It tooks all the way until “Phases of the Moon” for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons comic to deliver my favorite storyline, but the Forgotten Realms line did it in its second story. That said, while I enjoy “The Dragonreach Saga” for its main story, the real thing that gets me to latch onto this tale as something wonderful comes in its B-plot.
Let’s dive into a tale of dragons, villainy, and…mid-wifery?
Continue reading “Comics & Quests: The Dragonreach Saga”
Tabletop RPGs can tell many different stories. The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons comic book presented a group of adventurers who took the tried and true track of living at an inn and facing whatever perils came through the city of Waterdeep. But the Forgotten Realms is a huge place, and not all adventurers stick to one locale. About a year after that first Realms-based comic hit store shelves, a second title emerged. Labeled Forgotten Realms, it followed a new group of adventurers who ranged quite a bit farther than the city of Waterdeep.
Continue reading “Comics & Quests: The Hand of Vaprak”
The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons comic series lasted for 36 issues and one annual, but I would argue that the main story of the series ends with issue #22, which concludes the “Phases of the Moon” story. Not that the comic shouldn’t have continued after that–as we will see, there are certainly some more fun stories to tell–but after this story all the plot hooks that appeared back in “The Gathering” get largely wrapped up.
The actual storytelling in “Phases of the Moon” is messy and has a few plot holes that go unexplained. Nonetheless, it’s probably my favorite story in this series because it deals with my favorite character of the bunch: the innkeeper Luna.
Continue reading “Comics & Quests: Phases of the Moon”
I spent a good long time complaining about how “Spell Games” misused Vajra, who should have been the protagonist of that story. The next tale in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons comic line, “The Ostus Legacy,” deals with the other heroine in our rotating cast, Kyriani. Like Vajra, Kyriani has some issues because she is a product of a 90s pop culture view on female characters. Ultimately, though, I feel that “The Ostus Legacy” comes to a stronger conclusion and gives Kyriani more agency than “Spell Games” did for Vajra.
And, if I’m wrong, at least “The Ostus Legacy” is two issues shorter.
Continue reading “Comics & Quests: The Ostus Legacy”
On the whole, I really like the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons comic. There are nonetheless a few things about it that I find grating, and almost all of them are on display in “Spell Games.”
Continue reading “Comics & Quests: Spell Games”
Many a gaming group knows the frustration of not being able to get everyone together on a regular basis. Often, the solution involves splitting the party; some PCs engage in the adventure at hand, while others are missing on other errands. This seems to be a feel that the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons comic was going for. In “The Spirit of Myrrth,” our centaur friend Timoth was notably absent (as was Agrivar). Now, in “Catspaw,” he’s back but the rest of the group, save his buddy Onyx, are out.
Continue reading “Comics & Quests: Catspaw”
I have many criticisms about the various editions of Dungeons & Dragons, but one thing has remained consistent for at least 35 years: tehe comics based off the games are tons of fun. Since I love trips down memory lane, I’m going to spend some time waxing nostalgic about some comics which readers of this blog may have forgotten, never heard of, or been born well after. First up: the simply-titled Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
Back in the late 1980s, DC Comics got a license to produce various D&D comics. The first was based on the Dragonlance series, and I have sadly not read that one. The second was set in the Forgotten Realms and introduced a mishmash of hapless adventurers who struggled through adventures that ranged from epic to ludicrous. The first four issues served as their origin story, in a tale dubbed “The Gathering.”
Continue reading “Comics & Quests: The Gathering”