Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1 graphic novel review

My Review

So, aside from reading, I greatly enjoy gaming in my spare time and worked in video games (PR and QA) for 8 years. I jumped at the chance when I saw this ARC on NetGalley, with thanks to Oni Press, Massive Monster and Devolver Digital.

Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1 collects the first 4 issues of the comic, which was successfully funded on Kickstarter just 6 minutes after launching. The game itself released in August 2022 and received much critical acclaim, rightly so, as it is brilliant! It won Best Indie Game at the Golden Joystick Awards and received nominations at the BAFTA Games Awards and The Game Awards, to name a few.

Fans of the game will instantly recognise the characters: Lamb, the bishops of the Old Faith, some of the mini-bosses, Clauneck and Ratau. The events of Vol. 1 revolve around the inception of the cult, Darkwood, and Leshy.

Anyone unfamiliar with the universe should still enjoy this equally. It’s written by Alex Paknadel, whose recent work includes Red Goblin and Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters for Marvel, and All Against All for Image. It’s beautifully brought to life by four-time Eisner, Ringo, and Harvey nominee Troy Little, who has worked on such books as the award-winning adaptation of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons, and The Powerpuff Girls.

I really enjoyed spending some time back in this universe and look forward to future volumes!