Mouse Guard is another recent find. I purchased the first hardcover collection, entitled Mouse Guard, Fall 1152 and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

The setting isn’t incredibly complex and is reminiscent of Brian Jacques’ Redwall series, but seems intended for a somewhat more mature audience (the publisher’s website says ages 10+). The premise is that mice in a medieval-esque society have created a group of warriors to protect the far-flung mouse settlements from predators. The first volume details the adventures of a group of three Guard Mice respectively named Saxon, Kenzie and Lieam. Here’s a picture of Lieam in black and white from the “Characters” section of David Petersen’s Mouse Guard website.

 

Not to give too much away, the first Mouse Guard story arc revolves around a legendary hero, a conspiracy and  battles against a variety of predators, from snakes to crabs. Yes, I said crabs, and you’ll have to read it to understand what I’m talking about.

I’ve read a few reviews online that say the story isn’t complex enough, but I didn’t really think that was an issue. I’m also curious to see where Petersen plans to take the story, as it seems it’s only going to get more involved in future volumes. FYI, the hardcover edition of Mouse Guard is in full color, and Petersen does an amazing job of bringing the world of the mice to life, especially in the forest scenes and in his rendition of the Mouse Guard’s fortress of Lockhaven.

I picked up my copy at Barnes & Noble in the bookstore itself, though obviously you can purchase copies online at Barnes and Noble’s website. For more information about Mouse Guard, you can visit the author’s site at www.mouseguard.net. The graphic novel is published by Archaia Studios Press at www.daradja.com.

(The images above are from www.mouseguard.net. The first is the cover to the first volume of the Mouse Guard comic by David Petersen, and the second image is a sketch from Petersen’s gallery on www.mouseguard.net.)