Comic of the Week: “Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers” #1

The world of “Dungeons & Dragons” has plenty of tales of heroic adventurers battling against evil monsters, but what about the opposite? Tales of heroic monsters battling against invading adventurers are in much shorter supply, which brings us to “Total Party Killers,” this week’s pick for Comic of the Week.

“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.