Dark Horse Reveals First Dungeons & Dragons Comic

Dark Horse has revealed its first Dungeons & Dragons comic, the result of a new licensing deal between the comics publisher and Wizards of the Coast. Today, The Gamer posted a preview for Dungeons and Dragons: The Fallbacks, a new comic book focused on an adventuring group of misfits. The team consists of elf ogue Tess, human fighter Anson, the tiefling bard Lark, dwarf cleric Baldric, and otyugh companion Uggie. The Fallbacks previously were featured in two novels published by Random House and also appeared in artwork in the new 2024 Core Rulebooks.

The new comics series will be written by Greg Pak, with pencils by Wilton Santos, inks by Edvan Alves, colors by Raul Angulo, and letters by Nate Piekos. The four issue miniseries will launch starting in October 2025.

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[Paul Farquhar]

Yeah goody goody two shoes angel types. Still pretty humans should have sone appeal (see elves).

I've seen a few though. Positively abundant compared with Dwarfs, Gnomes, Halflings snd Dragonborn.

I don't see many elves - probably because of uncool vibes.

 

[Zardnaar]

I don't see many elves - probably because of uncool vibes.

Know what a cool wall is?

 

[DarkCrisis]

Sigh. As expected, the negative, toxic and "clever" comments abound . . .

And add in some gross comments about the elf rogue being heavy.

If you don't care for the artwork, the characters, or the tone . . . that's fine. But the kind of comments we're seeing in this thread are the kind that makes me embarrassed of our hobby sometimes.

I wasn’t using “thicc” as a negative. Though “the youth” understand its use better than I.

It just seems odd to me that off all species and classes to make a fuller figured character they went with the typical dexterous rogue. A class meant to be nimble and stealthy. A worker in shadows whom you never see or hear. Etc etc etc

I can assume they will “subvert our expectations” probably via magic items like that cat mask on her head doing the lions share of the need for stealth.

Then again, she could just be really good at picking locks and firing her crossbow from a distance. Not all rogues need to be stealthy.

 

[Reynard]

Adventuring Party composition in D&D fiction is an interesting challenge because you need to both represent the people actually playing the game, while also displaying the fantasy of the adventurers. In many ways, character creation in an RPG is a form of "mental cosplay" a lot of the time. And since we now have access to everything from video game character generators, Hero Forge and AI image generators, people are free to really nail the vision they have for the character.

I have often wanted to do a little side/art project where you have a little booth in which the participants take a picture of themselves and then have access to something like a WoW character creator and make their "ideal" fantasy self. The art project then juxtaposes those.

 

[Junkyard Tornado]

The Fallbacks novel was similar in tone to the Honor Among Thieves film, or other D&D media in recent years. So, not unserious, but plenty of humor and zaniness.

While I didn't think it was perfect, I enjoyed Honor Among Thieves. Maybe a little more light hearted than I'd like for a comic but could work.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Old? Youngsters. I guess it's all relative.

Haha yeah, but in terms of colloquialisms I’m pretty sure 80% or more of enworld posters are considered old.

 

[Ringtail]

I can't believe we're still talking about the Rogue's weight negatively here.

When I first saw the Fallbacks cover I never once even considered her weight, nor do I think we need some magic justification why a big woman can be stealthy.

 

[schneeland]

I think the Fallbacks books are aimed at a different demographic than the typical ENWorld poster.

Tend to agree (and I think this is in line with D&D 2024 being aimed at a different demographic than D&D 2014).
I have to say, I liked the IDW comics, though. But I assume the publishing rights have moved on to Dark Horse now.

 

[aiouh]

I mean the whole point of The "Fallbacks" party is that they are the B-Team, like, it's in the name.

The team: Anson, a fighter too stubborn to stay down, even when the odds are stacked against him. Cazrin, a self-taught wizard determined to test her theoretical mettle against the real world. Baldric, a cleric who refuses to tie himself to a single deity when he can trade favors with them all. Lark, a bard with as many secrets as songs. And, of course, Uggie, a monstrous pet otyugh who loves giving hugs and eating trash.

(...)

Can this band of mismatched misfits stay together in the face of danger? Or are they bound for ruin?

so them being atypical is the point.

Like this isn't some rainbowwashing fiction where everyone is as quirky as possible to satisfy mental cosplay needs, they're socially not part of the mainstream even in-universe.

 

[Umbran]

Corpulent. She's corpulent.

It just seems odd to me that off all species and classes to make a fuller figured character they went with the typical dexterous rogue. A class meant to be nimble and stealthy. A worker in shadows whom you never see or hear. Etc etc etc

Mod note:
Folks, to be blunt, this reads like fat-shaming.

Please stop.