Dungeons & Dragons, Volume 1: Shadowplague

Dungeons & Dragons by John Rogers #1

by John Rogers, Andrea Di Vito (Illustrator)

Beginning a new era in Dungeons & Dragons history The genre-defining roleplaying game gets its first ongoing series in years Join writer John Rogers (Blue Beetle) and artist Andrea Di Vito (Annihilation) as they bring us a tale of high adventure and deep secrets. Adric Fell leads a band of heroes in a world where civilization has been reduced to a few scattered points of light amid a rising tide of shadows.

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Dungeons and Dragons, Comic Book, Fiction, Adventure

132 pages, Hardcover

First published June 29, 2011

About the author

John Rogers is a screenwriter, comedian, film producer, and comic book writer. Although born in Worcester, Massachusetts, he attended McGill University in Montreal and is better known publicly as a Canadian writer.

Reviews

[David Sarkies · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Start of a New Adventure
7 July 2018 – Coolangatta

This comic book opened with an introduction on how the writer’s room in your typical production studio plays out very much like your typical Dungeons & Dragons session late on a Saturday night. Well, I probably shouldn’t be all that surprised considering that as the saying goes Dungeons & Dragons is the game that launched a thousand writing careers (or even more). Actually, it was because of Dungeons & Dragons that I not only wanted to become a writer (which really never eventuated beyond my blog, but then again I really didn’t end up putting as much effort into it after I got my first job, and wouldn’t know the first thing about how to actually get a book published) but also to become a computer programmer (so I could write roleplaying games, but a three year long addiction to Neverwinter Nights finally cured me of that).

Well, I’m not surprised to see a few Dungeons & Dragons comics hit the shelves, but then again this isn’t the first one I’ve read, since they have started converting some of the more popular Forgotten Realms stories into comic book form. However, this one appears to be a story in and of itself, set in a fairly generic Dungeons and Dragon’s world with some fairly generic Dungeons & Dragon’s creatures. Mind you, at the end of the novel we are confronted with the character sheets for the main characters, though honestly, it has been so long since I’ve played the game that I wouldn’t know what edition it was.

So, we have our heroes sitting in a random tavern in a random town when the tavern is attacked by zombies (apparently all adventures start off in a tavern, but that starts to become so cliched after a while that I ended up avoiding the whole tavern start like the plague, and instead started many of my adventures off as random encounters somewhere along the road). It then turns out that they aren’t really zombies, but actually normal people who have been possessed by some extra-dimensional force. They eventually discover the source of this menace, but it manages to escape, so our heroes find themselves on another adventure.

Well, this was quite a fun and enjoyable read, and sure enough the writers are trying their best to capture the spirit of the humble adventure. They even throw a few table top jokes in, such as dungeon corridors being way too small for the creatures inside the dungeon, or how even the simplest challenge, such as crossing a river, turns out never to be all that simple. Then again this is a faux medieval/renaissance world, so crossing the expanse between cities and towns was never really all that easy in the first place. Still, that aside, I actually did quite enjoy this story, and in a way it was better than some of the many generic Dungeons and Dragons novels that I have encountered over the years.

[♛ Garima ♛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was complete surprise. I don't know single thing about the game - never played, never even saw it...I thought I would be lost without background. But at the beginning of the book, authors actually takes time to provide bit of background. Overall very enjoyable book. Complex characters, good storyline. Bit of bloodthirsty side, not suitable for kids but otherwise great. Reminded me of artwork of older comics...old Golden days...

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and the artwork was fantastic. It had all the races you would expect in D&D and all of the combat with a good dose of comedy. I've never played D&D but it did remind me of Warcraft and that was good enough for me!

[Love of Hopeless Causes · Rating 4 out of 5]

#DND #1 now available. Keymaster's Vault: Dungeons and Dragon's #1: Shadowplague (2010)
Fell's Five is back with Fifth edition fervor!
 

Excuse me, waitress, I think you left a wing at home.  I'll have the cider.
 

Dropped into melee just to emerge in trouble again. This winning combo by Rogers and Di Vito has me asking, "Did I read this already?" Let's dial the vault back to 2010 and see.
 
Dungeons & Dragons (Fell's Five)"The ongoing series of Dungeons & Dragons started in August 2010, with an issue 0 that introduced the major characters. It then continued with issue 1 in November of that year. 16 issues were published with the last issue being released in February 2012." Wiki.
 
