Dungeons & Dragons: Fell's Five

Dungeons & Dragons by John Rogers #1-3

by John Rogers, Andrea Di Vito (Illustrations), Denis Medri (Illustrations)

Join Adric Fell, the halfling Bree Three-Hands, the dwarf Khal Khalundurrin, the tiefling Tisha Swornheart, and the elf Varis in a tale of high adventure and deep secrets. Collects all 15-issues of the Dungeons & Dragons series written by John Rogers with art by Andrea Di Vito. Also includes extras like comic and game adventures, character sheets, glossaries, and an art gallery.

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Dungeons and Dragons, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Forgotten Realms

424 pages, Hardcover

First published January 14, 2014

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

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some solid fantasy adventure as this party sets off for treasure. I don't know that they ever find much of it but they do get themselves into a lot of fine messes that build off one another. It does feel like a D&D campaign brought to life. Speaking of campaigns the extras do contain 3 excursions based on the stories within.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun! In terms of humour and pacing it reminded me of the recent Dungeons & Dragons film, which is no bad thing.


Consistent, colourful art helps propel the story as well.



Highly recommended for fans of tongue-in-cheek swords and sorcery tales.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

FELL's FIVE is a trilogy of comic books about a peculiar group of adventurers (but what group isn't?) that are brought together by circumstance (but when aren't they?) to do battle with varying groups of evil. It's probably the most "classic" Dungeons and Dragons party among its various comic book adaptations and they do a lot of Dungeon delving. Fell, himself, is actually one of the more whitebread heroes with the biggest revelation about him being that he's a sailor who is trapped deep inland.

My favorite part of the book is Tisha Swornheart and her beautiful drawings as well as slightly snarky personality but sadly the books suffer from having a somewhat minimized character development. We get more story than most and I give the author credit for developing the backstories of characters but they're still at the beginning of their journeys rather than at the end. Which is a shame.

Still the art is beautiful, the characters entertaining, and the story well worth the price--particularly if you get them on Comixology.

[Nick Kives · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Strong 4.5

[Alex]

‘Of course. Must be nice to have that sort of faith.’
‘Bah. Faith is never easy. Faith without doubt is meaningless. And doubt’s a hard master.’

‘To be honest, that’s not a great plan.’
‘Heh. Adric’s plans are rarely good. But he comes with ‘em right quick. In the adventure trade, you’d be surprised how much more valuable that talent is.’

[Gregory K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this series embodied all the things that a comic book adventure should have. The action was fun and well-paced so that I felt myself flipping pages faster and faster. The narrative is light and doesn't take itself too seriously, but there is still a real sense of tension and danger. The dialogue is quick and sharp. And all the Dungeons & Dragons references were just icing on the cake. The series is completely approachable too for anyone not too knowledgeable about Dungeons & Dragons. It plays out just as you would expect a fantasy adventure to go.

The only problem (and it is a serious problem) is that this series was cancelled. It is pretty obvious too that it was cancelled suddenly, just as the writers were starting to hit their stride. Many questions are left unanswered and many stories that you would expect with these characters will never come about. So don't get too attached going in to this series.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of the Dungeons & Dragons comics published by IDW in support of 4th Edition D&D. Set in the vague "points of light" default setting of 4th, it follows the adventures of a somewhat stereotypical, but well written, group of misfit adventurers.

The dialogue is witty and the story arcs make sense. There were some interesting seeds planted for future developments, but unfortunately the line has come to an end and this is all there is. Still, while there are plenty of plot threads left hanging, it didn't end on a cliffhanger. The average RPG campaign would be lucky to be wrapped up as neatly.

I'd recommend it to anyone who likes entertaining D&D based fantasy.

