The Order of the Stick, Volume -1: Start of Darkness | 
 enlarge | Author: Rich Burlew
Brand: Giant in the Playground
Category: Book
Buy New: $15.03
New (5) Used (2) from $15.03
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 7170
Media: Paperback
Pages: 116
ISBN: 0976658046
EAN: 9780976658047
ASIN: 0976658046
Publication Date: June 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
From the depths of time comes a story of wicked villains, terrible secrets, and monumental screw-ups! The Order of the Stick: Start of Darkness reveals for the first time the secret origins of Xykon, Redcloak, the Monster in the Darkness, heck, even the demon cockroaches. Containing 112 pages of all-new never-published-online comics in dramatic black-and-white, Start of Darkness is full of villainy goodness for any fan of the OOTS. Learn such secrets as: How did Xykon and Redcloak meet? How did Xykon became a lich? Why did Eugene Greenhilt swear revenge on Xykon? What ever happened to Lirian's Gate, anyway? How did Redcloak discover the Monster in the Darkness? Why on earth does Redcloak put up with Xykon's crap??? The Order of the Stick: Start of Darkness is presented primarily in black-and-white, similar to our bestselling On the Origin of PCs, but features a special full-color insert detailing the Secret Lore of the Crimson Mantle--in the popular crayon format, first seen in No Cure for the Paladin Blues. Featuring introductions by the author and Miko Miyazaki, paladin of the Sapphire Guard, this book is a flat-out must have for fans of the OOTS plotline, as it fills in missing details in the story of who these evildoers are and why they do evil. Wallowing in unrepentant villainy has never been this much fun (legally)!
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| Customer Reviews:
Excellent prequel May 15, 2008
P. Rainey (California)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
With excellent jokes and storytelling, plus subtle and not-so-subtle visual humor, this is an excellent read. Though not vital knowledge for anyone reading the online strip, I've started to notice a few references to the back story creeping into the current dialog.
There is one drawback to this novel, and Mr. Burlew even mentions it in the preface. Sometimes the story gets pretty dark. And I'm not talking about gallows humor dark but actual depressing dark. These guys turn evil for a reason, and it's not that much fun to discover why. Xykon, that lovably two-dimensional parody of evil, takes on depths of depravity that turn him into someone you truly hate.
Much deeper than the web comic November 25, 2007
Derfenrirwolv
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This takes the story in the order of the stick to a whole new level. While the normal gaming, slapstick, and general geek humor is there what makes this product really shine is the depth it gives the characters. In no novel, comic, gaming supplement have i ever seen a better reasoning behind a villain's motive for being the threat to all thats good and holy the story requires them to be. This should be required reading for any GM who wants to be able to do "intelligent evil" with greater depth than the normal inflatable pool level treatment bad guys usually get. Unlike Origin of PC's this isn't more of the same.. its a cut, slash, and great cleave above the rest.
Redefines the Saga September 13, 2007
Rodney Meek (Austin, TX)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
This (mostly) black-and-white volume goes back in time to bring us the backstories of Xykon the Lich, his goblin priest lackey Redcloak, and the Creature in Darkness. Now, this kind of thing can be a mistake. For instance, I never WANTED to know why Darth Vader became evil. I just accepted that he was, and so I had no interest in an entire prequel trilogy showing how he ended up that way. Often, trying to explain why the bad guys became so bad just demystifies them.
But in this case, the character histories that we witness here dramatically revise what we thought we knew, and now I'm more than half convinced that it is Redcloak, and not Roy or his buddies in the Order of the Stick, who is the real hero of the story. I won't give anything away, but now that we see his goals and motivations, I find his role much more interesting than that of practically anyone else.
Xykon, of course, is still just a psycho, but a self-aware (if unapologetic) one, and he has a fascinating scene toward the end in which he explains just how and where he and Redcloak differ.
Shame on you if you haven't been following this tale through its online version or the four collections, but it's not too late to hop onboard, and I highly encourage you to do so.
Before the Order of the Stick... August 6, 2007
Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA USA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Before Volume 1 and even before Volume 0, there was THIS Volume. The Volume that tells us about Redcloak, the Creature in the Darkness, Xykon, not to be confused with Zykon or Xyklon, and even the history behind the Crimson Mantle and why all this guys are looking for the Gates in the first place. With a preface by Miko Miyazaki and lots of humor, murders, Ninja clowns, tacos, lies, zombies and all the evil characters you could ever want, this is a must for any library!
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