Forge of War
Encyclopedia
Forge of War is a five-issue American comic book
limited series
from Boom! Studios
, written by Dan Abnett
and Ian Edginton
.
Set in the high-fantasy world of Warhammer Fantasy
, it follows several characters of the Averland army, a county within the Empire, and their conflict against the forces of Chaos
.
Sergeant Vogal leads the Averland's regiment of Greatswords
, a unit of the greatest, hand-picked soldiers, chosen by the Elector Count himself. However, as the battle rages on, despite the Elector Count and his closest officers on Griffin-back joining the battle, his hand is forced to call for a retreat as Chaos magic decimates the Imperial army, severely troubling him as the Greatswords are sworn to never retreat in battle. He is then knocked unconscious as a regiment of Chaos Warriors follows the retreating Greatswords and traps them in a wood.
Vogal wakes up the next day to find himself and his men in a convent where the nuns are caring for his men's wounds. He is offered some wine to help him sleep, which he refuses. Woken by a nightmare in the middle of the night, he discovers his men have been drugged and that the nuns, who are actually the servants of a Lamiahn vampire queen, have been feeding soldiers to their mistress. He convinces his men not to take their wine that night, they recover their weaponry, and they kill the vampire and her servants. They then head out to find more of the fled troops from the battle and organize a counter assault.
Skor Lokkinson is a Dwarf
who leads a regiment of Dwarfs sworn to the Averland army. When the Averland army retreats, he commands his regiment to continue fighting, despite the odds, and shows visible contempt at the humans' actions. Of the 3 dwarves captured by the chaos horde after the battle, he is the first to be thrown in the pit with the Chaos Ogre.
Vargni Valhirsson is the last dwarf captured by the Chaos horde. While Uthamir Gundasson slays the Chaos Ogre in the pit (and is slain by the angry Chaos Warriors in the crowd), Valhirsson escapes from his cage and flees into the woods. He overheard that the rout of the Empire army was planned, but mistakenly assumes that the Dwarf forces were betrayed by the humans.
Widdman leads the Averland Army's gun battery. He is seen tasking other men to use cannons to soften the Warriors of Chaos' initial charge. However, a few cannons misfire, destroying the battery and he calls for his men to retreat as the Chaos army charges.
Konig is a wizard in the Averland army. When the Averland army is forced to retreat from the Chaos onslaught, another soldier sworn to protect him, Enz, helps him to flee. Konig and Enz come across a village plagued by a crazed War Griffon who lost his rider during the battle. With the help of Sergeant Vogal, whose men had come across the village the day before, Konig subdues the Griffon and claims it for his own.
While Konig and Vogal's men prepare to launch a suicidal delaying action against the Chaos host, Valhirsson attacks them, intent on taking vengeance on the men he believes betrayed his people. Vogal subdues him and convinces him to speak reasonably. With Valhirsson's account of his captor's words, Konig realizes that the Chaos Sorcerers had conjured and atmosphere of doubt which caused the empire army to break. With what's left of the Empire army now reunited, they lure the Chaos horde into a narrow valley and launch a suicidal counterattack as the series ends.
Vogal returns in Condemned By Fire Issue 3, where he informs the Witch Hunter Magnus Gault that the ambush was rescued at the last minute by a massive Empire army who defeated the Chaos host. Vogal joins Gault on his quest and is reunited with Valhirsson in the next Issue.
:
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
from Boom! Studios
Boom! Studios
BOOM! Studios is an American comic book company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The "BOOM!" in BOOM! Studios is always capitalized by the company.-History:BOOM! was founded June 22, 2005 with Zombie Tales #1....
, written by Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...
and Ian Edginton
Ian Edginton
Ian Edginton is a British comic book writer.He is one of the few British comic talents to follow the reverse trajectory to the one usually taken: becoming successful in American comics before returning to work for 2000 AD.-Biography:...
.
Set in the high-fantasy world of Warhammer Fantasy
Warhammer Fantasy (setting)
Warhammer Fantasy is a fantasy setting, created by Games Workshop, which is used by many of the company's games. Some of the best-known games set in this world are: the table top wargame Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay pen-and-paper role-playing game, and the MMORPG...
, it follows several characters of the Averland army, a county within the Empire, and their conflict against the forces of Chaos
Chaos (Warhammer)
In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes, Chaos refers to the often stereotypically malevolent entities which live in a different timespace, known as the Warp in Warhammer 40,000 and as the Realm of Chaos in Warhammer Fantasy...
.
