Mouse Guard: Dawn of the Black Axe

Wow.  Who remembers “Mouse Guard?”  When it started back in the aughts, David Petersen’s feudal fantasy series – with mice – looked like it could be the next big thing with all of the acclaim and positive word of mouth the first three volumes garnered.  These volumes weren’t easy to produce, however, as the third volume experienced many delays as it was serialized in single issues.  It has also meant that we haven’t seen a new installment of the series, outside of anthologies, in over a decade at this point.  Long enough for any momentum this series had to stall out.

So imagine my surprise when I saw that a new “Mouse Guard” miniseries was being serialized with Petersen writing it and “Locke & Key’s” Gabriel Rodriguez providing the art.  Is this the start of the title’s comeback?  Maybe.  The slight nature of the story collected here makes it feel like this was a test to see if Petersen could produce new “Mouse Guard” stories with someone else handling the art.  Rodriguez may lack the original creator’s textured storybook style, but he’s got a keen eye for detail and how to frame the action while telling the story.  It’s good enough work that you’ll likely stop comparing it to Petersen’s before the end of the first issue.

As for the story, it tells a surprisingly epic tale in the three issues collected here.  We learn the origin of Bardrick, the first mouse to wield the Black Axe and all that he endured to free mousekind from the tyranny of the five great snakes that lived outside their borders.  The narrative is entirely focused on this, which definitely helps draw you in, even as it does so at the expense of any characterization or nuance that would enrich the story.  Put another way:  It’s a marvel of economy as Petersen delivers just enough story to satisfy and nothing more.  So while it’s nice to have this, it’s hard to say that it gets me excited for the prospect of more “Mouse Guard” stores – if they’re even coming.