Why does Geralt look so ugly on The Witcher Classic Collection comic? It’s hard to explain, but I’ll try

The latest book in The Witcher saga is finally getting translated into English and other languages soon. But before you jump into young Geralt’s adventures, you can check out some seriously old-school comics that just got a worldwide release – The Witcher: Classic Collection. And if you think this cover is hideous, trust me, you haven’t seen anything yet.

The Witcher comics, a nostalgic dive into ‘90s weirdness

The Witcher comics, illustrated by Boguslaw Polch and written by Maciej Parowski (adapting Andrzej Sapkowski’s stories), were the first-ever comic adaptation of The Witcher. They were released between 1993 and 1995, back when The Witcher was just a collection of short stories, not the full-fledged book series we know today.

As for the cover of the Classic Collection, that’s actually the cover of the very first comic from 1993. And Geralt’s look? Well... that’s just Boguslaw Polch’s artistic approach. I get that to modern eyes, the Ariana Grande-style ponytail and those bangs – which start to look more like a mustache on his forehead the longer you stare – might seem funny. And yeah, his whole face looks absolutely weird, but 30 years ago, this was considered good.

Source: Warhammer World, Nottingham

Just like the old Citadel miniatures from the ‘80s and ‘90s, these were once seen as amazing, but now, they just look super goofy.

Related:The Witcher 4 devs explained how Ciri will differ from Geralt in combat. „She moves like she was raised by wolves in Kaer Morhen”

Anyway, back to the comic books, here’s my favorite cover.

Source: Proszynski i S-ka

This was the fourth issue of The Witcher comic, released in 1995. Yeah, take a moment to admire Yennefer of Vengerberg – the striking beauty always dressed in black and white. Her almost unnatural looks were the result of magic, but here, it feels more like a spell that went wrong.

But to be fair, it’s really just the covers that were painfully awful. The illustrations inside are way more tolerable, with that classic ‘90s vibe. They actually have a bit of a Thorgal comic feel. So if you're a big Witcher fan, you gotta grab it. It’s worth the cringe!

• comics
• Andrzej Sapkowski
• The Witcher (franchise)