Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Volume 1 (4)

So, I did not read the premise of the book because I like to be surprised. I was caught off guard by the short stories, but I did enjoy them! It felt so different than the other books but in a good way.

My 6 year old son and I are huge fans of the Mouse Guard series. So for a present on his first day of school I got him this book and then we slowly read through the stories together. Like any anthology the stories are hit and miss, but overall it's a good collection of Mouse Guard related stories by various authors.The premise behind this book is that a whole bunch of mice are gathered in a tavern and they all owe the proprietor money. The proprietor, June, proposes a contest. The mouse that tells the best tale will have his/her tab paid for and everyone else who participates has to pay their tab within 7 days. As the contest proceeds where hear a variety of tales from a variety of mice. All of them involve either lore of the mice or the hardships the Mouse Guard face in their daily lives.The illustrations and stories range widely. Some are about old mice who went on great adventures, some are about the daily trials of the Mouse Guard, and one is even about a mouse who thinks he is a fox. Most of the stories are very well done and have beautiful (if varied) styles of illustration.However, there were a couple that fell short for me. One story in particular was done a very sketchy cartoonish way and had no dialogue. As a result both me and my son were a bit confused about what was going on. The artwork definitely wasn't good enough to convey a cohesive story and there was no dialogue.I enjoyed the interludes between stories that took place in the tavern, these were all done by David Peterson and were beautifully illustrated and written.Overall a solid collection of graphic novel stories that all tie in with the Mouse Guard theme. As with any anthology some are spectacular and others not so much. The majority of the stories were beautifully illustrated in a range of styles and very well written. There were a couple I had trouble following. I would definitely recommend this collection to Mouse Guard fans and to fans of fantasy graphic novels in general.

The story and artwork the artwork are absolutely fantastic.

Some cute little side stories to fill in the world that David Petersen created. Most based on history of the guard, others based on old stories. All of these just to clear on bar tab.

2.5 stars so I rounded up. My students will definitely like this more than me. It was really just a lame little story framed around a bunch of fan fiction. It was nice to return to the mouse guard world but there was so much art that wasn’t really the general mouse guard style, and I hated that part of it. The stories were fine though.

David Petersen's series of Mouse Guard graphic novels are cover to cover wonders of illustration, but often his story telling lacks the weight to balance his truest gift as a cartoonist. But Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard is helped along a bit by his collaboration with other cartoonists who manage to tell some fun tales. I've found few children whose interest these books have held, but adults seem to be taken for long periods by the illustrations themselves. The four stars given this book is based more on the cartooning than the storytelling. People who want a great story might go elsewhere. But for art, illustration and cartoon enthusiasts, these books are continually fun to look at. Joe Taylor, Yaroos.com

I dont really enjoy reading, I never finish books. But mouse guard always stuck with me. Im am so happy to finally own a couple volumes of this incredible graphic novel. highly recommend to anyone who loves art, fantasy, or creativity with animals.Thank You!

First of all, buy and read Fall 1152 and Winter 1152 before this. I was skeptical at first about other artists taking on the world of Mouse Guard.However, I loved how involved David Peterson was with this project. All the artwork from the others was interesting and did not detract from the essence of Mouse Guard, with the exception of Katie Cook's short "A Mouse named Fox." The art for that story was childish and silly, it was not suitable for the world of Mouse Guard. There are 12 other stories by various illustrators that I thought were very well done.

Another great mouse guard book, loved the different art styles and short stories

Fantastic book

I love the idea behind this book. It's not like the other two books, it's tales drawn and written by other artists, all of which are being told at a tavern. At first I was disappointed to find this out, but I soon realized I was in for a treat. I think it's meant to hold us over till the next compilation, which I'm grateful for. Can't wait for The Black Axe trade to come out!

Pleased with this product & service from this seller.

Ich habe "Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard" gekauft, weil ich schon viel Lob auf englischsprachigen Comicseiten darüber las und (vor allem), weil ich von den anderen beiden Bänden "Herbst -" bzw. "Winter 1152" begeistert war. Das Setting (Mittelalter), die Idee (aus der "Mausperspektive" zu erzählen) ohne Kitsch und unnötigen Pathos gezeichnet (ich sage nur: "Splitter-Comics" ;-) sucht noch seinesgleichen.Leider sind meine Erwartungen diesbzgl. von "Legends of the Guard" nicht erfüllt worden: Es handelt sich um einen Erzählwettbewerb in einer Taverne, der die Rahmenhandlung der ansonsten völlig zusammenhanglosen Kurzgeschichten darstellt, teilweise sind diese von sehr wechselnder (zeichnerischer) Qualität. Die erste Kurzgeschichte von J. Bastian ist sehr gut ausgearbeitet, leidet aber wie auch alle übrigen an einer unausgereiften Handlung, die ist nämlich vor allem eines '- nämlich kurz. Sonst nichts. Und so geht es bei den anderen Geschichten weiter: Die Charaktere haben keinen Tiefgang, die Zeichnungen haben teilweise die Qualität von Bastei-Comicschund á la Gespenstergeschichten (vor allem die mit der Fledermaus), oder sind unsäglich kitschig ("a mouse named 'Fox'", von Katie Cook). Dazwischen gibt es immer wieder Lichtblitze, aber eben nur Blitze. Derart Erhellendes wie in den Hauptbänden habe ich vergeblich gesucht.Fazit: eine nette Idee von David Petersen, Freunde aus der Comicszene ins Universum von MG einzuladen, aber im Endeffekt kann es der Meister halt doch am Besten. Bleibt der schale Geschmack, dass da unter dem guten Namen eines Comics mindere Qualität verschoben wird.Eine fundierte Rezension, der ich mich nur vollinhaltlich anschließen kann, allerdings in englischer Sprache, findet sich hier: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1CGAOIIF9F161/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R1CGAOIIF9F161