The origins of the legendary Black Axe and its first mouse wielder revealed for the first time!

Eisner Award–winning creator David Petersen joins forces with Eisner-nominated artist Gabriel Rodríguez to bring a brand new prequel chapter in the epic Mouse Guard saga to life—just in time to celebrate the series 20th anniversary!

Set at the earliest point in the series’ timeline, this epic reveals the origin of the legendary weapon and the courageous mouse to first wield it—Bardrick. As darkness encroaches and monstrous serpents threaten the fragile peace of the Territories, Bardrick must rise to a duty greater than himself and embark on a perilous journey of sacrifice, bravery, and legacy. But with such immense stakes at hand, can the first Black Axe survive the toll of his quest?

Featuring stunning sequential art from Rodríguez paired with colors by Petersen himself, this hardcover volume beautifully expands the Mouse Guard mythos with the untold history of its earliest heroes.

Collects Mouse Guard: Dawn of the Black Axe #1–3.

This is my first experience with Mouse Guard and I’m blown away. This serves as a prequel, which is a great jumping-in point for readers like me who haven’t read the series before, as no prior knowledge is needed to understand the story. In fact, upon reading this, I want to dive into the series!

This tale focuses on Bardrick, who leaves the Mouse Guard in order to wield the Black Axe. There are five areas where serpents rule, and they surround the areas in which the mice live, and the Black Axe was created in response to the murder of a family of mice, where the father/husband figure was the only survivor. His tears, his grief, his rage, and the souls of his loved ones fill the Black Axe, imbuing it with the strength to protect all mice from the enemies who would kill them.

MOUSE GUARD: DAWN OF THE BLACK AXE uses an epic narrative voice and eloquent language to give the story the feel of an ancient quest tale; the artwork is gorgeous and expressive. The quiet moments with the mice; the action sequences where Bardrick battles the snakes; the ghost Elk that provides guidance–all are beautifully rendered.

The art looks like the basis for the coloring comes from watercolor paints, while the inking over it reminds me of historical medieval and Renaissance etchings. Everything has a classic, yet vivid look to it and this has to be one of the more beautiful works I’ve seen of fantasy comics.

This story is filled with tragedy, grief, hope, and amidst all of the ups and downs, there’s a sense of wonder to it, too. It drew me in emotionally and towards the end of the story, I felt like I was going to cry, I was that into it. It reminds me of the best of old epics like Beowulf or King Arthur in terms of tone, scope, and emotional pull.

It’s hard for me to write more about this graphic novel because it was just so good. It surpassed my expectations and I want to read more.

Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for an ARC of this work.