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Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins #JL, CW, YN & NtB
Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Orígenes 1
Critcal Role's The Mighty Nein Origins is collected for the first time!
This first of two volumes collects the whimsical, tragic, and sometimes haunting backstories of Jester Lavorre, Caleb Widogast, Yasha Nydoorin, and Nott the Brave. Delve deep into their pasts and witness what led them to the Mighty Nein.
This hardcover collection features stories and art by fan-favorite Critter creators, in direct consultation with the cast of Critical Role! It's a must for any fan's library.
Collects:
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Jester Lavorre
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Caleb Widogast
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Yasha Nydoorin
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Nott the Brave
This first of two volumes collects the whimsical, tragic, and sometimes haunting backstories of Jester Lavorre, Caleb Widogast, Yasha Nydoorin, and Nott the Brave. Delve deep into their pasts and witness what led them to the Mighty Nein.
This hardcover collection features stories and art by fan-favorite Critter creators, in direct consultation with the cast of Critical Role! It's a must for any fan's library.
Collects:
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Jester Lavorre
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Caleb Widogast
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Yasha Nydoorin
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Nott the Brave
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 2023
49 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
About the author
Sam Maggs
116 books989 followersSAM MAGGS is a bestselling writer of books, comics, and video games, including Marvel Action: Captain Marvel, The Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope, Tell No Tales, Con Quest!, and Marvel's Spider-Man PS4. A Canadian in Los Angeles, she misses Coffee Crisp and bagged milk. Visit her online at sammaggs.com or @SamMaggs!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
December 25, 2023
Just a great collection of stories!
I especially loved the Bren story, I could physically not But the book down through the whole thing. So that one alone gets 10/10 from me.
I especially loved the Bren story, I could physically not But the book down through the whole thing. So that one alone gets 10/10 from me.
October 24, 2024
I can't be unbiased about these stories. Critical Role means everything to me, and I miss the Mighty Nein something fierce.
(Do have to admit Kirby's art style is not for me, so kinda sucked that 2 of the 4 stories were by his hand.)
(Do have to admit Kirby's art style is not for me, so kinda sucked that 2 of the 4 stories were by his hand.)
December 31, 2025
4.5 stars overall!
Jester Lavorre: 4.5 stars
Yasha Nyoordin: 5 stars
Caleb Widogast : 5 stars
Nott the Brave: 3/5 stars
Jester Lavorre: 4.5 stars
- I liked this one a lot! The pacing was good, and it made me feel more sympathy for Jester than I was expecting. It all felt like a very good glimpse into her life/personality/"inciting incident"/relationship with the Traveler!
- Baby Jester was so cute (also I forgot her real name is Genevieve, aw)
- Loved the art in this one!
- Artagan was so attractive for no reason lol
- So many moments where I viscerally reacted while reading.
Yasha Nyoordin: 5 stars
- This was one of those books that makes you completely rethink a character (in a good way) and want to go back to rewatch a 300+ hour campaign just so you can thoroughly appreciate this character in more depth. Admittedly, Yasha was never my favorite while the campaign was airing (maybe because of her sparser appearances or maybe because her quiet guilt-ridden nature hit a little too close to home) but after reading this she might just be up there with my favorites! Wow!!
- Looooved the pacing and the world-building of this one! It's incredible how much they managed to accomplish in such a "short" span of pages. I felt like I'd gone on a full campaign-length journey by the end.
- I will say, during the campaign it was unclear to me why Yasha was not allowed to marry her wife, and I was admittedly a bit worried that there was a random homophobic sect of people out there in Exandria (worried because that seemed out of place in this world which certainly has a lot of problems but typically racism, homophobia, etc are not amongst them). However this story explained it very well and I was pleased with the explanation. (Pleased might be a bit strong... heartbroken may be more accurate.)
- The character and relationship dynamics were so well fleshed out and again I felt so connected to everyone in such a short amount of time.
- In conclusion: YASHA MY BELOVED.
Caleb Widogast : 5 stars
This was a reread for me, my full review can be found here!
Nott the Brave: 3/5 stars
- I hate to say it but... this was a bit of a letdown for me. I feel like we didn't learn a ton that we didn't already know and it didn't make me rethink or reflect on any part of the existing character in any new way. Which might be a good thing, because it might mean everything was already fully explored in the campaign!
