The story of a young boy, found as a babe, and raised in a village where no one likes him, except Anja, the blacksmith's daughter. When a tiger attacks the village he goes out and kills it. That's when he starts seeing visions of old dark gods that fuel his power and rage. With each issue, the gods whisper in the background that he can't stay here, no one cares for him. They aren't wrong either. The whole thing feels like prologue in a much longer story. One that I don't know we'll ever see considering it's been 4 years since this was released. Still it's enjoyable for what it is.

An absolutely fantastic and unexpected delight. I mean, look at the cover. I was totally expecting medieval death metal. Instead, we get Kriss who is haunted by the loquacious and cryptic ghost of a sabre-cat as he embarks on his hero's journey.
Be Careful. Be Cunning. Be Merciless. Do what is needful.

Excellent writing and artwork. Kriss is the medieval emo hero I never knew I needed.
"Do not despair, child of the North. Your story is not yet at an end."
Damn straight! I immediately went searching for more issues after finishing this. Ted Naifeh, please tell me there is more to come.

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for the reading copy.

Good for fans of medieval times, weird creatures, adventure stories and the supernatural. It will speak to those who have felt like outsiders, or those who feel there is something "more" out there for them to explore.

This was not exactly what I expected from this Graphic Novel. That’s for sure. This is going to be a short & sweet review because I really don’t have that much to say. Quite simply I just found it hard to follow & kinda pointless.

I don’t know if I just simply didn’t get the meaning behind this one but I just felt like it had no real purpose, message or plot to it. It was also super hard to follow and I still have no idea about half the things that happened in the story. According to Goodreads this is not even part of a series, so it isn’t like there is more to come that will explain what exactly was going on in this book.

I did enjoy the art style but that was about all that I can say positive about it. This Graphic Novel wasn’t exactly bad, it just wasn’t for me and left me confused.

I was first attracted to check out Kriss due to the comparison in the marketing to Through the Woods by Emily Carroll which I absolutely adored. If what you loved from Through the Woods was the bold art, fierce to the point of feral, then I think that you will share my fire for this book.

What I Liked About Kriss:
It neither ignores misogyny nor lets it go unchecked by other characters.
Warren Wucinich's art is consistently captivating with a bold graphic style; The color experience varies from limited palette to carnival world of colors to sepia.
More than anything, Kriss absolutely loves its medium. Every page is ecstatic to be a comic and it is a thrill to blaze through.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and the publisher Oni Press for an ARC of this book.k.

Many thanks to Oni Press and Netgalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Following teenage Kriss, an outsider to a medieval village, the story goes through the motions of nature vs nurture, with a sprinkling of fantasy and heavy metal-inspired imagery.

What I really thought was illustrated amazingly was the sense of truly feeling like an outsider. Kriss really tries to live as the other villagers do, and the panels without any dialogue do a really great job of illustrating this.

Although the illustrations are more simplistic, it’s never compromised for the expressions that are drawn on each of the characters, as well as the juxtaposition to some of the darker imagery, that really pops out, reminiscent of Samurai Jack.

While it’s not a defining factor, I really wish the story itself was more involved, some of it began to feel like it was going on autopilot, but for lovers of the genre, and just graphic novel fans in general, it’s a very easy read.

In this graphic novel, we meet and follow Kriss who has always been on the outsider. I have mixed feeling about this book there are a few things I liked about it, like the art style. But the story didn't stand out that much for me. I read a lot and this book was nice and fast but it didn't blow me away. Kriss is skinny and pale and no one is nice to him but the blacksmith's daughter, Anja (Who I liked as a character because he didn't care if people thought the was odd she wanted to be friends with him.) There is more going on with Kriss that I'm not going to go in to because of spoilers. But I was a fast read with one of a kind art style.

Yet, another graphic novel that I stumbled across to read and this was also very enjoyable. The premise of it was pretty cool, set in an era very reminiscent of the Vikings it focuses on a young, adopted boy who is an outsider in his small village and believes himself to be the son of a King in the wild North that the land has been at war with. It was an interesting concept and I found that, all in all, I liked the execution.

First of all, the art is AMAZING. I loved the style so much, and I was seriously impressed every time I turned the page. I also liked the story a lot, and found that the art style really brought out a love and curiosity about the characters! I'm particularly intrigued by the four wild Northern warriors that appear in Kriss's dreams! Each of them had super cool designs and I look forward to reading more of this series to find out the role that they play in the future.

