First, a warning. If you have never played the original Life Is Strange adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix, and you plan to, then just be aware that there might be a minor spoiler or two ahead. Oh, and by the way, the game is currently on sale on Steam until December 2nd. That being said, Life Is Strange Vol 1: Dust Deluxe Edition is a hardcover deluxe edition rerelease of the first graphic novel. The original graphic novel binds together the single-issue editions of the Life Is Strange comic books, issues #1-4, aptly entitled “Dust”.
The original Life is Strange video game had two main endings. The one you lived through was based on your final choice to either “sacrifice Chloe to save Arcadia Bay” or “sacrifice Arcadia Bay to save Chloe”. This graphic novel follows the path of the ending, where Max sacrificed the town of Arcadia Bay to save Chloe.
The Story
Assuming you’ve never read these post-game stories, you begin where the aspiring photographer Max Caulfield, the game’s female protagonist, and her best friend Chloe Price have moved on from Arcadia Bay a year after the disaster. The two of them together are trying to build a new life in Seattle away from the trauma of the past. They make new friends and seem to be in a comfortable place until Max starts experiencing weird lapses in her surroundings (without trying to spoil too much). The conclusion is that she and Chloe need to leave Seattle, overcome their angst, and return to Arcadia Bay to find the answers to these “lapses”.
Regarding the story, as a reader, you really don’t need to finish the game to enjoy the writing of author Emma Vieceli. Everything you loved about the story in the game is here in this hardcover collected edition, especially that ongoing sense that Max and Chloe are one millisecond away from becoming more than just friends. Even though the girls embark on a journey that digs up a lot of guilt for each of them, Vieceli keeps it from going down a path of too dark a place. And without spoiling too much, there are also dashes of sci-fi thrown in, with a favorite being a reference to a late 1980s TV series.
The artwork by Claudia Leonardi is pleasing to look at with bold, defined lines. Characters are drawn with light-hearted detailing, almost with an adult animated series vibe. There’s also never an overabundance of text to read; the dialogue is paced just right. Even if you never finished the game or played it at all, you’ll get a sense of who these ladies are.
The Presentation
This hardcover edition is bound really well on high-gloss pages. The only real complaint is that the pages themselves might be a little too flimsy for some; otherwise, it’s a solid edition. This edition is also packed with enough extra features to warrant the cost. Included are things like a variant cover gallery, character bios, author bios, the working script from issue #1, book signing photographs, etc. A lot of these extra visual pages are annotated with notes behind the development process, all nice extras for the rabid Life Is Strange fans.
Overall, this volume was an engaging and delightful read, especially if you’re a big Max and Chloe fan, as it stays true to the game’s premises. It’s a recommended read for any fan of the games. Also, on the last page is a banner slyly posted that states, “This action will have consequences,” which really leaves us with a nice cliff-hanger, well done!
Title: Life Is Strange Vol 1: Dust Deluxe Edition Graphic Novel
Author: Emma Vieceli
Artist: Claudia Leonardi
Colors: Andrea Izzo
Letters: Rich Starkings
Release: November 25, 2025
Publisher: Titan Comics
Format: HC 144 pages, full color. Mature Readers
Cover price: $24.99 / £21,99
Note: this review was done on a hardcover physical review copy provided by the publisher.