- The pacing felt a little off or rushed to me, and I feel like especially coming off of the Yasha and Caleb stories which spanned years and years of time, we didn't get much here in comparison. So maybe it was just an issue of how the stories were ordered within the book and I would've enjoyed it more by itself? Dunno, maybe I'll have to read it again to be sure :)
- For some reason I didn't like the characterization of Yeza here, it felt slightly different than in the campaign. I always thought of him as being a bit nerdier and (unrelated lmao) less brave than Veth/Nott, but I guess that is their campaign dynamic and not their pre-campaign dynamic.
- There were some emotionally evocative moments though for sure, such as
December 6, 2023
Jester Lavorre ★★
Yasha Nydoorin ★★★
Caleb Widogast ★★★★
Nott the Brave ★★★★
Yasha Nydoorin ★★★
Caleb Widogast ★★★★
Nott the Brave ★★★★
December 3, 2025
I was torn on how to rate this. Unlike with vox machina where we never got these backstories and it made sense to write on how they met, this was just a condensed retelling of the stories we experienced. However, I love critical role and they make amazing stories and quality productions. (Although I’ll admit Kirby’s art style isn’t for me and I’m a bit sad that two of the stories were drawn in that style.) and as a cosplayer, it will be really nice to have the references should I need them.
January 11, 2026
I’m new to the characters of The Mighty Nein and, having loved the show on Amazon, I thought I’d have a read of these origin stories. All are great and beautifully illustrated but my favourites are possibly Yasha’s and Nott’s, perhaps because these revealed new aspects of their back stories not revealed in the first season.
October 22, 2023
Nice to see the characters we love, but the stories were a little lacking I think.
January 4, 2026
Muy buena forma de conocer los orígenes de estos cuatro personajes, y profundizar en algunos de una forma que la serie aún no ha explorado.
March 9, 2024
Absolutely beautiful artwork, though the art for Jester and Caleb’s story was my favorite. I love these characters so much! Very excited for the next omnibus to release with the second half of the Might Nein origins.
March 4, 2025
GORG😗😗🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
February 5, 2024
This is a gorgeous (and pricey) edition of four of the origin stories of the Mighty Nein characters written in conjunction with Matt Mercer and the voice actors embodying the various characters. In this we have, in order, Jester Lavorre, Yasha Nydoorin, Caleb Widogast and Nott the Brave. So let me talk about them individually.
Jester's story has lovely art and color palette and while the story seems to go on a bit long (I haven't checked but I suspect it is the longest by page count). We meet Jester as a young girl, Sapphire, whose mother is one of the most sought after courtesans in the realm and is also Agoraphobic and overprotective to the extreme. Jester is rarely allowed outside the building and turns inward to her art. Until she meets The Traveler, who at this time she believes to be another kid like herself. It's a story about their dangerous shenanigans until Jester finally leaves the nest. It is by far the happiest story of the bunch.
Yasha's story was the weakest (and I'm not saying that because Yasha is not my favorite character. I like her don't get me wrong but she's at the bottom of the pile for me). It seemed overly long for the story it's telling but that might not have been so bad had the art been better. William Kirkby's art in this is...I wish I could see it as the editors extolled it. It's a muddy, heavy lined, out of proportion, bodies don't look like that mess. I outright hated it. Yasha's story is pretty tragic though so there was potential for it to be good. She's taken basically as the spoils of war but raised by the leader as her own. That works until she falls in love with another woman taken in the same way. Only more sadness results and we leave her on the steps of joining the Nein.
Caleb's story is tied with Nott's as my favorite (I'm biased, they're my favorite two characters in the Nein but in full honesty Caleb is the type of character I always fall for). Caleb's story starts with joy, him getting a rare spot at the Solstryce Academy where he and a couple others, Astrid and Wulf are mocked for being country bumpkins. They are selected for special training which is obvious to anyone but them they are being groomed and tortured and probably experimented on (which is probably why three country folk were selected). They are left scarred inside and out and used as weapons for the empire. Also they're a thruple (the pages get pretty spicy within the bounds of what's allowed on a page) so Caleb is canonically a poly pansexual from what we can tell. And then his story goes beyond tragic as the gas lighting and outright magically enthrallment takes him to a dark place, to dark things and then he breaks.