As much as the art and characters were cool, I'm wanting a little bit more from the plot in the future if I continue with this series. A lot of this focused on Kriss growing up - it had moments of humour, emotion and glimmers of potential but right now the story was a little on the mundane side of things. It just felt as if Kriss would continually meet an interesting character or potentially head towards an intriguing storyline (e.g. the travelling troupe) and then lose his temper and mess it up, leading him back to square one. I'd like to read more, and I hope that the exposition is over with and we get to see more of the main storyline/some interesting side arcs.

First if all I enjoyed the artwork in this. For me this is a vital point for liking a graphic novel. Unfortunately the story wasn't what I hoped for. It started out promising but in the end it was a generic story which i have read a hundred times before. But I would recommend this book as it wasn't bad.

'Kriss: The Gift of Wrath' by Ted Naifeh with art by Warren Wucinich is a story about a young man who doesn't fit in and the help he finds when he needs it.

Kriss doesn't look like the people in his village. He was found when he was a baby, and his pale skin makes him stand out. He also lives with an abusive father figure. The only person who gets him is Anja, the blacksmith's daughter. Together, they discover the mythic figures of Kriss' country. Kriss hears them talk to him, and they help fill him with rage when he needs strength, but that rage has a downside.

I'm a fan of Ted Naifeh's particularly moody stories, and this one was just as good. Warren Wucinich's art is great. I like his goth take on Kriss as well as the design of the ancestors.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

The story is really interesting until the stuff that happened close to the end. It was too cliche and everything was happening too fast. The thing I liked the most was the Dark king and the 3 warriors but they stopped showing up after they first appeared in the beginning.

As for the artstyle, I don't like this artstyle at all but the backgrounds were nice.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital version for an honest review.

My thanks to Oni Press for making available a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Kriss: The Gift of Wrath’ written by Ted Naifeh and illustrated by Warren Wucinich in exchange for an honest review.

Orphaned at a young age, Kriss is a lean, pale, sullen teenager, who is considered an outsider in the small village where he grew up.His only friend is Anja, the blacksmith’s daughter. Kriss is haunted by dim memories of his true father, Erikk Iron Tooth, the king of Darkovia.

When Anja’s mother is killed by a sabercat from the far north, Kriss heads off into the forest to dispatch the beast. It turns out that it is actually a dark spirit from Darkovia come to return Kriss to reclaim his father’s kingdom. He gives Kriss the ‘gift of wrath’, tremendous power that is accompanied by uncontrollable rage.

This graphic novel was light on exposition, high on graphic violence, dark and brooding throughout. Kriss is emo personified.

While the artwork was very striking, I needed more world building to feel engaged.

An enjoyable first volume of a story I'd like to follow. With accessible worldbuilding and dark aesthetic, it reads fast. Additionally, it's thoughtful in its exploration of the toxic masculinity. Well worth a read.

This book was very interesting. I found that I really liked it even though I wasn't always sure what was going on. The only thing that I would have liked was some more insight into Kriss's background. While the story was intriguing, there wasn't much that was explained. I still have no idea who those guys on the wall were or why they were talking to Kriss. I'm hoping that all of that will be explained in a future volume? I did really like the artwork though. I also liked the fact that the times that there were fight scenes they really let the blood fly. It wasn't super gory because of the style but I did appreciate that they weren't afraid of showing some blood. Overall, I feel like this book was pretty good. If you like a book with a dark, brooding viking vibe then this one will be great for you.

*** I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you so much to NetGalley and Oni Press for the opportunity to read and review Kriss: The Gift of Wrath! ***

