New WarCraft: Legends front cover
by Adam Holisky 
Jun 2nd 2008 at 5:00PM
Richard Knaak, author of several great Warcraft books include the War of the Ancients and the Day of the Dragon, will be writing the script for the upcoming new Warcraft Manga "Legends." We've previously covered this when some sketch cover art was released at the New York Comic Con 2008, but we haven't seen the final front cover until now.The first manga story line he wrote about Warcraft revolved around the events leading up to patch 2.4 in the Sunwell Plateau. I picked up all three of the books in a archived version over Christmas, and it was quite a good read. I'm definitely looking forward to picking this one up, and according to a Blizzplanet page, the release date is scheduled for August 1st, 2008.
The artwork pictured to the right (click for a higher resolution image) looks pretty cool, and appears to be an Orc Rogue. Since the book is called Legends, we can assume it's about some legendary figures in Warcraft. I would take a wild guess that the Orc pictured is Thrall, but I could be wrong, and feel free to disagree with me.
[Via WorldOfWar.net]
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Lore
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kiki Jun 2nd 2008 5:16PM
Um... I'm not great on the lore, but I could've sworn Thrall was a shaman...
Mattarias Jun 2nd 2008 5:15PM
Personally, I think that's Rexxar. Looks burly enough.
xdawgg Jun 2nd 2008 5:17PM
Def. not Thrall.
It would be cool if it would focus on the parents of Garona though.
Kiki Jun 2nd 2008 5:18PM
... actually I guess that could be a enhancement shammie rather than a rogue...
Nati Jun 2nd 2008 5:19PM
Adam, did you just write that Knaak is a great author?
You -do- realize that he's responsible for the monstrosity that is Rhonin, right?
Adam Holisky Jun 2nd 2008 5:22PM
Lol.
I know that some people don't like him, and that's cool. Some people don't like me too, but I don't think either one of us is loosing any sleep over it.
I also like R.A. Salvatore, who shares writing styles with Knaak. And I gather it could be said that Knaak shares his style with Salvatore, given Salvatore has been around much longer. And in the end Salvatore's writing resembles that of Tolekin (sp?) quite a bit.
Reinard Jun 2nd 2008 5:25PM
Grow up :\
ILikePvPbuthatePvPers Jun 2nd 2008 5:34PM
Except that Rhonin is canon. Therefore Blizzard liked the character. It's possible that even Blizzard created the character themselves and asked Knaak to write the story about him.
Nati Jun 2nd 2008 5:39PM
Yes, Rhonin is canon. As is everything else written by Knaak. And they keep asking him to write more stuff.
...and I can't figure out why. Every character he writes about is a perfect definition of a Mary Sue. They're all extremely powerful and completely perfect except for a single flaw (usually a melodramatic background). They kill a hundred demons with a single spell. Time travel, mentoring Illidan, saving and bonding with the dragonflights... it's all extremely predictable and extremely boring. Compare anything Knaak has written to say, Lord of the Clans. The difference is enormous.
Gwwwfps Jun 2nd 2008 6:26PM
It's kind of weird that you would choose Rhonin as an example. Considering what other characters are in War of the Ancients and Day of the Dragon, he really isn't all that powerful. I think the main point of Rhonin is to show that humans are versatile, and because of that, they can achieve things where beings that are hundredfold more powerful cannot.
Argent Jun 2nd 2008 8:20PM
"And in the end Salvatore's writing resembles that of Tolekin (sp?) quite a bit."
tolkien (google is your friend, even if you're culturally illiterate) and salvatore share just about zero commonality. in fact, i can't really see how they are even remotely in the same boat from a style perspective.
salvatore writes some decent popcorn fantasy with decent dialog and lots of action, tolkien wrote lengthy travelogues of the fantastic kind, with dense textures and lots of flavor-type stuff. action really wasn't his bag, per se (though if the LotR movies are your only exposure, it's kinda clear why you might think otherwise.)
about their only commonality is that they tend to play in the same sandbox, mainly due to the fact that FR was pretty much a direct rip of middle earth.
getting back on topic -- knaack rhymes with 'hack'. his dialog is kinda meh, his action sequences are alright (at best), but not overly inspired and his plotting has felt shallow to me almost every time out. i won't begrudge his mary sueism too much -- because you can write a decent/good/great mary sue novel if you're so capable, but alas -- not in this case.
Baluki Jun 2nd 2008 9:06PM
Eh? What?
I think Knaak is great, and really has a knack (excuse the pun) for writing Warcraft.
Rhonin is also one of my favorite characters in Warcraft lore. I enjoyed him in DotD, I was happy to see him in the Ancients trilogy, and I can't wait to see him in Dalaran and in the upcoming Night of the Dragon book.
brucimus Jun 2nd 2008 5:29PM
An Orc on the cover? What? were all the Belfs out shopping for curtains?
Draykin Jun 2nd 2008 5:41PM
From what I've read about the stories in the Mange, that could be Havoc.
Creon Jun 2nd 2008 5:42PM
Not thrall, he always had longer black hair according to Lord of the Clans
and @2, yes he is a shaman, but before that he was a warrior
Mattarias Jun 2nd 2008 5:50PM
Thrall is so badass he can -multiclass-.
Awesome.
Ravth Jun 2nd 2008 5:49PM
Depending on what resources you use:
As per EVERYTHING: Thrall is a shaman, and ALWAYS wields a hammer with "plate" and main black embossed greaves and pauldrons (legplates and shoulders). SO, no that's not Thrall.
It could be Rexxar, although he's always portayed wearing a "wolfhead" mask or headpiece of some sort.
Perhaps, it's Kargath, before he did his creative self-improvement...
Khawn Jun 2nd 2008 5:58PM
Probably not Thrall because he has a scar over his left eye. Thrall's eyes are always described as a startling blue. Seems to me like if he had a scar that would have been mentioned previously.
Emerylle Jun 2nd 2008 6:23PM
Not entirely on topic but the artists who made this cover:
http://udoncrew.deviantart.com/art/Warcraft-Legends-1-87158328
liza Jun 2nd 2008 6:34PM
t to me thats either Brox or Byrok as there the other 2 orcs that are related to the storys