Characters and plot
The series follows a few characters in each issue.Sergeant Vogal leads the Averland's regiment of Greatswords
Greatswords
"Greatswords" are soldiers existing within the fantasy world of Warhammer, a product of Games Workshop.Greatswords are available to armies of the Empire, the largest human nation in the world of Warhammer, and are among the finest Imperial warriors available...
, a unit of the greatest, hand-picked soldiers, chosen by the Elector Count himself. However, as the battle rages on, despite the Elector Count and his closest officers on Griffin-back joining the battle, his hand is forced to call for a retreat as Chaos magic decimates the Imperial army, severely troubling him as the Greatswords are sworn to never retreat in battle. He is then knocked unconscious as a regiment of Chaos Warriors follows the retreating Greatswords and traps them in a wood.
Vogal wakes up the next day to find himself and his men in a convent where the nuns are caring for his men's wounds. He is offered some wine to help him sleep, which he refuses. Woken by a nightmare in the middle of the night, he discovers his men have been drugged and that the nuns, who are actually the servants of a Lamiahn vampire queen, have been feeding soldiers to their mistress. He convinces his men not to take their wine that night, they recover their weaponry, and they kill the vampire and her servants. They then head out to find more of the fled troops from the battle and organize a counter assault.
Skor Lokkinson is a Dwarf
Dwarf (Warhammer)
In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe, The Dwarfs are a race of short, stout humanoids very similar to the dwarves of Middle-Earth and the roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons. Dwarfs in the Warhammer setting are proud warriors highly driven by honor.-Homeland:Dwarfs reside mainly...
who leads a regiment of Dwarfs sworn to the Averland army. When the Averland army retreats, he commands his regiment to continue fighting, despite the odds, and shows visible contempt at the humans' actions. Of the 3 dwarves captured by the chaos horde after the battle, he is the first to be thrown in the pit with the Chaos Ogre.
Vargni Valhirsson is the last dwarf captured by the Chaos horde. While Uthamir Gundasson slays the Chaos Ogre in the pit (and is slain by the angry Chaos Warriors in the crowd), Valhirsson escapes from his cage and flees into the woods. He overheard that the rout of the Empire army was planned, but mistakenly assumes that the Dwarf forces were betrayed by the humans.
Widdman leads the Averland Army's gun battery. He is seen tasking other men to use cannons to soften the Warriors of Chaos' initial charge. However, a few cannons misfire, destroying the battery and he calls for his men to retreat as the Chaos army charges.
Konig is a wizard in the Averland army. When the Averland army is forced to retreat from the Chaos onslaught, another soldier sworn to protect him, Enz, helps him to flee. Konig and Enz come across a village plagued by a crazed War Griffon who lost his rider during the battle. With the help of Sergeant Vogal, whose men had come across the village the day before, Konig subdues the Griffon and claims it for his own.
While Konig and Vogal's men prepare to launch a suicidal delaying action against the Chaos host, Valhirsson attacks them, intent on taking vengeance on the men he believes betrayed his people. Vogal subdues him and convinces him to speak reasonably. With Valhirsson's account of his captor's words, Konig realizes that the Chaos Sorcerers had conjured and atmosphere of doubt which caused the empire army to break. With what's left of the Empire army now reunited, they lure the Chaos horde into a narrow valley and launch a suicidal counterattack as the series ends.
Vogal returns in Condemned By Fire Issue 3, where he informs the Witch Hunter Magnus Gault that the ambush was rescued at the last minute by a massive Empire army who defeated the Chaos host. Vogal joins Gault on his quest and is reunited with Valhirsson in the next Issue.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Forge of War (5-issue mini-series, May 2007-January 2008, tpb, 128 pages, Boom! Studios, April 2008, ISBN 1934506362)
See also
- Warhammer 40,000 comicsWarhammer 40,000 comicsWarhammer 40,000 comics are spin-offs and tie-ins based in the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe. Over the years these have been published by different sources...
- Damnation CrusadeDamnation CrusadeDamnation Crusade is a six-issue comic book limited series from Boom! Studios, written by Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton.Set in the fictional world of Warhammer 40,000, it is a vision of never-ending war. Its storyline follows several different Space Marines of the Black Templars chapter.-Characters...
, Warhammer 40k comic by the same writing team
External links
- Boom Studios
- Review by Ain't It Cool
- Rahsan Ekedal: Heating Up the Forge of War, Comics BulletinComics BulletinComics Bulletin is a website with an emphasis on the American comic book industry, updated daily with news, reviews, interviews, and editorial content. Coverage ranges from mainstream to independent/small press comic book and graphic novel publishers.-History:...
, September 20, 2007