This has me soooo ready to play the game! 🎮
I've heard many great things about Cult of the Lamb and it has always intrigued me. This volume offers the backstory that I don't know if we get in game. I think starting with this story and getting hints of what is to come plus the complex character building will make the gameplay must cooler for me.

Artstyle is amazing, the story is very cool! Highly recommend!

If you’ve never played the game that this graphic novel comes from, firstly why not? secondly you still can!

Cute and gory in equal measures the game is such fun and this has been wonderfully adapted into a graphic novel of the gameplay story line.

Lamb is the last of his kind and the Bishops of The Old Faith to stop a prophesy from coming true and ending their reign of terror and bloodshed.

Lamb doesn’t stay as dead as the Bishops would have liked and is returned to life by the One Who Waits chained for all eternity to create a cult that will bring back… well we aren’t quite sure as there is duplicity and shadowed meaning throughout their meeting.

Lamb then returns and whilst getting bloody revenge for their own death they start building a following from the innocents that they saved from the Bishops. Thus the Cult of the Lamb begins.

This was a fun read, with an artwork that really brought the game to mind throughout, popping with colour and gore this was a non-stop read for me!

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was so cute and a fun read! I am very excited to play the game after this. The graphic novel was fun and exciting to look at and inspect the pictures! I absolutely adore the art style. The characters are lovable and silly. I am excited to see how much people love this once it comes out! ❤️

Absolutely adored this graphic novel! As a fan of the game this was a pleasure to read. The storywork as well as the artwork was beautiful and well fitting.

you definitely don't need to have played the game to enjoy this, but it does make the experience better being able to recognize the characters, lines, and little game mechanics throughout. I love that it is slightly darker and gorier than the game, delves into the storyline more, and makes the point of the game more tense. Also the writing was so much better than I expected. I do wish there was a bit more time spent building up the devotion between the followers and the Lamb, but overall such a solid adaptation

"Not a temple... No. it was supposed to be a home."

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni press for this e-ARC. Cult of the Lamb Vol 1 contains the first four issues of the CotL comic and delivers a goregous graphic novel for fans of the rogue-lite game of the same name. I think you could enjoy this collection without having played the game; with four issues included, we have the time to briefly meet the Bishops, learn about the first major location in CotL lore, and meet characters who have a truly fantastic graphic novel adaptation.

Nana's arc was very well done and surprised me, and I loved seeing Ratau's growth and development as he starts out as a bitter, jaded, fanatical follower of Narinder/the chained god. I also loved the way Clauneck was depicted, as they're one of my favorite characters.

The graphics are just as whimsically dark and delightful as those in the game, and I would pick up future volumes. Happy reading!

If you have played the game, you will love seeing the story come to life. Lamb has so much more personality in this story, as do many of the other characters. The writing is absolutely top notch, I feel like I'm reading fabled lore passed down by generations of storytellers. It's a vibe. The art is gorgeous, just as gorgeous as the game which is hard to do. Overall if you have played this game it's a MUST read, and if you read it you will be dying to play the game.

A fun story that is a nice introduction to the Nintendo game Cult of the Lamb (one I really hope to get into soon). The art was perfect, very reminiscent of the game's style. This was clearly put together very well and I love that the developers of this game hope to find more fans through different forms of media, as an ode to the original video game. I probably won't pick up the rest of the graphic novels in this series until I play the game, because I don't want to spoil it for myself, but consider my interest piqued. Alex Paknadel and Troy Little did a very good job on this, and I look forward to reading on.

4,75 ⭐️
I loved the game so much and that comics just as much! We get more into Lamb’s head and background which was great! I loved Nana too, so so much! And that from the very first minute she appears on the page. The art was of course stunning. It’s very fast paced and I couldn’t put it down. Now I cannot wait to read the following adventure of Lamb and their cult!

Such a brilliant adaptation from the game with new lore woven through and graphic panels to pour over.

This was a bit more gore heavy than I was expecting but it works so well it didn’t bother me at all. The illustrations pop off the page, and the demise of Leshy was glorious to read. I cannot wait for the next instalment and to get a physical copy.

