Dungeons & Dragons Vol. 1: Shadowplague (Dungeons and Dragons) Kindle & comiXology

As a longtime fan of Dungeons and Dragons with no D&D group to satisfy my craving I've looked elsewhere to recapture the fun. The licensed D&D books are generally average to terrible and not worth my time. Only one new D&D video game is released every few years at most and my PC is junk. I was happy to see some good buzz being generated by the D&D series by IDW so I decided to give it a try. So does it send me back to my days in the late 80's playing D&D with my friends or is it another disappointment?The series thrusts the reader immediately into the action with a group of adventures fighting a cave full of Gnolls. The group is composed of a warrior, thief, dwarf, elf and magic user. Not particularly creative but I'm cool with that because it sticks with the classic D&D template. I also liked the use of Gnolls since they are fairly unique to D&D. The next scene has the group conversing in a tavern when they are suddenly beset by zombie like humans smashing up through the floorboards. Already I was becoming concerned. Things happen very abruptly in the comic with little to no scene transition. It had the feel of a writer who has yet to master pacing and storytelling.Several years back IGN gave issue 1 a 5.5 out of 10 which seems like a fair score. Where I part ways with IGN is on their assertion that the interactions of the characters was the saving grace of the issue. I actually found the snarky banter annoying and unfunny. I think back to the interactions in the Lord of the Rings and although they could be playful they were never goofy. Here, everyone is just on silly mode 24/7. I know people who I could lend this book to that I'm confident would find the dialogue hilarious but for me it was just a series of bad jokes from unserious characters. Maybe the writer was trying to emulate the chatter of people sitting playing D&D but I would hope for something better than the level of teenagers trying desperately to be humorous.I will say that the issues presented in volume 1 improve through the book but never to the point where I would buy the second volume. The art is generic, the writing is unmemorable and it didn't rekindle the joy I had playing D&D in the least. There was one very cool part where several of the issues were broken down into campaign modules including stats and experience points of the enemies but it just wasn't nearly enough to buy another book.

A fun and quick read plus a glimpse into the world of 4E D&D, an era when we saw something besides the Remembered Realms / the Sword Coast

John Rogers and Andrea Di Vito bring to life an adventure that showcases the best aspects of a DnD adventure. Each step of the story is a blend of character, humor, and pell-mell encounters with a whose-who of fantasy aggressors. I find myself mentally tallying skill checks, encounter powers, critical hits, and what my DM calls "critical successes" or 1s.I find the story inspiring, and it makes me yearn to start a game of my own, and the hardback offers some interesting fodder to build encounters for my own epic story.

First of all, I just want to say that I love how these comics are designed to look like game manuals, although you might find yourself accidentally losing your copies from mis-shelving!The story is light, fun, and very reminiscient of actually playing D&D. My only regret is that there is not more.The art quality does become wildly inconsistent in a few pages in the series, which is unfortunate, but I don't think it is worth turning aside for just that. The story is solid and amusing.

This is really my first graphic novel that isn't the traditional super hero related. The story starts very quickly and then slowly adds character development. I play D and D and story reminds me of sitting around a table and playing with a group. Great story.

I've been waiting for a comic to capture the way I wish my Dungeons and Dragons campaigns would go. The voice captured within this comic is fun, witty and appropriate. The art is excellent and detailed. Some of the art is so detailed that some of the sequential panels, especially with Bree the rogue and her "D&D Like" moves, tell a story themselves.I highly recommend this book to any lover of fantasy, any one who played AD&D, lovers of D&D, or wished they could find people to play D&D.

Love the story, the characters, the banter, and the great art!

I remembered comics being longer for some reason. Enjoyed the story and characters were plain but likeable. I like the digital format because I wouldn't have bought this in the standard format due to space issues.

my son loved this

A fun read and great adventure, great pictures and art work. one for the toilet times, looking for more now.

I play Pathfinder but picked up this anyway. The storyline was good, artwork amazing and had was excellent overall. 5/5

La mas pura esencia de una aventura de calabozos y dragones. La recomiendo ampliamente. Tiene un arte magnifico y una excelente redacción.

Arte linda e história envolvente! Ritmo de RPG D&D das antigas! Personagens bem elaborados!! Nada muito complexo, mas a trama prende! Vale a leitura!