The post Comic of the Week: “Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers” #1 appeared first on G33K-HQ.
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“Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers” is written by Christopher Hastings (of “The Unbelievable Gwenpool” fame) and illustrated by Denis Medri, with colors by Dan Jackson and lettering by Lucas Gattoni. There will be spoilers as we delve into the comic, but nothing that wouldn’t already be spoiled by reading the solicitation.
As mentioned, “Total Party Killers” is not a story of adventurers, but rather, monsters. However, Hastings builds up to it nicely by starting with an adventuring party exploring an evil wizard’s lair. As they delve onwards, they encounter a peculiar assortment of monsters, such as a gibbering mouther performing as a bard, and a gelatinous cube with a surprising assortment of wizardly items floating about inside it.
The buildup and reveals are paced nicely, introducing one monster at a time as we learn how the wizard controlled them with a powerful magic item. Thus, when we get the reveal that the monsters are baiting adventurers to free them, there’s plenty of foreshadowing in place. (And that’s about as far as the spoilers in this review will go.)
At the same time, this makes us sympathetic to the monsters, as we see their camaraderie and desire to be free. It’s a good contrast to the adventurers, who have spent most of the comic being self-aggrandizing and disdainful of the monsters they encountered. It’s an effective introduction and a fun little reveal, which also parallels another twist (that we will not be spoiling here).
The monsters themselves are great choices, featuring an assortment of iconic D&D foes. Each one has a distinct personality and voice that comes through in every line of dialogue, making them instantly appealing.
We have a gelatinous cube (with wizardly training and magic items), a mind flayer (who currently has druidic magic after eating a druid’s brains), a death knight, and a baby beholder.
(Yes, I’m well aware that beholders don’t have children, and reproduce by dreaming other beholders into existence. Hastings knows this too and has the characters address it. Regardless, Looksy the baby beholder is an adorable mascot character who quickly grabs readers by the heartstrings.)
Rounding out the party is a lycanthrope rogue, whose ability to shift into human form serves a story purpose, plays into the reveal, and gives readers a more human-looking central character to connect with.
As a result, we get a party that’s both filled with classic monsters and matches adventuring party roles.
The story is well-paced, bringing us through the wizard’s lair, introducing the characters, and kicking off the plot without feeling rushed or dragging things out. Considering it’s a four-issue mini-series, that type of pacing is just what the comic needs to give us a full story in the time it has.
Fans of D&D will be pleased to know that Hastings clearly knows his lore. There are little details, like name-dropping locations in the Moonsea or using specific spells, that show his knowledge of the setting, as well as more plot-relevant characters and locations that will be familiar to fans of the Forgotten Realms.
That brings us to the artwork. “Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers” is illustrated by Denis Medri, with colors by Dan Jackson. Medri’s artwork matches the tone of the comic perfectly, with bold line work and clean designs that make everything stand out nicely.
On a scale of “cartoon to realistic,” Medri’s artwork leans more toward the cartoon side, with distinct silhouettes and larger-than-life character designs, rather than relying on more natural shapes and heavy detailing. This is to the comic’s favor, especially when we get to the monsters. For those characters, Medri’s designs work wonders, capturing key details of iconic creatures without making them look terrifying to readers.
Also, Looksy is adorable, and Medri does a great job making it expressive with nothing but eleven eyes and a mouth.
Medri’s artwork also works well for the action scenes, especially when the characters start spellcasting. The lighting effects and arcane runes make the spells come to life on the page, while the melee action flows well.
The color work matches Medri’s style nicely, using bright tones against the colder backgrounds to make the characters and spell effects pop. Jackson’s colors also lean towards cleaner shades, which keeps the characters at the center of attention in each panel.
It helps that he gives each character a distinct color scheme as well, both for humans and monsters. Tilli’s blue hair makes her instantly recognizable, and the green hue and magic of Mucus Cubus, the gelatinous cube, complements it nicely. Even Strago the death knight, whose color scheme is mostly dark greys and metals, stands out with his glowing red eyes.
All in all, “Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers” is a ton of fun for longtime fans of D&D and anyone looking for a good story. Hastings’ great characters, pacing, and story, combined with Medri’s artwork and Jackson’s colors, make this comic a joy to read.
“Total Party Killers” introduces a new band of soon-to-be beloved characters, and I can’t wait to see where the story takes these adventurers monsters heroes.
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“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.
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