Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard lets different creators play in fantasy world

Fans can dig into the mythology and stories of the “Mouse Guard” world in the creative anthology “Legends of the Guard.”

One night in the June Alley Inn, in the western mouse city of Barkstone, the mice join a storytelling contest.  The winner will receive forgiveness of his bar tab.  The rules are that Every story must contain at least one truth and at least one falsehood, and the story must be one the judge has never heard before.

The 4-issue miniseries, collected in hardcover, features contributions from Gene Ha, Terry Moore, Ted Naifeh, Guy Davis, Sean Rubin, Mark Smylie, Craig Rousseau, Karl Kerschl, Katie Cook and Jeremy Bastian, with framing sequences by “Mouse Guard” creator David Petersen.

The stories range from funny to action-packed to near-terrifying, each showing a different side of or piece of history from the Mouse Guard world.   This well-rounded fantasy series is a pleasant way to fill the time while waiting for the next “Mouse Guard” series, but it’s worth a look on its own right, as well, to see a variety of stories from talented comics creators.

- Matt Price
Comics read in 2011: 867.  Still to go: 1144.