4 ⭐️

Characters: 7
Art style: 9
Writing: 7
Plot: 7
Intrigue: 7
Logic: 6
Enjoyment: 6

Firstly I'd like to thank NetGalley and Oni Press for giving me an ARC to review. All opinions are my own 💖
This was such a nice introduction into the world of Cult of the Lamb!
Got surprisingly attached to the characters which I didn't expect to happen.
Did it push me to buy the game as well? Yes, it definitely did! 😄

This graphic novel was an incredibly fun read! The art is stunning and really added to the story and enjoyment of the read. I will say because I know it’s based on a video game it did feel like I was reading dialogue from a game rather than a book. I still liked it, but not as much as I expected to. I would definitely recommend it to a younger audience or people who have played the game!

I'm not the biggest fan of roguelikes, so despite Cult of the Lamb's style and story catching my eye, I just never got into it! Although a Cult of the Lamb fan might feel differently (though I hope they wouldn't), I really enjoyed this graphic novel as someone who probably won't ever play the game.

The art is seriously gorgous, and it was a really nice, quick read--perfect for a commute to work. I'm really hoping they do more!!!

Actual Rating: 3.5☆

Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1: The First Verse is an adorable and fast-paced dark fantasy graphic novel based on the popular video game Cult of the Lamb.

Young Lamb has been sacrificed by the bishops of the Old Faith. Upon death, they fall right into the hands of The Chained One, who offers them another chance at life to enact their revenge on the bishops. In order for Young Lamb to continue their mission of vengeance, they must start a cult and save others who will follow and worship them.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I LOVE the illustrations. They are bright, colorful, and absolutely adorable. I do plan on purchasing a physical copy for my collection once the book is officially released.

I noticed that Lamb undergoes several personal changes during this volume. Initially, Lamb is frightened, powerless, and submissive, allowing the bishops and their executioners to sacrifice them without a fight. Once they are resurrected, Lamb becomes consumed by vengeance. Although Lamb's priority should be to gain followers, they are solely focused on destroying the creatures who sacrificed them. Once Lamb experiences worship, they become addicted and do whatever is necessary to gain more followers. By the end, it is evident that Lamb's followers are becoming more like family, not only to Lamb but also to each other.

Although I have never played the game, I couldn’t help but feel as though I was reading video game dialogue. I am not quite sure how to explain it, but it threw me off at times.

While I did enjoy this graphic novel, the writing is definitely aimed toward a younger audience. I would say ages 13 to 15. Keeping that in mind, the topics introduced in this graphic novel may be sensitive to some readers, including cults, sacrifices, and violence.

cults • dark fantasy • self discovery • video game

A promising beginning! This book had me wanting to pick this video game up - it's been on my radar for a while but I’d never actually tried it so now I want to do that soon. This book was fun and interesting and I love the mixture of a cutesy art style with a more horror-aligned plot with battle scenes and gore and evil bishops and gods and other creatures. The monsters are disgusting in an awesome way, and when Lamb is fighting I can imagine how it would play out in the video game with the intense music playing and how I would be on the edge of my seat during each boss battle. The narrative did feel a bit choppy, probably from adapting it from the video game - the exposition is a bit heavy, and there are a couple pages that feel a bit cluttered with text and images. I also wish it had been clearer from the start that the Seer is narrating. And I don’t think enough time was spent developing the characters and relationships, especially the relationship between Lamb and Nana that becomes crucial to the plot at the end but was not properly flushed out at the beginning of the book for me. I also wanted to learn more about Ratau, Lamb's mentor. But overall this felt like a good introduction to the lore and setting, so I’m curious to see where things go next and excited to get to play for myself now!

Cults,religious,violence in a way that makes you go insane and you love it.
Great art style and characters.
Higmy recimmend

I loved this entertaining graphic novel! It helped to add context to events within the game and to flesh out its characters. I can't wait to read Vol. 2!

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for allowing me to read this book ​​😊

This Fantasy/Horror graphic novel is an addition to the video game of the same name. Not having played the game myself, I enjoyed this book, but I would say you might like it even more if you’re a fan of the universe !

As the title suggests, it’s an exploration of cults and their effect on their disciples .

I enjoyed the lovely art style, both sweet and dark at the same time (just like the game). I also liked the choice of the vibrant colours.

However, I must admit that I did get a bit bored at times and had to skim-read some parts to get through the book.

So much fun! Love the artwork (just like I love the artwork in the game). The story is solid too though the narration can be a bit heavy handed at points. It makes me want to play the game again, and this is about how far I got into the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

Summary:

The Lamb was foretold to end the rule of the old gods, so it was ordered to death. Yet, by targeting the Lamb, they set about the very events they hoped to avoid. Now the Lamb is back, fighting and establishing their own cult.

Lamb’s journey is far from easy. He must battle, collect followers, and learn to trust again. Likewise, there are many difficult decisions to make along the way, including how to lead and who to save.

Review:

Ahhh! As a massive fan of the Cult of the Lamb game, I was excited by the news of a graphic novel adaptation. Better yet, it seems like Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1: The First Verse may be the first in a series? I can hope!

