Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer📖

This miniseries(1) (1)It was published in single issues (how I read it) and as a trade paperback. Goodreads apparently only has the latter one, but the contents should be just the same. shows a story of a young Elric passing some dream tests to earn the inheritance of the Melnibonéan throne. The story also shows parts of the Melnibonéan past, and how even though the Mernii, old Melnibonéans, tried not to sell themselves, and be good, they ended up getting closer to Chaos.

Cover for issue #2

Cover for issue #3

Cover for issue #4

I read this while reading Elric of Melniboné and Other Stories(2) (2)Review here. . There you can find the script to this comic, something I don’t think I have seen before. I read the comic simultaneously to the script(3) (3)Well, although I have two eyes, it was not really simultaneous, I first read a part of the comic and then a part of the script. .

The story itself is interesting. At first I was not impressed, but by the end found it better, and wasn’t really bored at any point. Also, as a beginner to Moorcock, I was not really lost at any point, despite all of it being essentially new to me. I guess that’s part of the reason for the story, and that’s well done.

It was really interesting to read the comic and compare it with the script. There were small changes, omissions and additions. I also liked the emphasis on how a comic is a very different medium from, e.g., a prose story, and how a script for a comic will by necessity also be very different from a theater script. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be a positive experience but it was.

The art is from Simonson, and as such it’s good. You can see some examples on the covers.

I recommend it for Elric fans who haven’t gotten to it yet, or, like me, to those starting with Moorcock and Elric.