Nott the Brave's story is very much the saddest of them all. Kirkby's art is back. It's still ugly but at least not as bad as Yasha's (so...that was an artistic choice?!?) And I can't really review it without completely spoiling it if you haven't caught up with the Mighty Nein (I am not but I had already been spoiled for all this because what it's 4-5 years ago now that it aired?) What is done to Nott is horrific and really one of the more interesting twists.
So very glad I got this edition and I know I said it's expensive but honestly is more expensive than buying the comics individually? No, not really. It's worth it.
Jester's story has lovely art and color palette and while the story seems to go on a bit long (I haven't checked but I suspect it is the longest by page count). We meet Jester as a young girl, Sapphire, whose mother is one of the most sought after courtesans in the realm and is also Agoraphobic and overprotective to the extreme. Jester is rarely allowed outside the building and turns inward to her art. Until she meets The Traveler, who at this time she believes to be another kid like herself. It's a story about their dangerous shenanigans until Jester finally leaves the nest. It is by far the happiest story of the bunch.
Yasha's story was the weakest (and I'm not saying that because Yasha is not my favorite character. I like her don't get me wrong but she's at the bottom of the pile for me). It seemed overly long for the story it's telling but that might not have been so bad had the art been better. William Kirkby's art in this is...I wish I could see it as the editors extolled it. It's a muddy, heavy lined, out of proportion, bodies don't look like that mess. I outright hated it. Yasha's story is pretty tragic though so there was potential for it to be good. She's taken basically as the spoils of war but raised by the leader as her own. That works until she falls in love with another woman taken in the same way. Only more sadness results and we leave her on the steps of joining the Nein.
Caleb's story is tied with Nott's as my favorite (I'm biased, they're my favorite two characters in the Nein but in full honesty Caleb is the type of character I always fall for). Caleb's story starts with joy, him getting a rare spot at the Solstryce Academy where he and a couple others, Astrid and Wulf are mocked for being country bumpkins. They are selected for special training which is obvious to anyone but them they are being groomed and tortured and probably experimented on (which is probably why three country folk were selected). They are left scarred inside and out and used as weapons for the empire. Also they're a thruple (the pages get pretty spicy within the bounds of what's allowed on a page) so Caleb is canonically a poly pansexual from what we can tell. And then his story goes beyond tragic as the gas lighting and outright magically enthrallment takes him to a dark place, to dark things and then he breaks.
Nott the Brave's story is very much the saddest of them all. Kirkby's art is back. It's still ugly but at least not as bad as Yasha's (so...that was an artistic choice?!?) And I can't really review it without completely spoiling it if you haven't caught up with the Mighty Nein (I am not but I had already been spoiled for all this because what it's 4-5 years ago now that it aired?) What is done to Nott is horrific and really one of the more interesting twists.
So very glad I got this edition and I know I said it's expensive but honestly is more expensive than buying the comics individually? No, not really. It's worth it.
January 15, 2026
Solid comic book collection with high quality prints, retelling the background stories for 4 of The Mighty Nein player characters.
Could be read without being familiar with Critical Role’s Campaign 2, but would probably leave you wondering what comes next, and spoil some of the fun and mystery of the characters, getting these stories revealed throughout the campaign and/or animated series organically.
The four books end hopeful and openly with a ‘the story continues’ type note.
The individual stories are all good, though some shine more than others.
Jester Lavorre:
I adore the very cute and beautiful art style, totally befitting of Jester. Bit surprised they introduced the Traveller quite late in her life, but not a huge thing.
They made the Traveller so fucking hot. Crazy.
So on brand, somehow, but also, lmao if you know him, feels illegal. (Which yeah, i guess is his vibe)
HIS HAIR DUDE
I especially adore the character and costume design in this one, like just Jester’s pants in the very first pages?? Jaw dropped.
Yasha Nydoorin:
Personally I was more let down by the portrayal of Yasha’s story, as it missed quite a bit from what I was hoping for? I was very excited by the gorgeous cover of her book, so I kinda had high hopes.
The art style crashed a bit with the tone of the story, at least as I’ve come to know it as told in the campaign, though the story remains the same.
It fits for the very first panels of Yasha as sort of a feral child, but tone wise I would have preferred a more mature or delicate art style for her adult life.
There’s often way too much detail (all with thick black lines) in the backgrounds, and some panels become hard to read, visually, because of it.