[CountZeroOr · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I had two complaints about the IDW D&D comic that John Rogers wrote, they are that Tisha Swornheart's outfit is a little too cheese-cakey (primarily with the top - I can cut the dress a little slack because it has to accommodate the tail), and that there isn't more of it. The dynamic between the characters in the book is great, and Rogers makes the whole Points of Light idea that 4th edition was built around work incredibly well in the context of telling a story through a comic book, as opposed to an RPG campaign.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

It might not have the things that a longer series can have working for it like excellent character arcs and deeply embedded foreshadowing, but for a 15 issue romp that apparently got axed, it's quite enjoyable. Characters have personality beyond their tropes, for the most part, and the plots are interesting.

My biggest problem was the sheer amount of different art styles. One issue had 4 different artists. ISSUE. Not volume. Issue. The artist would change every six pages or so, and that is simply ridiculous.

[Marko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very straightforward and action oriented D&D adventuring. This was for me definitely a so called guilty pleasure. I liked this a bit too much and could not stop turning the pages. Too bad the series was abruptly cancelled.

Unfortunately the stats and adventures at the end were for 4th edition D&D, but they were still a nice read and a cool addition to the book.

[Brannigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read these monthly years ago and I’m glad I got this collection to reread. Full of action and humor. I believe they originally came out when 3rd edition came out as it was the first time I saw Tieflings and Dragonborn.

[Erick French]

Loved it!

Great characters, constant action. Took me back to the old D&D days. I really enjoyed looking over all the character sheets after reading the story. Nerd Glaze at it's finest.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the whole series in one book. I've read those before, but a fun series to re-read. I was hoping this was more since I enjoyed the prior volumes.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best things brought to us by 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons. Witty, laugh out loud banter. Good art. Wish it could have continued and we could have seen the Shadowfell and Underdark.

[Lizz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely fun. Exactly what you would expect a D&D comic from the guy who wrote Leverage would be, and I mean that in the best possible way.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly enjoyable art, mostly enjoyable story, mostly enjoyable characters, and actually pretty funny!

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it's not high literature, I thoroughly enjoyed "Dungeons & Dragons: Fell's Five."
The main characters--Adric, Khal, Tisha, Varis, and Bree--are all interesting, unique, and well-rounded. Obviously they were purposely supposed to be different races and types, but the mix works well: I believed that this disparate group of people would come together.
The plot moves well; it's comic book form so the story is mostly episodic but there is some cohesiveness as a whole. I also appreciated the tone: not too serious without resorting to slapstick.
I cannot say whether or not this is a fair representation of the Dungeons & Dragons world, but the setting is a nice fantasy world, perhaps a bit generic but interesting enough.

[Jake Morrissey · Rating 5 out of 5]

DND excels in the comic format with this book. it was funny, clever and action packed. I would want to play the adventures in this book. It's a shame that I can't seem to find the next volume because there are plot hooks so well crafted that didn't quite get resolved but I imagine that is due to decisions beyond that of the author who should be very proud of this series.

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was enjoyable. It read like a game of D&D, meaning it had action and humor. The series itself was aborted from what I understand, and some plot lines are left dangling. I knocked from 4 to 3 stars as the art was inconsistent, often issues changed artists multiple times making for a disjointed read.

[Robert Sidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Not too serious, not too flippant. Tone is excellent and it’s humorous without going too far. Also quite a lot of content, the adventure modules and character sheets in the back are a nice addition.

[Jason Little]

Pretty good comic with a great story

[Le Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and hilarious adventure! I loved the group dynamic and shenanigans!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the fantasy and action in it. I usually don't read graphic novels, but this one was good. The characters are good too, and my favorite one is probably Tisha the Tiefling.

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 5 out of 5]

The absolute best collection of Dungeons and Dragons comics ever written. A lot of the focus is character-driven rather than plot-driven which makes for a better story overall. I am heartbroken that only 16 issues were published, but I am very glad that I at least have that many.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read. Hits all the points the jokes made about fantasy games typically do. Fun for a hobby member!

[StarCrossedStacks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun romp. It absolutely reminded me of playing a fantasy tabletop.