I think it's important for readers to be aware of this book's content (and content warnings). The cover looks cute, but it deals with very dark themes. I hope the title helps give some indication of that. Check out the TW below for more information.

Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1 covers the history of the world, the introduction of our leading character (the Lamb), and the stakes. It's heavy and depressing sometimes, but there's always a reason behind it all.

This story did a great job of capturing the gameplay elements and turning them into something readable. Given that at least half the gameplay is a roque-lite, I worried about how it'd translate. The good news is that there was already a strong plot, so adapting it worked brilliantly.

Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1 is absolutely worth checking out if you played (and loved) the game. It'll help fill the void between playthroughs.

Highlights:
Based on the Cult of the Lamb video game
Horror & Fantasy
Characters & Lore

Trigger Warnings:
Graphic Elements
Death & Murder
Sacrifice

Thanks to Oni Press and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a wonderful way to revisit the world of Cult of the Lamb!
I'd love the opportunity to dive deeper into the lore, and the art style is the perfect blend of creepy and cute that made the game so appealing.
It's a really generous volume with heaps of new content for established fans of the world, without leaving people who haven't played the game behind.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced edition of this compendium. While I’m somewhat familiar with the game, I hadn’t been acquainted with the Cult of Lamb comics yet. Because of that, I’m not sure what of this story may have been a spoiler and what might be added lore. Either way, some of the character arcs throughout the 4 volumes endeared me to this story even more than the game previously had, and I’m actually more excited to try it out again now. The use of cute characters to highlight the darkness of the themes really is outstanding, delivering heavy messages with a side of sweet. My issues with this reading experience were that it is not always immediately obvious which panel to jump to next, and there were a lot of apparent time jumps where the reader had to fill in the gaps. They didn’t necessarily detract from the story, but it did feel like more work than necessary on the audience end.

I loved the drawings and the colors of this comic/Graphic Novel. The panels flowed well along with the story. The flow was well done.
This is a fun revenge story with sacrifices, and uniquely drawn animals. I could see one plot point so it's a little predictable.
The comic/Graphic Novel is definitely for older readers with the violence and I did say sacrifice...
Go into this story for the vibes. Very entertaining and I personally had fun reading.

Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1 is a great companion graphic novel. I don’t have a ton of knowledge on the game as I haven’t played it myself, but I have seen a couple of hours of gameplay. This means I know a little about it but I don’t know the deep lore behind the story and its characters.

I was somewhat worried I wouldn’t understand what was going on and why. Thankfully, this graphic novel starts from the very beginning and I feel like everything was explained really well. So well, that I’m tempted to play the game myself. I love how it’s both cutesy and gory. It’s often hard to find the balance between the two but it was done extremely well here.

I really enjoyed the style of the art, which is obviously the same as the game, but I felt like some of the pages were ridiculously busy. I’m all for small details in graphic novels, but there were some pages that were edge to edge covered in large characters and objects. This often made it difficult to follow the illustrative narrative and the dialogue as my focus kept being pulled away from the words by the sheer amount of things on the page. It was overwhelming sometimes but not to the point that my reading experience was negatively impacted too much.

The character designs were great though. Again the balance between cute and horrifying was done really well. I’m not sure if this is the same artist that worked on the game but the art translated very well.

Overall, Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1 is a pretty good adaptation. The story was well conveyed in a short space of time and when the art wasn’t overwhelming, it was great. I’d definitely check out volume two if that ever happens.

Rating: 3.5/5

As a fan of the game I was very excited to read this one! First off the art is GORGEOUS. The colors are so bright! It was really neat to basically see how the cult was started in this comic. I cannot wait to read more of these!

Thank you NetGalley and Oni Press for the ARC 🤍

This was so cute!! I'm obsessed with the game so reading this just made me love it even more. I cannot wait to get a physical copy for my shelves.

I am absolutely obsessed with the Cult of the Lamb games and reading this comic gave me the exact same feels I get when playing. It's a really fun read definitely encompasses the feelings of the game. I cannot wait for volume 2!

3* generally enjoyable:
This graphic novel shares a lot of the features that are endearing about the indie game that inspired it. It has a great mixture of monsters and gory battles, and an idyllic setting for a hopeful cult full of cute characters. Fortunately, this is more than a rehashing of the video game storyline - it adds a more complex interpersonal side story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this.

I’m a fan of everything related to Cult of the Lamb and this is a great comic! The art is so well done and the storyline is really interesting.

As a huge fan of the game, Cult of the Lamb Vol. 1 did NOT disappoint! This graphic novel perfectly captures everything that makes the game so unique, from its darkly whimsical tone to its eerie charm. The lore is rich and consistent with the game, diving deeper into the world of the cult, the rituals, and the mysterious forces at play. The art style is just as bold and expressive as the game, with stunning visuals that bring the twisted, colorful world to life. What really stood out to me, though, was how the novel gave real depth to the Lamb character. While the game leaves much up to the player's imagination, the book offers a closer look at the Lamb's journey and motivations, adding a layer of complexity I didn’t expect. It’s a perfect complement to the game and a must-read for fans. Can’t wait to see what happens next!