There are still some great emotional panels, though, and I do see how it works with Yasha’s visual aesthetic.
Shame, as Yasha’s is such a beautifully tragic story, extremely delicate tenderness contrasted with gruesome violence, which in the show is aided by Ashley Johnson’s performance in telling it - the art didn’t resonate with me as matching her voice.
All together it just comes together a bit awkward.
Caleb Widogast:
The art of this one fits Caleb’s voice and world quite perfect, I think - very realistic and mature, arguably plain, but very effective in telling the story.
Honestly most surprised the violence wasn’t as explicit as I’d expected, but the erotic was way more so!
Probably my favourite read out of this collection.
Nott The Brave:
While this comic book shares the same illustration artist as Yasha’s, I liked this one way better.
I think a large part of that is credit to the colouring artist in this one being different than the last. The backgrounds are pushed much further back, and the foreground elements and focus is more directed because of it. It lessens the mess of the high amount of detail, all with the same thick lines. There’s also more overall depth to the colouring of characters, which helps.
Like the flashbacks and apothecary scenes are soooo pretty to look at.
Could be read without being familiar with Critical Role’s Campaign 2, but would probably leave you wondering what comes next, and spoil some of the fun and mystery of the characters, getting these stories revealed throughout the campaign and/or animated series organically.
The four books end hopeful and openly with a ‘the story continues’ type note.
The individual stories are all good, though some shine more than others.
Jester Lavorre:
I adore the very cute and beautiful art style, totally befitting of Jester. Bit surprised they introduced the Traveller quite late in her life, but not a huge thing.
They made the Traveller so fucking hot. Crazy.
So on brand, somehow, but also, lmao if you know him, feels illegal. (Which yeah, i guess is his vibe)
HIS HAIR DUDE
I especially adore the character and costume design in this one, like just Jester’s pants in the very first pages?? Jaw dropped.
Yasha Nydoorin:
Personally I was more let down by the portrayal of Yasha’s story, as it missed quite a bit from what I was hoping for? I was very excited by the gorgeous cover of her book, so I kinda had high hopes.
The art style crashed a bit with the tone of the story, at least as I’ve come to know it as told in the campaign, though the story remains the same.
It fits for the very first panels of Yasha as sort of a feral child, but tone wise I would have preferred a more mature or delicate art style for her adult life.
There’s often way too much detail (all with thick black lines) in the backgrounds, and some panels become hard to read, visually, because of it.
There are still some great emotional panels, though, and I do see how it works with Yasha’s visual aesthetic.
Shame, as Yasha’s is such a beautifully tragic story, extremely delicate tenderness contrasted with gruesome violence, which in the show is aided by Ashley Johnson’s performance in telling it - the art didn’t resonate with me as matching her voice.
All together it just comes together a bit awkward.
Caleb Widogast:
The art of this one fits Caleb’s voice and world quite perfect, I think - very realistic and mature, arguably plain, but very effective in telling the story.
Honestly most surprised the violence wasn’t as explicit as I’d expected, but the erotic was way more so!
Probably my favourite read out of this collection.
Nott The Brave:
While this comic book shares the same illustration artist as Yasha’s, I liked this one way better.
I think a large part of that is credit to the colouring artist in this one being different than the last. The backgrounds are pushed much further back, and the foreground elements and focus is more directed because of it. It lessens the mess of the high amount of detail, all with the same thick lines. There’s also more overall depth to the colouring of characters, which helps.
Like the flashbacks and apothecary scenes are soooo pretty to look at.
December 7, 2025
📚[RESEÑA]📚 "𝗔𝗹 𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗥𝗮𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀: 𝗟𝗮 𝗻𝗶𝗻̃𝗮 𝘆 𝗹𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶́𝗮" de Critical Role.
[CALIFICACIÓN] ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Un día más, gracias a Masa Crítica de Babelio por alimentar mis aficiones y satisfacer mis deseos.
Esta plataforma me está permitiendo leer de vez en cuando alguna novela gráfica, y la verdad es que rara vez decepcionan.
En este caso, The Mighty Nein Orígenes (vol. 1) nos adentra en la vida de cuatro de los personajes de la campaña creada por Critical Role: Jester, Yasha, Caleb y Nott. Son cuatro historias separadas que se leen en un suspiro, y pese a sus pocas páginas encierran historias bastante trabajadas.