If you don't know me by now you know that I love any type of fantasy genre. When I was scrolling through NetGalley I saw this graphic novel was YA, Fantasy and a Graphic Novel I just had to check it out. And I am so glad and happy that I got the opportunity to read and review this amazing graphic novel that I absolutely and thoroughly loved and enjoyed so much. Now I am only going to gush about how much and what I love and enjoy about this graphic novel. I know some readers didn't love Kriss: The Gift of Wrath and that's ok I just think if you love graphic novels you should try giving this book a try. I don't want to go into any details about it because spoiler but I will say they are some brutal and some gore images in this graphic novel. Kriss: The Gift of Wrath gets more and darker the more you read into this book and I just love dark fantasy graphic novels like that too. The artwork match's perfect for the plotline and aspects of this book and all the characters are amazingly well done and well rounded too. I just couldn't get enough reading about each character yes especially the villains as well in Kriss: The Gift of Wrath. I especially couldn't get enough reading about Kriss who has always felt like an outsider in his small village that he was raised in, but I loved to see and read him grow up in this graphic novel since he was a kid until he was a grown teenager. Kriss has his ups and downs when he was a kid and he was mistreated by his adopted parents but he always had a kind heart especially he was really kind and very loyal to his best friend Anja. When Kriss finds out he has growing power, and the fiery anger that comes with it within him he wants to leave the small village and find out about his true identity and where he truly comes from. But Kriss doesn't want to leave his best friend Anja behind but one day a terrible incident happened for Kriss in the worst way possible that he had to leave the small village that he was raised in for good. Kriss is going to find out the whole truth about what happened to his true family especially his true birth father Erikk Iron Tooth, the king of Darkovia. I know this book is like other fantasy graphic novels but I don't mind reading fantasy graphic novels like Kriss: The Gift of Wrath I quite loved and enjoyed them a lot I just can't get enough of reading fantasy graphic novels like this one. The writing style flowed well and I understood everything in Kriss: The Gift of Wrath. I am most definitely going to continue reading on this series when the next books come out but it is going to be pure torture wait for the next book to come out though. All and all Kriss: The Gift of Wrath was an amazingly fantastic graphic novel for me that I can't wait to continue and read more in this series!

3 stars for this dark graphic novel.

I was very confused at the beginning, but as the book went on I got more into the story. It's a story of Kriss finding his destiny, then accepting it and leaving everything he thinks he loves behind. I started really enjoying the graphic novel about halfway though, and will probably read the sequel!

Do you ever read something and feel little to no impact from the story? That’s how I felt about Kriss.

Kriss: The Gift of Wrath is the introductory volume to the Kriss graphic novel series. It is about a young man with a mysterious past who must fight a wild snow cat to save the townspeople and the girl he seemingly loves.

You honestly don’t learn anything about Kriss, the protagonist, in this first installment and that bothered me. He seems to be in love with a girl where he lives and he hates his “father”. His “father” isn’t actually his father. Other than that he fights the snow cat and meets what I interpreted as the gods of his existence. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot to say about the plot because there wasn’t much of one. Kriss is an angry character with a hidden past that we don’t glimpse, I don’t know the direction he is heading. To me he came off as an anti-hero, at first he appeared evil and it weirded me out.

The illustrations by Warren Wucinich were half dark and mysterious and half goofy. There is a character titled “The Lord Protectorate” and the way he was drawn looked comical compared to the rest of the gloomy scenes. It just felt like some of it didn’t fit in and threw me out of the story. Upon further investigation Wucinich illustrated some Invader ZIM graphic novels and I could see the art style hidden within Kriss. To me it felt flippy floppy and didn’t stick with one theme. A project like this should either be dark and gloomy, with the black and white with red contrasts or full color cartoon style like Invader ZIM, not both.

There really wasn’t a lot for me to base this review on because this volume was short and it was the introductory issue, I hope that Kriss improves over time because I see how the character could be compelling with his mysterious past. As of right now Kriss has earned a low 2/5 stars. I liked some of the art and I feel like it has potential, but right now I am not impressed.

Regardless of my opinion on this particular graphic novel I want to extend a huge thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for giving me the chance to review Kriss.

This is very much only the beginning and yet it is so well concluded. The entire graphic novel sets up Kriss’ ordinary life whilst also being a whole story on its own. A story of his friendships, his desires, and because of this his reluctance to leave them behind and fulfil his true destiny. The story is his battle of trying to fit in where he doesn’t belong in an attempt to avoid the unfamiliar; the extraordinary.

All the characters are so well developed in such a short space of time. The plot is complex and mysterious- clearly there’s a lot to come. The art is beautifully eerie, matching the tone and enriching the story. Highly Recommend.

This interesting comic is like if Norwegian Black Metal and a Renaissance Faire had a baby. So needless to say, it's pretty awesome. I was a little lost at first since they just jumped right into the universe without much setting up, but it all shook out soon enough. I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next!

This was a pretty interesting first instalment and has got me pretty intrigued to continue with the series. This is only a 3 star for me due to the plot being mostly introducing characters and setting up the main story which is common of being the first in a series. I liked kriss as a main character and I think that he is pretty relateable, being a fairly introverted outcast. I didn’t care that much for the other characters especially the love interest but I’m sure we will meet much more interesting characters further along in the series.