I actually haven't read any of the Mouse Guard series, although it has been recommended to me several times. This was a nice series of vignettes, however. Each story has it's own artist and art style which I absolutely loved. Obviously there isn't any plot to speak of, but the simplicity and beauty of the tales themselves were worth it, and really make me want to finally begin this series.

Copy courtesy of Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This is the second book in the Legends of the Guard series by David Petersen. This book continues in the tradition of the first book. The book is full of a variety of short stories in graphic novel format, the majority of them feature adventures of David Petersen’s Mouse Guard.

Mice have gathered at the June Alley Inn for another chance at clearing their debt with the Inn by winning a contest to tell the best story possible. Storytellers feature a wide range of authors/artists such as Charles Paul Wilson III (from The Stuff of Legend), Bill Willingham (from Fables), and Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo). As with all of these anthologies the stories are hit and miss. However there are a lot more hits than misses in this collection.

I loved the art of the story “Leviathan” about a mouse who ends up on a journey in the sea. I also adored the art of the picture only story “Love at Sea” which tells the tale of a mer-mouse and a sailor. “The Mouse Generals” also had spectacular artwork paired with an intriguing story. “When Moles are Around” was a somewhat humorous tale about a mouse who befriends a mole. “The Veteran” was also very funny and my whole family laughed out loud at this ironic tale.

My favorite of the whole bunch was “The Thief, the Star-Gazer, the Hunter, and the Trailer”; I loved the fairy tale feel to this story and the illustration was stunning. I also loved how the issue of the princess marrying was resolved in such a peaceful way.

In between each story there are interludes by David Petersen in which the preceding story is discussed briefly and then the next mouse prepares to tell the next story. At the end (just like in the first book) June announces the winner (and one who will have debt forgiven).

The epilogue contains a bonus story along with detailed drawings of the Inn’s patrons and buildings. There is also a very nice section that goes through all of the authors/illustrators and gives a brief background for each; I always enjoy reading about the authors/illustrators and what other projects they have worked on.

My whole family read this book together. My seven year old son is a huge fan of the Mouse Guard series (as am I). I get these books for him as gifts and then we read them together.

Overall this was another excellent collection of Mouse Guard stories by various authors. There is a vast variety of styles and stories throughout. All of them touch on the themes important to the Mouse Guard; honor, adventure, family, and love. Highly recommended to fans of fantasy graphic novels. Great for all ages. ( )

A few months ago I stumbled upon Mouse Guard: The Black Axe or Mouse Guard #3; I really liked it. The drawing was so detailed and I could not wait to learn more about the series. Recently, I saw that another graphic novel was available on Netgalley and did a little dance as I clicked the button to get it. This time it is Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Volume 2; now granted I have not read Volume 1…so I am a little sad about that, but I was excited to see where this one picked up.

I am so happy that I did; in this volume, June the innkeeper offers to waive debt for the winner of the best story told while at her inn. The intermissions between the stories of the mice are all in the art of the normal artist, but each story told has creative adaptations done by various other artists. The creativity in this book is amazing; the tales are fun and some have morals, and some are just cute or romantic. The artists took their styles and adapted them into these tales and it came out beautifully.

My favorite story was Back and Forth art and story by Jackson Sze; this story was about mapping the river towns and two mice learning to be together as they did it. It was a longer tale, but the ending made it for me. My favorite art was The Thief, The Star-Gazer, The Hunter, and The Tailor art and story by Cory Godbey. It was an adorable story about a family and finding traits for themselves but the pastel like colors and textures of the drawings were wonderful to look at. Rich, bright colors really made this even better. I really liked this story too, and overall I think it was my very favorite. Other artists conveyed their tales without words and just art, and one even write theirs as a song. It was a very memorable graphic novel.

I would suggest anyone grab this installment. ( )

ARC provided by NetGalley

In this second collection of Legends of the Guard, Petersen and a group of fantastic guest artists and writers, share their own unique visions and tales of the Mouse Guard. Our setting is the June Alley Inn, located in Barkstone, as the mice gather to tell tales in hopes of having their debt settled for telling the best one. The competition is fierce and only one mouse can win.

I always enjoy seeing how other artists and writers take on different characters, because they bring their own unique vision and talents to the work, and give the characters a different view point. Where it falters a bit though is where you aren't focusing on a particular character, but have the creators focus instead on a realm that has been created, and that's what we have here. While Petersen has crafted a fantastic world where there are multiple adventures that take place, readers for the most part have focused on the tales of only a handful of mice. When we go out into the wider realm its with one of the characters that we know well and can tell us what we're seeing. In this collection, though...we don't have that. While the artists and writers do a great job of telling other stories and adding to the realm that Petersen has created, it lacks some of the impact that we would have had if we were accompanied by a guide that we recognized, even if it was a narrator.

While their is a great mix of stories in this Mouse Guard collection, it just doesn't do much for me because there's nothing recognizable about the realm. And I know, I know it sounds picky to say that its great to have others reinterpret characters and what not, but there is always that hint, that trace of what drew us to the character in the first place. Expanding it to a realm, just isn't quite the same for me.

If this is your first visit to the Mouse Guard realm, do yourself a favor...put down this book and go read the first two volumes of the series. It will help you better understand the true nature of the realm. Then come back and finish this volume. Fans of Mouse Guard may get some enjoyment out of this book, but overall I think they would prefer to see the next adventures of the mice that we know so well and love. I give the book 3 out of 5 stars. ( )