Writer – John Rogers
Art – Andrea Di Vito
Color – Aburtov
Publisher – IDW
I am without question a child of the 1980s. I adore Sylvester Stallone movies, am wistful when speaking of GI Joe and Transformers cartoons on weekday afternoons, and Diff’rent Strokes is one my favorite sitcoms. Dungeons and Dragons was a large part of my childhood as well. I grew up watching the Saturday morning cartoon, which always seemed way better than most other shows of the time. I also had a massive collection of action (and no-action) figures that were produced by LJN. My friends and I would set up enormous “dungeons” in our basements and spend hours bringing our characters (which included He-Man, Sectaurs, and just about any other toy that would fit the scale) through amazing adventures. I dabbled in the role playing game that started it all as I got a bit older, but my main D&D love is from the cartoon and toys.
IDW can usually be counted on to produce a high quality comic book. Their specialty is clearly licensed work; they have an especially strong track record of late producing work licensed by Hasbro. IDW was right to release a zero issue back in August. For a single dollar I was given an impressive introduction to the first two series to launching under the brand. It was a fabulous little package that showed off the regard IDW had for the material and the quality that the future would bring.
This week I grabbed issue #1 and have to say this is a comic worth reading for the near future at minimum. This feels like a campaign that I would want to play out for the foreseeable future. The cast of characters features the various types you would expect: elf, dwarf, magic user, halfling, and a warrior. The crew almost instantly must defend their town of Fallcrest from a horde of seeming zombies. John Rogers attempts to spend a little time characterizing each of the adventurers. Sadly, these are pretty much cardboard cutouts at this point in time. That’s not a bad thing for a premiere issue, but I hope Rogers has some wrinkles and twists in the future that will turn them into memorable players. The pace is brisk and there are some nifty action segments. This is the first piece of a bigger tale, but I hope there isn’t too much emphasis placed on a grand overarching storyline. Instead I prefer to see a number of shorter adventures. We shall see where Rogers plans to bring us in the coming months.
Fantasy comics live or die with their artwork. If the artist can’t make your jaw drop than what’s the point! Andrea Di Vito is an excellent fantasy illustrator. I remember a few of his fill-in issues on the CrossGen series Scion. He’s got a practiced hand that translates weird characters, sharp weapons, and archaic scenery with a true grace. The characters all have an eye catching and memorable appearance. Everything is worth taking a closer look. Thank you, Mr. Di Vito for making my jaw drop several times.
The premiere issue of Dungeons and Dragons is a success at capturing the world so many of us has adventured in with dungeon masters, our toys, or on screen. Rogers’ characters are a perfect fit for the world and Di Vito is the glue that holds the story together. I don’t know if the book will hold up over the long haul, but I’m down to join this campaign as long as it stays fun.