I knew as soon as I saw this book up for grabs that if it was just like the game, I was going to love it. You follow along with Lamb in their journey with power, growing a cult following and revenge. Although there is a sinister sub plot too. The imagery is just like the game, storyline is just like the game but more fleshed out and is perfect for any cozy story lovers who like a little bit of blood and gore. Perfect for halloween.

I recently started playing Cult of the Lamb, and have been loving it so far, so I jumped at the opportunity to request this graphic novel, and I’m so glad I did! The illustrations are just as beautiful as they are in the game, and the story went over the founding of the cult as touched on in the game, but with more depth and flowing a bit more easily as a dialogue/comic strip style. This was a short read but an amazing one and I’m really excited for more in this series. Now to get back to playing the game, as this really put me in the mood to play it!

“Cult of the Lamb: The First Verse” by Alex Paknadel & Troy Little

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary: The Lamb, last of their kind, is sacrificed by the Bishops of the Old Faith. However, the one who waits below, offers the Lamb a deal: from a cult in their name, and defeat the Bishops and in return, unimaginable power will be given.

Thoughts:

This is a graphic novel based on the game, “Cult of the Lamb”. As a massive fan of the game, I absolutely loved this.

The artwork is stunning and really captured the essence of the game. The story was interesting, and does match up with the game, but appears to be forming it's own narrative.

Even if you haven't played the game, I feel people could easily pick this up. It doesn't rely on the reader having played it either; the story starts from the beginning of the game and adds in new things as well.

I'm so happy to have received this ARC so thank you to NetGalley and OniPress! 😘

THIS IS TERRIFYINGLY CUTE!

If you want a:

✅ Quick Read
✅ Video game turned into a Book/Graphic Novel
✅ Rougelike Fantasy Adventure
✅ A new book you can easily read and enjoy

THIS IS FOR YOU!!!

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The storyline is kinda unique for me. I have no idea how it goes at this point, since I haven't played the game... so I don't know how to rate the plot yet. But so far with 4 chapters in, it's terrifying goooood. The color scheme and the illustrations are just appealing to the eye. You just want to read more. So I'm gonna rate this a solid 4⭐!!!

An extremely good comic - even for readers, who don't know the game.
I myself did only know about the game from videos and social media, but I had a blast reading this!
The writing style is witty, the pacing is very pleasant and I absolutely adore the art style. This book manages to capture the border between cute and creepy perfectly and I really enjoyed the visuals.
I would definitely recommend this comic to everyone, who is either a fan of the game or enjoys horror media!

As someone who has been addicted to this game since release I was so excited to get an arc of this and I read it all in one day! I loved the art as always and the story was awesome! Can’t wait to be able to get a physical copy of this and see what comes next!

I really liked reading this adaptation! I’m a big fan of the game Cult of the Lamb, so being able to get an early look at the graphic novel was amazing!
The great thing about adaptations is that they change the existing media into something a bit more refined and intentional. The graphic novel Cult of the Lamb really diverts from the game Cult of the Lamb in a way that highlights the need for the player of the game to have humanity. Not to say that the Lamb doesn’t have humanity in them, it just comes later. We instead get more bloodthirsty vengeance from the Lamb right of the bat which I feel goes really well with the overall storyline.
As always, the cutesy art-style paired with the gore is so fun to see. I appreciate having slightly more fleshed out cult members with this adaptation! And the fact that all of the characters are basically genderless. This is a violent, sacrificial cult – who needs a gender?

OMG I loved this!! I NEED MORE! Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1 is a visually striking and darkly whimsical graphic novel that blends elements of horror and satire. Set in a world where a lamb becomes the leader of a cult, the story explores themes of faith, power, and manipulation with both humor and a sinister edge. The artwork is bold and expressive, perfectly complementing the twisted yet engaging narrative. With its unique concept and vivid visuals, Cult of the Lamb offers a fresh and entertaining take on the complexities of belief and control.

