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The Stuff of Legend #5
The Stuff of Legend Book 5: A Call to Arms
Continuing the saga of the New York Times Bestselling Graphic Novel, written by Mike Raicht & Brian Smith and illustrated by Charles Paul Wilson III! The Boogeyman has resurrected his massive army and is preparing for a final battle for the boy's soul. The question is, who of the boy's toys could possibly be strong enough to stand up to him? Scattered across the dark, healing from past battles, uncertain of where to turn, the boy's loyal toys look to have little hope. Could these lost toys be defeated before the inevitable war has even truly begun? Loyalties are questioned, soldiers are lost, and dark secrets revealed, in this, the penultimate chapter of The Stuff of Legend saga, The Stuff of Legend 5: A Call to Arms.
- GenresGraphic NovelsFantasy
124 pages, Paperback
First published October 28, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 11, 2023
There was a long wait for book five of The Stuff of Legend. After the first four books came out every year between 2010 and 2013, A Call to Arms, Book 5 didn’t come out until 2020. But finally this twisted, dark Toy Land story with its striking, sepia toned artwork resumed, and it continues to impress.
More is revealed here about the origins of the Boogeyman and his relationship to the boy. There are more tragic losses and ever more agonizing betrayals. The Boogeyman’s powers continue to expand making him seem unassailable, and the boy remains in his clutches. But now, in this penultimate story, forces gather for the final battle — the huge army of lost toys who fight for the Boogeyman against the loyal remnant who will fight for the boy.
As I write this review, Book Six, the final chapter of The Stuff of Legend remains unpublished. I anxiously await it.
More is revealed here about the origins of the Boogeyman and his relationship to the boy. There are more tragic losses and ever more agonizing betrayals. The Boogeyman’s powers continue to expand making him seem unassailable, and the boy remains in his clutches. But now, in this penultimate story, forces gather for the final battle — the huge army of lost toys who fight for the Boogeyman against the loyal remnant who will fight for the boy.
As I write this review, Book Six, the final chapter of The Stuff of Legend remains unpublished. I anxiously await it.
August 12, 2026
A Call to Arms is a remarkable fifth chapter of The Stuff of Legend, and perhaps the bleakest one yet. After everything the toys have endured, you might expect them to be finally approaching some kind of resolution. Instead, the story scatters them across the Dark, wounded, exhausted and increasingly uncertain about whom they can trust.
And that is precisely what makes this volume so effective.
The Boogeyman has rebuilt his army and is preparing for the final battle for the boy's soul, but the toys are in no condition to face him. There is a wonderful sense of impending catastrophe throughout the entire book. The war hasn't really begun yet, and nevertheless it already feels as though the heroes are losing.
What I particularly appreciate about this volume is the way Raicht and Smith continue to make loyalty and betrayal central to the story. The question isn't simply who will win the coming war, but who can still be trusted when everyone has secrets, everyone has suffered losses, and the truth about the Dark becomes increasingly difficult to separate from the lies that have been told about it.
The mythology has also grown enormously since The Dark. What initially looked like a wonderfully macabre adventure about toys searching for their kidnapped boy has become a surprisingly complex dark fantasy, with its own history, factions, wars and moral ambiguities. By this point, the Dark feels like a genuine world—and a world that has been shaped by the wounds and memories of the children who created it.
And, once again, Charles Paul Wilson III's artwork is extraordinary. His imagination seems perfectly matched to that of Raicht and Smith. The creatures, landscapes, armies and toys are simultaneously fascinating and disturbing, and the visual richness of the series has remained remarkably consistent across five volumes.
But perhaps the greatest achievement of A Call to Arms is that it doesn't pretend to be a conclusion. It is exactly what its title promises: a gathering of forces before the final battle. Characters are brought together, others are lost, secrets are exposed, loyalties are questioned, and the pieces are placed on the board.
And then the book leaves you there, waiting for the war.
Which makes the experience both immensely satisfying and, given what we now know about the publication history, rather bittersweet.
Five books into the series, The Stuff of Legend has become something considerably more ambitious than its premise initially suggests: a dark, beautifully imagined meditation on childhood, memory, loyalty, fear and the power of imagination.
A Call to Arms is a superb penultimate chapter.
Now I just wish we could finally see the war it promises.
And that is precisely what makes this volume so effective.
The Boogeyman has rebuilt his army and is preparing for the final battle for the boy's soul, but the toys are in no condition to face him. There is a wonderful sense of impending catastrophe throughout the entire book. The war hasn't really begun yet, and nevertheless it already feels as though the heroes are losing.
What I particularly appreciate about this volume is the way Raicht and Smith continue to make loyalty and betrayal central to the story. The question isn't simply who will win the coming war, but who can still be trusted when everyone has secrets, everyone has suffered losses, and the truth about the Dark becomes increasingly difficult to separate from the lies that have been told about it.
The mythology has also grown enormously since The Dark. What initially looked like a wonderfully macabre adventure about toys searching for their kidnapped boy has become a surprisingly complex dark fantasy, with its own history, factions, wars and moral ambiguities. By this point, the Dark feels like a genuine world—and a world that has been shaped by the wounds and memories of the children who created it.
And, once again, Charles Paul Wilson III's artwork is extraordinary. His imagination seems perfectly matched to that of Raicht and Smith. The creatures, landscapes, armies and toys are simultaneously fascinating and disturbing, and the visual richness of the series has remained remarkably consistent across five volumes.
But perhaps the greatest achievement of A Call to Arms is that it doesn't pretend to be a conclusion. It is exactly what its title promises: a gathering of forces before the final battle. Characters are brought together, others are lost, secrets are exposed, loyalties are questioned, and the pieces are placed on the board.
And then the book leaves you there, waiting for the war.
Which makes the experience both immensely satisfying and, given what we now know about the publication history, rather bittersweet.
Five books into the series, The Stuff of Legend has become something considerably more ambitious than its premise initially suggests: a dark, beautifully imagined meditation on childhood, memory, loyalty, fear and the power of imagination.
A Call to Arms is a superb penultimate chapter.
Now I just wish we could finally see the war it promises.
October 7, 2021
More setup for the final battle in the main story with a lot more on the origin of the Boogeyman and the Dark in the flashbacks. The art is still great.
June 17, 2025
This must be what the GoT and Kingkiller Chronicle fans feel like.
September 18, 2022
Wonderful
I am only waiting for the final part of this great story!
This book is only the preparation for the great battle, and I want to see it.
I am only waiting for the final part of this great story!
This book is only the preparation for the great battle, and I want to see it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews