Villordsutch reviews Borderlands Origins TPB…
“For the millions of fans of the smash-hit video game Borderlands, a lingering question exists: how did the Vault Hunters get on the bus with Marcus in the first place? Find out how Roland got on the bus with Mordecai, Lilith, and Brick in this exciting look at the soldiers of the Crimson Lance and what made him leave their ranks and search for the Vault.“
Now I adore the Borderlands games on the Xbox 360. They are an amusing and rather simple but clever change from the standard Call of Duty / Battlefield-style FPS. The art looks good, the story plays out well, it incorporates FPS and RPG games perfectly and it has BAZILLIONS of guns. That being said I never once had any sort of lingering question relating to the genesis of the Vault Hunters and their favourite form of public transport. I’ll bet good money that a lot of other players didn’t either.
Before I bring in the negative side of this review I will say that the artwork by Agustin Padilla (G.I. Joe, Dungeons & Dragons) looks great. He completely takes Pandora and perfectly draws it out on every page and in every panel. A lot of work has clearly gone into this on his part and he should be commended for it.
Now I turn my “(Torgue) PPZ Detonating Cobra” towards the story. Out of this graphic novel the only story that had any interest for me is ‘Rolands’ and that really is pushing it. The rest of the tales felt either empty, rushed or poorly thought out. Reading ‘Mordecais’ (my favourite for B1) read like an old Death’s Head tale, whilst ‘Bricks’ would have annoyed me if I’d paid for it as a single issue.
It really is the story that lets this graphic novel down when it comes down to it. Perhaps if writer Mike Neumann had been allowed more space and room the stories could have developed (although to what, I don’t know). Like I said at the beginning there really wasn’t any question that need answering. Players of the game accepted Marcus and his bus of killers at the start, but now we have this quick read to take our money and rudely force its way into our memories.
This isn’t a “buy” in my opinion. However, if Pandora and its Vaults do occupy your waking hours the artwork will make you happy, but that’s about it unfortunately.
Villordsutch is married with kids and pets. He looks like a tubby Viking and enjoys science fiction. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published May 22, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
