly and in expected directions. The invading villains clearly have motivations of their own but they’re not explored, characters lash out but don’t always challenge their preconceptions, etc. I have faith these dimensions will be explored in time but I think releasing this ongoing series as standalone arcs (as IDW are) could benefit from more conscious narrative framing for each to offer greater satisfaction from each chunk.

This was quite nice!
Loved the art style! The story was also quite interesting and it kept me hooked the entire time.

I'm always going to read a fantasy graphic novel especially a Hugh fantasy one.

The Hunger and the Dusk follows enemies human Cal and Orc Tara who have to work together as a representative of their races partnership to fight off the new creature invaders from the sea.

The Hunger and the Dusk is an absolutely brilliant fantasy tale about 2 factions that are historically at odds with one another coming together in an effort to protect what's left of their dying world from the Vangol.

G. Willow Wilson tells an incrible story that's brought to life with Chris Wildgoose's amazing art!

Thank you IDW and NetGalley for the TPB ARC!

Rating: 4 stars

The Hunger and the Dusk is a graphic novel is about humans and orcs coming together after years of war to fight against a common enemy. I can see Warcraft fans absolutely loving this series, and most likely any Dungeons & Dragons fan will enjoy it as well.

The art and designs of the characters are incredible. I especially adored the Orc designs.

I think the heart of this comic is definitely the characters. I liked seeing the relationships grow and their backstories unfold.

I did feel the plot whilst it had its unique moments it felt like a storyline I’d seen a thousand times before. Tara herself is what made it a little different as well as the Orc culture.

I’ll probably read the next volume to see where it goes. It is still well written, with fantastic art and definitely created for an older audience. So if the story and art takes your fancy then I recommend it for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for granting me an Advance Reader Copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

The hunger and the dusk is a great fantasy comic with beautiful art. With very unique orc designs and a tall race that reminds me of Divinity original sins 2s elfs ( and of course humans ) we get a unique cast.

The story and its premise is quite basic but I don’t find anything wrong with that. Not every story needs to be the most unique thing ever written especially when the story really works.

I can’t wait to see what happens next honestly! Anyway great for orc fans

I liked this so much that I've added the comic to my watchlist so I can read the next issues as they come out. The fun thing about this comic is that there are a lot of familiar elements. If you're a fantasy fan, you know about Orcs and can easily be transported to a world where Orcs exist. Even with the familiar, almost D&D type storytelling, the story still manages to surprise you. The Vangol are a worthy and somewhat spooky adversary, plaguing both Orcs and Humans.

Of course, Humans and Orcs don't get along, so they must forge a tenuous alliance by allowing an Overlord's beloved cousin, Tara, to go with a human commander, Callum. Again, the story seems familiar; we see two outcasts of their kind, Tara and Callum, work together against the Vangol. While elsewhere we follow the Orcs and how they feel about this peace treaty. I do feel like there could have been more worldbuilding, and we could have seen more about humans. I didn't really get a sense of how magic or lack of works in this world. I know this is only the first section of what is set up to be a long saga, but it just felt like some backstory was missing.

Overall, this was a fun read, and I'm looking forward to the next issue in the series!

Thanks to Netgalley and IDW Publishing.

This was such a wonderful start to such a wonderful series. The world building, the humanization of every character, the fear increasing of the great evil even as we learn more, the budding romances, the complex cultures, the historic lore, all of it. The abrupt ending is frustrating mainly because I'm not sure there will be a sequel, which is just plain distressing to think about.
IDW, this is a series worth investing in. Please put some resources into continuing and growing this story, because the potential is limitless, and the ending was so abrupt, no answers.
Give us answers, please.

Thank you to Netgalley and IDW for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.