In a fantasy world
of magic and sorcery, dragons and wizards, a group of heroes meet at
the local inn for drinks and merriment. After a death defying
adventure into the underdark, where they were aided by the tiefling
Tisha, the group leader Adric is negotiating with her to join their
band of heroes. Just then, a noise from under the floorboards is
heard! Boards are broken as zombies begin coming up through the
floor!!
Now in this newest
incarnation of Dungeons & Dragons we get all the classic archetypes
represented: Adric, the warrior, Tisha the tiefling warlock, Bree
the halfling thief, Khal the dwarven Paladin, Varis the elven
ranger, Copernicus the gnome wizard, and Julianna the sorceress.
These archetypes have been around ever since Tolkien introduced them
to us many, many years ago. There’s something very warm and fuzzy
about these archetypes. For instance, it’s comforting to see, even
today, that elves and dwarves still have a tenuous relationship, and
Halfling thieves still walk the narrow line between trust, and
mischief.
Given this,
it’s time for my inner geek out, I’ve been reading fantasy and
playing Dungeons & Dragons for years. Now this game has been around
for over thirty years, it has had four editions, a cartoon series in
the ‘80’s, and millions of gamers playing the game. Now the great
thing about the game is it’s only limited by the player’s
imagination. As for the new series put out by IDW, it has some good
points, and some bad. As I mentioned earlier, the archetypes are
great. I’m a little put out by the dialogue. Now I’m not asking for
old English, just more believable dialogue for a fantasy series. As
for the story itself, it did seem to move a bit too fast, but it was
full of adventure, which kept my interest all the way to the end. I
did like the art; character design is pretty good, if a little
clichéd. The coloring is, I think, my biggest issue, it just seemed
too bright. When I see zombies, I expect dark. But everyone’s armor
was perfectly polished, no dirty clothes, etc.
In closing, I think
this series has the potential to be great! that’s why I’m giving it
a 6.5 out of 10.
