PATHFINDER: WAKE THE DEAD #4, by Dynamite Comics on 11/22/23, enters Yled, the city of the dead, where Nyctessa will cast her necromancy spell to revive Gabsalia.
The Details
- Written by: Fred Van Lente
- Art by: Eman Casallos
- Colors by: Jorge Sutil
- Letters by: Tom Napolitano
- Cover art by: Steve Ellis (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: November 22, 2023
Is PATHFINDER: WAKE THE DEAD #4 Good?
Fred Van Lente continues the RPG adventure with deadly traps, stealthy gambits, and a whole lot of adventure in PATHFINDER: WAKE THE DEAD #4. Fans of the TTRPG on which this comic is based will have a field day with all the Easter Eggs.
When last we left our not-so-merry band of adventurers, their trek through the Spellscar Desset as a path of escape from Nex paid off. The adventurers eventually found the defector, Gabsalia, but her status as a very dead defector left the group with little choice but to find the means to resurrect her long enough to spill her secrets. Now, the group heads to Yled and Nycterra’s old laboratory to bring Gabsalia back to life long enough to gab (heh) her secrets, but they’ll have to face impenetrable defenses and diminutive spies to find the information they seek.
The big positive we noted in the review for issue #3 was how much the comic took on the form of a classic RPG campaign. In issue #4, that positive is repeated as Van Lente takes readers through traps, gambits, risky choices, and daring stealth on the journey toward completing the quest.
What’s great about PATHFINDER: WAKE THE DEAD #4? If you’re a Pathfinder TTRPG fan or a fan of Sword & Sorcery tales in general, this issue is right up your alley. Van Lente faithfully adapts the Pathfinder game lore to craft a comic that reads as an entertaining comic but also satisfies as the blueprint for a Pathfinder campaign. It would be easy to lean too much into hardcore Pathfinder lore, making the comic inaccessible to casual readers, but Van Lente strikes a sure balance between faithful and accessible.
What’s not so great about PATHFINDER: WAKE THE DEAD #4? Reasonably, nothing falls short in this comic besides the occasional nitpick. Dynamite and Van Lente understood the audience who would like this type of material, and they nailed it.
How’s the art? Eman Casallos’s character designs, gritty action, and magical displays are first-rate. Likewise, Jorge Sutil’s color selections and applications are pristine. That said, the characters are almost a little too clean given the challenges they’ve faced, so it would have served the issue better to show the characters going through a little wear and tear.
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What’s PATHFINDER: WAKE THE DEAD #4 About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our PATHFINDER: WAKE THE DEAD #3 review to find out how the group found Gabsalia.
We begin with our band of adventurers (and half of Gabsalia) approaching the city walls of Yled. Sajan hatches a plan to plant the Scream Sword as a distraction for the city wall’s deadly defenses while the group sprints toward an aquafer tunnel that leads under the city wall. The plan works, but the group must face sharp-toothed gillmen to get to the other side.
The team barely survives, and they sneak their way through guards and clerks by pretending to be part of a large group of visiting merchants. Once inside the Yled’s inner circle, Nyctessa leads the group to her old laboratory to begin a resurrection ritual on Gabsalia’s corpse. While Nyctessa begins her incantations, Sajan notices a small creature spying on them. The creature tries to escape to warn its master that Nyctessa has returned.
We conclude the issue with a tiny chase, a thirsty spy, and a turned table.
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Final Thoughts
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PATHFINDER: WAKE THE DEAD #4 brings the band of adventurers to the city of the dead to raise the dead or risk winding up dead. Van Lente strikes an entertaining balance between recreating the fun of the TTRPG source material and crafting a fun adventure story.
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