From the Keykeeper's scrawl:
"What a rumpus! Action packed, with a surprising amount of monsters in a small space. Kind of like my Birthday party when everyone fell through the floor and needed stitches.
Clever dialogue nods to previous editions while remaining accessible to all readers. "Hellooo, giant ruby!" Can't wait to read more.  Rating: five Fells."  Excelsior!
 
  
Sample of #1 versus 2010 #1.    Hot off the PDF presses.  Send me an ISBN and I'll shelve this.  www.jayant.booklikes.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fantasy adventure story that will feel familiar to anyone who has played D&D. The banter between characters is fun, especially the teasing that occurs between the dwarf and elf character. However, the characters are more like character archetypes rather than fleshed out characters.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: SHADOWPLAGUE is the first volume of the "Fell's Five" comics that are a cut above the rest of generic Dungeons and Dragons fiction but also a bit behind adaptations of things like the Legend of Drizzt, Dragonlance, and the original Forgotten Realms comics by Jeff Grubb. They are a ragtag band of misfits with a land-locked pirate, a dwarf paladin, a sexy Tiefling wizardess, and a halfling thief. I like them all and they are having fairly "believable" adventures. I only wish the pirate and Tiefling would hook up.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never played Dungeons and Dragons, so to me this was just a fun fantasy graphic novel. I liked the story a lot, and there was some good humor mixed in. The artwork was pretty decent too. I will definitely be reading more in this series.

[Baal Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was better than I expected, and quite a bit of fun. Captures a lot of the D&D experience well, however my groups tend to be a lot raunchier, and a lot weirder. The artwork is quite nice, and I've found that reading comics on a Kindle is actually perfectly pleasant.

[J.M. (Joe) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did. The art is average with minimal backgrounds, which bothered me. The writing was choppy and typical of a poorly played, too-fast-paced D&D session. Maybe that was the goal here, but it’s not enough for me to keep reading past this first collection. I like more character development in my RPGs. A 2.5-star read.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps more than a bit trite, this is still a fun romp and the humor and backstories pulled me in. Probably would never have read this without comixology unlimited, but recommended for a light fantasy read if you have it.

[Andrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of funny jokes and fantasy-racial stereotypes :P

[Bree Hatfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect Dungeons & Dragons story. It hits every single beat in just the right way — it’s funny, it’s action-packed, and it immerses you into the world of the Forgotten Realms. John Rogers unabashedly plays into the stereotypical race/class archetypes (human fighter leader, chaotic halfling thief, elven ranger, etc.), but builds upon them in a creative and humorous way. The plot doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it is interesting enough to keep the reader engaged and hooked from the very beginning.

This story really shines with the character interactions, though. The relationship between Adric and Bree is funny and lighthearted; Khal and Tisha’s talk of faith show mutual respect and development for both; Varis and Adric have a fun, strong brotherly connection; Khal and Varis have a fun, banter-full relationship akin to Legolas and Gimli; etc. etc. They all bounce off each other incredibly well and it was just loads of fun.

Everything about this graphic novel is worth it. The story, the beautiful art, the characters, the action, the realm — if you are a fan of D&D, you need to read this.

Also I loved how there were character sheets in the back for all five of the main cast. I wish every D&D graphic novel did that, it’s so much fun.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bogged down in minutia, so enjoyable even by casual or non-fans of the source material.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun comic well grounded in the rules of D&D, to the point where there are even character sheets at the back for all the major party members.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's OK, not great.
As a player, I get it. We all think we've got that campaign that's book worthy. As this shows, that doesn't always bear out as true.

[Jhaydun Dinan · Rating 4 out of 5]

John delighted me with such an unexpected turn of events this time. Nothing like facing zombie babies in the evening.

After defeating the dragon, the adventurers head into town to recruit the tiefling warlock named Tisha that helped them with their last fight that ended in the grizzly death of the dragon, and she signs a contract. Not long after, they are attacked by zombies that spring up from under the floorboards. The authority arrives just in time to see the party killing what looked like average civilians and took them to the keep for immediate trial.

The trial ends when the authority are turned into mindless slaves and the party escapes to find the source of what they now know to be called Shadow. They're also on their way to assist a wizard's pupil, a woman named Juliana whom the party leader seems to admire.

The party splits up and tackled two routes to the source, some group finds a spell caster chanting evil incantations, and the other finds an orphanage full of zombie babies and children.

You just don't expect to read an adventure that heads off in a direction like this so suddenly. It is amusing, and I never know what's going to happen next. That's what makes a good dungeons and dragons campaign too.

