Comic of the Week: “Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks” #1

We’ve missed a few weeks for Comic of the Week, but there are always amazing comics coming out, so we couldn’t go for too long without talking about another one. So this week, we’re back with a look at Faerun’s latest adventuring party, “The Fallbacks,” written by Greg Pak, illustrated by Wilton Santos, and colored by Raúl Angulo.

“Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks” takes the characters from Jaleigh Johnson’s D&D novels and brings them into the comics. While the characters aren’t new to the Forgotten Realms, the story is still an original, rather than an adaptation of Bound for Ruin or Dealing with Dragons (which are also good novels I’d highly recommend). It also doesn’t require any prior knowledge about the Fallbacks or their previous adventures, as writer Greg Pak introduces them to the readers through both captions and the natural flow of the story.

Right off the bat, we’re given a clear understanding of who these characters are. A quick action sequence shows us each of their skills in action, from Tess’s teleporting daggers to Cazrin’s magic, while showcasing their personalities at the same time.

For instance, when we’re introduced to Tess, we see how she’s kind and generous by offering to give some coins to a kobold beggar… but also that the party is flat broke, which we can later see informs her actions when she chooses to get involved in any matter with a monetary reward. We get to learn more about other characters in a similar way, such as the fighter (Anson) trying to talk down his enemies before attacking, or through the banter the bard (Lark) exchanges with just about everyone.

In other words, the characters are absolutely brimming with personality in everything they do. Each one has a distinct voice that comes through in their dialogue, how they bounce off each other, and the choices they make throughout the story.

Now we get to the story itself. As this is the first issue, it mainly serves as an introduction and setup, but it still has the quintessential D&D elements that fans know and expect. Rival adventuring party? Check. A wide array of species and creatures from the game? Check. A dungeon with monsters and treasure? Check and check. It’s all there, and it fits into the narrative seamlessly, making the story feel like the start of a D&D campaign in the best of ways.

So we’ve got great characters, a strong supporting cast, and the start of a quest that kicks off with plenty of action and the promise of bigger adventures to come. What more could we ask for?

Now let’s talk about the art. Wilton Santos provides the penciling for this issue, with Edvan Alves doing the inking and Raúl Angulo on the colors. The art itself is excellent, with strong character designs, a great sense of panel composition, and the perfect balance of detail that makes the world feel alive.

While the character designs themselves were established on the covers of the Fallbacks novels, Santos captures all their key elements in his own style and fills them with personality. Their expressions, body language, and even their framing in each panel showcase a great deal about who they are and how they’re feeling, even when they’re just standing in the background.

The same goes for the new characters and even the background characters. One look at the rival party and we can tell so much about them immediately, thanks to their designs and body language alone.

Also, there’s an important balance to strike with Uggie the otyugh to make a young garbage-eating monster both adorable and gross at the same time, and Santos nails it.

Each panel is filled with details on both the characters and backgrounds that make Faerun feel alive. The designs on the armor, the architecture of the buildings, and the characters hanging around the background of a tavern all add to the world, so they receive as much care and attention as the heroes. When we get to action scenes, the action is swift and fluid, capturing each key moment in the fight while controlling the pacing.

Santos often connects his panels by having details from one extend beyond the panel’s edge and into the next, or overlapping one with the one connecting to it. This subtle trick helps control the pacing, drawing our eyes from one scene to the next naturally. It’s particularly useful in the fight scenes, as it takes readers on a journey through the action.

All the while, Raúl Angulo’s color work brings each page to vivid life, helping the characters pop off the panel and adding a vibrancy to the world. Angulo’s color work is bright and clean, making it easy on the eyes and a fine match for Santos’s illustrations. Each character has a distinct color theme, like Lark’s white outfit over his red skin or Baldric’s gold coat, but they share enough elements that they feel connected, like a proper party should.

Angulo also knows when to shift the color to change the scene or accentuate action. The natural shades of sky blues and light brown streets give way to the yellow illumination of a tavern, which is replaced in turn by the darker blues and grays of the night sky and road. Sickly green shades let us know when evil undead approach, creating an unnatural atmosphere that controls the mood, and action scenes are occasionally highlighted with bright backgrounds of gold or red to bring out a key moment.

Good color work can do so much to control the atmosphere of the scene and impact of each moment, and Angulo’s colors do just that.

The worlds of Dungeons & Dragons contain limitless possibilities for adventures, characters, and stories for readers to enjoy. We’ve seen this through unforgettable stories like R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt novels (and their comic book adaptations), Jim Zub’s comics following Minsc and his friends, and now, The Fallbacks. The comic feels like an actual D&D campaign, filled with fun banter, likable characters, and the start of a great adventure, with excellent artwork bringing each moment to life.

If you’re a fan of The Fallbacks novels, rest assured, the characters are in good hands. And whether you’re new to the world of Dungeons & Dragons or a longtime adventurer (or Forever DM) looking for a new story in the Realms, you’ll find it here.