Wheel of Time: The Eye of the World #1
Let me say, right off, that I have not read any of the actual Wheel of Time novels but I’ve heard a lot about them; so I thought I would give the comic adaptation a try. The actual novels may be great but this comic adaptation didn’t do a thing for me.
First off, I could have done without the twelve pages of character sketches. For fans of the novels seeing characters that, up to now, they have only been able to imagine may be a big deal, but to me it was just an excuse to inflate the price of the comic. Second and more important, for someone with no previous knowledge of the Wheel of Time, this first issue is a horrible starting point. This issue was just way too disjointed and bland to grab my interest. The reader is presented with two entirely separate stories with one of those stories subdivided into two different time periods. Between the two separate stories the read is introduced to a mind numbing number of characters; none of whom we get to spend enough time with to become interested in. If all the different characters aren’t enough, to weigh down the story, a large number of places and a few events are thrown in just to complicate matters even more.
I don’t know if Chuck Dixon is a fan of the Wheel of Time novels or if he ever even picked one up but after reading this first issue it feels to me like he is a fan writing an adaptation for other fans. If that is the case, it is not the worst thing in the world, since comic books are a diverse medium and as such not every comic book is suited for every reader. I’ve read a lot of comic books by Chuck Dixon over the years and most of them I enjoyed but this one totally missed the mark for me. I’d write more about this comic but the truth is it left me so uninspired that I don’t feel like writing more. I’ll conclude by saying simply that if you are already a fan of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time novels you’ll probably love this comic adaptation. If you’re not already a fan of the Wheel of Time novels then just pass this comic book by.
Keith Forney