Until I read the next comic, I'll keep thinking about this one.

[Richard Radgoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really ike the crisp writing, the storyline and artistry in this D&D (4e) graphic novel. The banter back and forth sounds like adventurers with a flavor of gamers...but said in such a way that it fits. (IE - at one point, one of the characters says 'never split the party'. Taken by itself, this sounds too gamey, but within the context of the story, its done well.

I'm not sure I like the format of the book. It looks and feels like one of Wizard of the Coast game books. While the cover art is fantastic, I wonder if I paid more than I should have for the overall product.

Ultimately, I do want to continue reading the story, so I'm looking out for Volume 2. I am, however, hoping that the cost stays reasonable.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read that reminded me of all the best parts of playing a role playing game. There is no intrusion by the "players" - which is good - so the story is framed as the characters' stories only. But it has the snappy dialog of seasoned players playing solid characters, and doesn't have the trappings of trying too hard (ie: thees and thous and verily) to operate in the classic D&D world. Bonus points for not being bogged down by the dungeon crawl (the bane of any classic game, in my opinion) and finding all the right beats to let each member of the party shine, with extra credit for offering actual D&D adventure stats in the back of the book.

My only complaint? I haven't got the next volume....

[David(LA,CA) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. To me, this is what a prime example of a Dungeons and Dragons game session should be like. A group of adventurers (that taunt and make jokes at each others expense) working together to save their home (and their own reputation) from an unknown force of evil.

It's a collection of six issues of a comic book series, so it's a quick read. I look forward to reading further collections of the series (when they get made into an e-reader format like the nook version of this collection was).

[Adam Windsor · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's certainly some amusing character banter in this graphic novel - hardly surprising from John Rogers. The overall package left me very slightly cold, though. I think it's the deliberate metatextuality of it. When the comic's just being a straight up fantasy adventure, it's good fun. But every time Rogers "humorously" riffs on a D&D trope, I just kind of roll my eyes.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, a good adventure story with an increasingly epic scope. However, it gets notched up to the next-level by a pitch-perfect imitation of what what player CHARACTERS actually sound like.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this one more than I thought I would (probably helped by my confusing of shadowplague with spellplague, not a big fan of the spellplague :) ). Characters were quite good, while filling certain archetypical roles, at the same time they were more rounded than I expected them to be. Stories themselves were interesting, with a couple of surprises but generally just good fun, and the sort of stories you could imagine playing out in D&D sessions.

[The Book Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful romp through the world of Dungeons & Dragons with a human fighter, a dwarf paladin, a halfling rogue, an elf ranger, and a tiefling warlock.

The characters have quirky relationships between them, full of banter and jabs, but at the end of the day, they all watch each other’s back.

The downside of this is if you know nothing about D&D, you’re going to be almost totally lost. Cause there are parts in the narrative where things jump around.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This jumps right in, which was a little confusing at first but worked. I enjoyed the halfling thief character quite a bit, but I thought some of the other characters, specifically the elf ranger and tiefling warlock felt flat and one dimensional. Worth reading, but not necessarily something I will go out of my way to read further.

[Jonathan Mark Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read.

Wizards wisely followed Paizo's lead and adapted 4e D&R to a graphic novel. They did a good job; to be frank a better job than Paizo. The adventurers seem more accessible and the dialog reminds one of Critical Role or similar game series. Well done, only wish I'd found this sooner.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fun, in a stupid way. Plays out pretty much like a rather classic, if quite silly, Dungeons & Dragons game.

The women tend to be old-school sexualised, to the extent where even I found it a bit much.

The artwork in general is good though and the characters, stereotypical though they are, are consistent.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharp wit, High Adventure

This is an excellent series, full of the fantastical adventures you'd expect from a D&D comic but with razor sharp wit and memorable characters. Fell's Five are worth spending time with!

[Oron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was much more fun than I expected!
Cool art, flowing, witty dialogue and interesting characters. Much superior to its classic counterpart. Count me in for the next volumes (which I bought in advance via a bundle....).

[Mouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gotta admit, in the beginning I didn’t really like this book, but by the end it really grew on me!
I still don’t care for the dialogue much and at times it’s hard to follow the action. The writing and art are good, but the characters and their lightheartedness are what make this.

[O'Rety · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could be very good, if not for the frenetic pace. It's great that the story is so heavily game-invested, but it would be even greater if you could follow what's going on.

Story: 3/5. Art 4.5/5. So it's 4/5 total, but barely.