Glory of Glories

My two newest addictions are George RR Martin and comic books, so you can imagine that my nerdhood practically explodes with glee at the thought of the two combining. I recently got my hands on a copy of the impossible to find 'The Hedge Knight' comic book (graphic novel if you want to sound mature) which is so good I very nearly had to put down a plastic bag.

The story was first published in Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg and is set about a hundred years before the spectacular A Song of Ice and Fire series. It is also the source of quite a few in jokes that you'll pick up on if you've read ASoIaF, such as the design of a certain shield.

The artwork is amazingly good. I seriously quivered with delight at some of the scenes. Everything looks perfect, if you pretend that the banners and heraldry are dirt-stained and grubby (the Fossoway apples in particular are just a tad too shiny for my liking). But the characters are perfect and the action and pace is captured beautifully. My favourite was Baelor Breakspear, he was heartbreakingly accurate. The armour! The colours! Ah, it looks divine.

If you're a Martin fan, you need to get it, get it now. If you're not, get it anyway. Martin is so very good that almost all other fantasy writers pale in comparison.