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.

​

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Who could forget that adventure where Murlynd just yelled at an empty chair for a half hour

That poor mimic was terrified.

 

[Laurefindel]

(about voluptuous elf)

Um…..wat?

« Elves », for the longest time, were perceived and even described as inhumanly beautiful and perfect in every way. Add the ´80s to 2010s screwed up ideals of beauty and you get an impossibly thin and lithe vision of the female elf. This rogue directly challenges that vision and humanizes elves as a species (still, despite her voluptuousness, they still made her super adorably cute).

These perceptions and ideals of beauty have always been challenged (even back then) but in D&D and fantasy in general, they have never been as challenged as they are now (among many other subjects of inclusivity), and that statement cannot be more obvious than on a female eleven character. Hence - I think - the comment you responded to.

I may be wrong (and @Mournblade94 can correct me), but I don’t think the comment was meant as « elf chicks shouldn’t be thicc » but was more like « this is the proper species to make a statement about body image ». And to that I agree.

 

[aiouh]

Personally I feel like the visual presentation of elf in Modern D&D has been muddied way too hard for it to serve as a commentary to anything.

Just look at the elves in front, barring the ears these are are basically humans with non-standard skin-tones but otherwise IRL!Earth haplotypes.

They also toned down the "alien thin"-ness of elves a lot the past few years. Having a plus-sized elf in 2024 D&D just isn't that strange.

 

[Dire Bare]

Personally I feel like the visual presentation of elf in Modern D&D has been muddied way too hard for it to serve as a commentary to anything.

View attachment 408942
Just look at the elves in front, barring the ears these are are basically humans with non-standard skin-tones but otherwise IRL!Earth haplotypes.

The idea that elves were ever anything more than magical humans with pointy ears is the fiction. The visual language of what elves look like has certainly shifted within D&D and fantasy at large, but elves have never really been non-human, not even in the folklore they are derived from.

I'm cool with elves with odd skin tones (blue, green, etc) or with different body shapes (slender, heavy, short, tall) . . . same with the other fantasy races of D&D.

 

[Reynard]

but elves have never really been non-human, not even in the folklore they are derived from.

This is not true. The elves of Norse myth and the fair folk of the celts are decidedly alien in mindset and generally pretty dangerous to humans. Even Tolkien's elves were alien, in the "if Man never fell" way -- and often very dangerous indeed.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

The idea that elves were ever anything more than magical humans with pointy ears is the fiction. The visual language of what elves look like has certainly shifted within D&D and fantasy at large, but elves have never really been non-human, not even in the folklore they are derived from.

I'm cool with elves with odd skin tones (blue, green, etc) or with different body shapes (slender, heavy, short, tall) . . . same with the other fantasy races of D&D.

TBH I always like it when elves look more alien- literally. I really like Pathfinder and Dragon Age II's elves because they remind me a lot of Gray Aliens and just trigger the uncanny valley in a good way.

 

[Laurefindel]

The idea that elves were ever anything more than magical humans with pointy ears is the fiction. The visual language of what elves look like has certainly shifted within D&D and fantasy at large, but elves have never really been non-human, not even in the folklore they are derived from.

I'm cool with elves with odd skin tones (blue, green, etc) or with different body shapes (slender, heavy, short, tall) . . . same with the other fantasy races of D&D.

As for being cool with the elves of odd skin tones etc, I don’t think anyone is saying otherwise.

Only, elves of different body shape, skin tones, and mimicking the physiognomy of various real world ethnicities or more alien ones, is a relatively new thing. I’m sure there’s plenty of example of how there were not always fetishized if you dig a little, but part of their identity as a fantasy race was to be the more beautiful, more agile, more lithe species. Perhaps it wasn’t in your circle, but I know it was for many, many gamers. At any case, these recent illustrations of elves are new enough that it is still noticeable when it happens. It’s still a big deal.

Give it a few more years and it won’t be remarkable anymore but for now, regardless whether it is for critique or praise, it still stands out, and it will still attract comments.

 

[DarkCrisis]

« Elves », for the longest time, were perceived and even described as inhumanly beautiful and perfect in every way. Add the ´80s to 2010s screwed up ideals of beauty and you get an impossibly thin and lithe vision of the female elf. This rogue directly challenges that vision and humanizes elves as a species (still, despite her voluptuousness, they still made her super adorably cute).

These perceptions and ideals of beauty have always been challenged (even back then) but in D&D and fantasy in general, they have never been as challenged as they are now (among many other subjects of inclusivity), and that statement cannot be more obvious than on a female eleven character. Hence - I think - the comment you responded to.

I may be wrong (and @Mournblade94 can correct me), but I don’t think the comment was meant as « elf chicks shouldn’t be thicc » but was more like « this is the proper species to make a statement about body image ». And to that I agree.

I don’t have an issue with her being an elf. It’s being the rogue.

It as I said, not every rogue has to be the sneaky type.

Or maybe she is IDK. Doesn’t really matter,
I just found it odd and frankly who cares what I think?

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

humanizes elves as a species

Not sure why I should consider this a positive.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

From what I recall from the first half of the audiobook I heard, her being a rogue isn't really relevant to her character, it's more "insecure leader of an adventuring party who wants to be famous", discount Omin Dran basically. I don't recall her ever picking a lock or hiding in the shadows. I also don't recall her weight being mentioned in the text at all, either in a "I'm so relatable!" way or a "damn I'm hauling too much ass to make this acrobatics check" way