I haven’t played a lot of the game, but the The First Verse feels like a very faithful adaptation. There’s only a couple places game mechanics come up in passing, purely because they’d leave a weird gap if not addressed.

Otherwise we get to see our innocent sacrifice become an avenger and, ultimately, a corrupted idealist. There’s some great bits of character here, as well as wonderful interactions with Ratou and Nana, the first cultist Lamb rescues.

Lamb is described with they/them pronouns, presumably because they are the player character, but it adds a nice touch to the overall feel of the book.

Little’s art captures the essence of the game while adding extra details and character expressions to flesh out the story. I particularly like how he handled the shift between Lamb the rescuer and Lamb in destroyer mode - a shadowy silhouette with narrowed red eyes, always captured in movement.

The First Verse ends on a somber note, with a promise of dark arcs to come.

I absolutely adore the video game Cult of the Lamb. It's so wrong in all the right ways and it's kind of adorable to be the maybe-not-so-evil leader of all your cute/horrifying/beloved/detested little culties. (To be clear, this is not in any way advocating for cults in real life, this is about a VIDEO game in which you pretend to be a cult leader, cults with real humans = serious bad news) I love naming them after silly things like K-pop stars or items in my grocery orders.

So I was pretty enthused to see there was going to be a graphic novel version. I wasn't sure what to expect, because in the game the lamb doesn't get any individualized personality, you get to choose what the lamb does because you're playing as the lamb. To make a graphic novel they have to give the lamb and the followers personality. It was interesting.

In the graphic novelization of the game the lamb becomes the leader somewhat reluctantly, we see Ratau pushing them to do things they don't really want to do, while Nana, their first follower tries to keep them grounded and content. Eventually the lamb realizes that as they have gathered followers the burden then falls to them to care for their followers, keep the camp clean, provide food. So they realize they must venture out into the Darkwood again to provide. But what happens to the cult while the Lamb is away? What might they do?

I really loved that they kept the lambs pronouns they/them and didn't force gender onto any of the characters, they don't do that in the game and I appreciated them avoiding doing it in the print too. There are a lot of fun easter egg elements of the graphic novel that you'll really love if you're a fan of the game as well. This graphic novel was a fun read. If you liked the game you're going to enjoy this too.

As an avid Cult of the Lamb player, I knew I had to pick this up when it was up for review. I love the artstyle of the game and that really came across in the graphic novel, and the story felt really consistent with the world and the lore that I know and love.

Really really enjoyed this, and can't wait for more!

this was SUCH a fun read, I had a blast and was grinning every time I opened the book. As such a huge fan of the game, it was awesome to be able to see the lore of the world come to life and spend more time with the Lamb. The art is absolutely stunning, and has that special touch that made the game so instantly loveable. I can't wait to buy a physical copy and see how beautiful it looks in print!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Oni Press for the advanced copy!

I loved the game and when I saw this I knew I had to read the lamb’s story too. The art is amazing and I was surprised it still followed the game story line pretty well. This comic is as good as the actual game. 10/10

I loved every second of this. I love the game and this graphic novel just added more for me. I hadn’t expected to get attached during this as usually graphic novels aren’t long enough for me to attach to characters but I did with this one.

I also really love the artwork, it encompasses everything the game does and compliments it really well.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED the game and I LOVE the comic! Just a quick heads-up! You don't need to know the game to understand the comic! The story is very close to the events of the game, but just captures the whole thing more emotionally through the panels and art imo. I didn't think it was possible to make sense of a roguelike, a building and management simulation and an action adventure in a comic, but it's been done and it's great!! The art is cute and the fights are relentless, and kudos to writer Alex Paknadel and artist Troy Little for pulling it off! A fantastic blockbuster-like comic debut! I had so much fun!

Well organized and illustrated. This game has such a 'cult' following (excuse my pun) I do expect this to be wildly popular. That the author has scraped an interpersonal plot together out of a dungeon crawling game is delightful. Some may balk at how the story is gore-y, but anyone who was into FNAF (Five Nights at Freddies) Is bound to be a fan of this.

