Big Redcloak reveal (spoiler): Start of Darkness or #830 first?

[Zorgoth]

Of course, Start of Darkness came out long before the online reveal that Redcloak has been deceiving Xykon all along. I read Start of Darkness before that was shown in the online strip. But, for a new reader who can read to #830, do you think that I should recommend that they get there before reading Start of Darkness, or not? Obviously, this is going to be subjective. I'd be particularly interested in hearing from people who read #830 online before knowing Redcloak's plan.

[hroþila]

I have no idea how a reader would perceive it if #830 was the first time they heard about the actual Plan. That said, I think Start of Darkness is the best OOTS material ever released, so I would want to get everyone to read it as soon as possible (so after War and XPs, I think, and long before #830).

[Rollin]

I read #830 first and I think either order is fine. It doesn't "spoil" the fuller account in Start of Darkness, and, in fact, was part of why I bought the PDF a few months later.

[Fyraltari]

Both are treated as a reveal so I'm not really sure it makes that much of a difference.
I read #830 first, by the way.

[Goblin_Priest]

I read #830 first and I think either order is fine. It doesn't "spoil" the fuller account in Start of Darkness, and, in fact, was part of why I bought the PDF a few months later.

Same here.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I definitely read #830 first (and was pretty shocked), but I think getting the full picture in SoD is such a great reveal that it still is pretty impactful. So, either order is fine, though I agree SoD is 100% worth reading at the soonest available convenience.

[Jannoire]

I read the online comic first and I'd recommend it doing that way. The reveal in 830 gets spoiled heavily by SoD, but in SoD there's a lot more which doesn't get spoiled by 830.

Also, since How the Paladin got his scar came out, SoD is no longer the best OotS material. (imo)

[The Pilgrim]

With these prequel things I am always in favor of reading/watching in the order of publication.

I read SoD first, and 830 still retained shock value because I wasn't expecting Redcloak to be so straightforward with Tsukiko and then killing her and doing it so ruthlessly and efficiently. I did not expect Redcloak to have regrown so much spine.

In my oppinion, 830 was not written with the intent of Redcloak's real plan being the Big Reveal of the scene, because that had been already revealed in SoD. Redcloak telling it in 830 was just an info dump for those readers that had not read SoD. Also, reading SoD before the Battle of Azure City adds a lot of depth to Redcloak's character development through books 3 and 4.

That said, I had an aquittance who was just a casual reader of the online comic and though I tried to get him to read SoD, he wasn't interested. When 830 hit he was totally in shock and begged me to lend him my copy of SoD and has remained a hooked fan of the main comic and all side material since then. So I suppose reading it in that order works, too.

[Emanick]

Having read Start of Darkness begins adding significant value around the beginning of the Battle of Azure City - which shouldn't be too much of a surprise, since that's around when it was published. (Example: Redcloak's line "This one's for you, Mom" just before he orders the catapults to be fired.) As a result, I think the perfect time to read Start of Darkness is around #400 - right after the Linear Guild is dealt with, and right before Team Evil reenters the main plot. That way you get to read Team Evil's juicy backstory right before it becomes Very Relevant, and right after you finish the book, you get to follow their future adventures almost immediately. It certainly makes the Battle of Azure City much more interesting to read when you have a fuller idea of what's at stake in the mind of every major character.

[Ruck]

I read #830 before Start of Darkness, and that made the reveal huge for me. When I've recommended the story to other people, I usually recommend the same. Of course, that means I have no point of reference as far as what the experience is like doing it the other way. It certainly may well be that the other background information in SoD makes the rest of the story more satisfying than whatever impact of that moment in #830 is lost by doing it that way.

[CriticalFailure]

I think I missed out due to reading gaming threads on this site long before I read the comic. I knew about Miko falling and Redcloak having some sort of agenda of his own before I started.

Though I did finish reading it the night before 1142 was published, so good timing for that reveal at least.