I was so excited when I saw this book I was so excited! I absolutely adore this game and I know the story but seeing it in graphic novel form is just really exciting. I love that people who don't play the game can read the story and finally understand what I'm rambling about. I can't wait to make all of my friends read this!

What a delightful dive into a world where cuteness and darkness blend!
Lamb is adorable & charming, making it easy to root for him as he navigates the treacherous path of cult leadership. I love Lamb’s journey to overthrow the oppressive Old Faith and establish his own cult.
The color palette used is dark and rich perfectly capturing the eerie atmosphere of the story.

Cult Of The Lamb Vol. 1 - Alex Paknadel
Pub date: Dec 3rd 2024

The artwork by Troy Little is both cute and horrifying, a perfect match for the story’s themes.
I feel like this graphic novel stays true to the game’s essence, it also expands the mythology in intriguing ways.

Thank you @onipress & @netgalley

This started off as a mild 3-star book for me, but definitely ended as a 5-star. I think it can be difficult to turn a video game into a compelling narrative, but this amazing -- I loved the dynamic art, the pacing of the story felt reasonable, and I was able to feel connected to the characters. There were fun moments of comic relief littered amongst more serious, emotional moments.

It was a fun read, very entertaining. I read it all in a single sitting, which has to count for something.

Very happy with this graphic novel adaptation of the hit indiegame, "Cult of the Lamb." 100+% recommend. Definitely one of my favorite graphic novels this year.

I feel this graphic novel is a very faithful adaptation to the premise, art style, and lore, while telling an original story of how the game's story would work. It's not afraid to tell a dark, sometimes heartbreaking story within its cute, accurately depicted art style. A great job is done here to balance "cute," "dark," "occasionally humorous," and "serious/heart-breaking when it needs to be."

As a fan who hasn't been able to play the game yet, I feel this story seems easy-to-read and understand for both the game's existing players, those who were on the fence (like me), or new to the game. Honestly, if anyone isn't a fan of the game's gameplay, I think reading this graphic novel is easily a good substitute for being a fan and keeping up with the lore.

I'm looking forward to future volumes and how they depict the rest of the story.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author/illustrator for this advanced copy. Definitely a highlight of why I love NetGalley and the graphic novel genre.

I love this book! The story is a clever adaptation of the game. It gives more of a backstory to the world of CotL and the Lamb's predicament. The Lamb is given a distinct personality and moral compass. Ratau is fleshed out more and has an interesting triangular dynamic with the lamb and a new character. Assorted Old Faith cultists are given little bits of banter that make you realize that they are people, too. The dialogue sounds like it came straight from the game and it ends in a satisfying way that leaves you excited for more. The art is absolutely beautiful, featuring lots of lighting changes and texture. It's the perfect balance of cute and gory. Looking forward to Volume 2!

I have actually never played the game myself, but heard a great deal about it, so I cannot say too much about how the novel compares to the game, but the novel can easily stand on it's own, which is a plus.
We follow our main character Lamb, who is offered the chance to revenge their death in return for starting a cult in the name of an old god in order to overthrow the new gods. The stroy and it's characters were rich and had an interesting depth, and the drawing style is expresssively detailed, though in some parts a bit graphic, but still quite cute.
I highly reccommend this book to fans of the game, but even if you haven't played it (yet) the novel is really great on its own as well! I'm already looking forward to the next volume to see where the story leads us and what dicisions Lamb makes regarding the way they want to lead their cult.

Cult of the Lamb: The First Verse by Alex Paknadel is the first volume in a graphic novel series based on the popular Nintendo Switch game Cult of the Lamb. Much like the game, you follow the story of Lamb, the last of their kind, an innocent who has been unwillingly sacrificed by the Bishops of the Old Faith to stop a prophecy from being fulfilled. Unfortunately for the Bishops, Lamb is given a second chance at life and vengeance from a mysterious chained heretic. The price? Starting a cult in the heretic's name. Thus begins this tale of life and death, devotion and hatred, loyalty and betrayal, and fate.

This graphic novel adaptation was absolutely fantastic. As a lover of the game, I found it to be both a refresher to what I already knew and a wildly entertaining supplement with new insights into the universe. The illustrations are adorable, macabre, and often adorably macabre. Troy Little (illustrator) nails the art style, and Nick Filardi (colorist) delights with a color palette that mesmerizes and perfectly matches the tone of each scene. If you aren't a gamer, don't fret. The story requires no previous knowledge of the game or characters to be understood or enjoyed.

I'm impatiently looking forward to devouring Volume 2.

If you are even slightly a fan of the Cult of the Lamb video game, you will love the graphic novel. I love the contrast between the super cute almost chibi artwork combined with the gore and darkness of the story. It also seems to follow the game pretty closely, although it has been awhile since I've played it. Definitely a fun read.

Brilliant companion to the game but it explains the story well enough that you don't have to have played it first. Beautiful artwork, really colourful and eye catching! Loved it, can't wait for the next one!

An enjoyable read, the drawings were amazingly detailed and they were colourful. The pictures also showed emotions, fear and power. I will look for volume 2 and see where Lamb goes and see if Nana can be brought back. This is my first introduction to Cult of the Lamb, although I had heard of it before, I'd never read anything about it before. I do like my gothic reads so this has been perfect!

A harrowing story of eldritch machinations, betrayal, and corruption has never been rendered in such a cute and cuddly manner. Cult of the Lamb Volume 1 takes the visual excellence of the hit video game's art and marketing material and brings it to startling life in comic form, an achievement only matched by the fact that the comic's narrative both faithfully covers the events of the source material and also expands it in ways that felt completely natural. The art and colors pop off the page, the characters have real arcs and development, and the stakes feel real. I've never been more surprised and delighted to see such a successful translation from one medium to another.

I played Cult of the Lamb when it came out, and when I saw there was a graphic novel for it, I sprinted to netgalley to see if there was an ARC. My faith was rewarded. The color and linework matches perfectly what you experience ingame, and the only thing I found that was difficult for the graphic novel to translate was the attitude of the Lamb.

Namely, since it's a choose your own adventure path, what happens in this graphic novel isn't what happened in my game! My Lamb was caring (albeit there was a willing sacrifice or two) and you bet your bottom dollar the first thing I did was invest in the tech tree so my followers stopped pooping everywhere. This Lamb may be canonically a little more uncaring than my Lamb, but I enjoyed the read all the same. It's a fascinating story, from start to finish, and I'm super excited to read the rest!

The Old Faith is gone. All hail the Lamb.

Loved this so much! Very true to the video game of the same name but fleshes out the characters and their intentions. The art is gorgeous and it really captures the mood and feeling of the game very well. I'm glad that they're releasing these as collected chapters too which makes reading them more enjoyable

I'm so excited to read more of it when more is released

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

I received a galley copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this little graphic novel based on the video game Cult of the Lamb. It was cute and brutal and interesting and all the things that the game was. I really loved the game and this is just a nice expansion on its lore. Can't wait for the next one!

As charming as a comic book about a murderous, cult-leading, lamb can be!

I really love the video game that this is based off of, so I leapt at the chance to read this graphic novel. There are some differences to the game (Ratu, a retired cult leader, is more involved here, and there’s a focus on a character called Nana, a sweet little bunny, who holds the title of first cult member, for example) but it fellows along quite well with the start of the game, adding extra drama, humour, and context.

The drawings are great, and really keep the balance of gore, fun, death, and cuteness, that the game has. Cult of the Lamb is both a frantic rouge-like, and a cult management sim, and that juxtaposition between both the intense moments, and the quieter ones, is captured here extremely well.

I’m invested, and I’m looking forward to picking up the next volume in this series!

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

Hit video game Cult of the Lamb works shockingly well as a comic. And to my benefit, it's a great way to get the story without playing the game. It has a very interesting story, but the gameplay wasn't for me. A graphic novel that's just as bright and cute-gory was perfect. It balances the story arc well, and makes Lamb surprisingly compelling given that they're a player character. I also never expected to feel so much for the side characters. Unfortunately, it's just part one :(.