Para no destripar nada, dado que la serie se está echando ahora en Amazon Prime Video, no me voy a centrar mucho a nivel de historia y esta reseña va a ser más bien breve.
La particularidad de este tomo es que lleva dos tipos de ilustraciones diferentes. De dos historias se ha encargado un ilustrador, e ídem para las dos restantes. Como se alternan, cada historia tiene un cambio diferenciado y un aire más fresco al ir leyendo.
Y vamos, con haber visto esto puedo decir que en Critical Role son alérgicos a las infancias felices, qué dolor estos personajes. No me quiero imaginar los que restan 😭 Diría que sin duda el que más me ha dolido ha sido Caleb, pero vamos, me llevo un trauma con cada uno.
La traducción también me ha parecido bastante acertada, es difícil perderse leyendo esto. Ahora estoy mucho más sumergida en esta historia y deseando ver cómo se desenvuelven los personajes en pantalla.
No descarto estar atenta a pillar el segundo tomo, porque además creo que salía bien pronto en castellano.
¿𝗤𝗨𝗘́ 𝗣𝗨𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗦 𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗥?
🎲 Origen de personajes.
🎲 Primera entrega.
🎲 Cuatro historias.
🎲 Mundo de Dragones y Mazmorras.
🎲 Novela gráfica.
[CALIFICACIÓN] ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Un día más, gracias a Masa Crítica de Babelio por alimentar mis aficiones y satisfacer mis deseos.
Esta plataforma me está permitiendo leer de vez en cuando alguna novela gráfica, y la verdad es que rara vez decepcionan.
En este caso, The Mighty Nein Orígenes (vol. 1) nos adentra en la vida de cuatro de los personajes de la campaña creada por Critical Role: Jester, Yasha, Caleb y Nott. Son cuatro historias separadas que se leen en un suspiro, y pese a sus pocas páginas encierran historias bastante trabajadas.
Para no destripar nada, dado que la serie se está echando ahora en Amazon Prime Video, no me voy a centrar mucho a nivel de historia y esta reseña va a ser más bien breve.
La particularidad de este tomo es que lleva dos tipos de ilustraciones diferentes. De dos historias se ha encargado un ilustrador, e ídem para las dos restantes. Como se alternan, cada historia tiene un cambio diferenciado y un aire más fresco al ir leyendo.
Y vamos, con haber visto esto puedo decir que en Critical Role son alérgicos a las infancias felices, qué dolor estos personajes. No me quiero imaginar los que restan 😭 Diría que sin duda el que más me ha dolido ha sido Caleb, pero vamos, me llevo un trauma con cada uno.
La traducción también me ha parecido bastante acertada, es difícil perderse leyendo esto. Ahora estoy mucho más sumergida en esta historia y deseando ver cómo se desenvuelven los personajes en pantalla.
No descarto estar atenta a pillar el segundo tomo, porque además creo que salía bien pronto en castellano.
¿𝗤𝗨𝗘́ 𝗣𝗨𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗦 𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗥?
🎲 Origen de personajes.
🎲 Primera entrega.
🎲 Cuatro historias.
🎲 Mundo de Dragones y Mazmorras.
🎲 Novela gráfica.
September 24, 2023
Collects 4 of the origin stories. Individual reviews below.
Jestor Lavorre by Sam Maggs, Hunter Severn Bonyun & Cathy Le - ★★★
I haven't listened to any of Critical Role but a comic should be able to stand on its own. Introductions to the characters would have helped a bit. Still it was a light and fun comic. I liked the art and animation style coloring.
Yasha Nydoorin by Cecil Castellucci, William Kirkby & Diana Sousa - ★
This thing dragged on much more than a 50-page comic should. The art was awful. It looked like a knock-off fantasy Rick and Morty comic. Not at all what I want in what should be a gritty story.
Caleb Widogast by Jodi Houser, Selina Espiritu & Diana Sousa - ★★★
A really dark and depressing story of a young mage sent off to school where he was twisted into being a monster for the Empire before breaking free. Surprisingly erotic as well as Bren develops a throuple while in school. Not bad, but also not as fun as other Critical Role comics.
Nott the Brave by Sam Maggs, William Kirkby & Eren Angiolini - ★★★
This may be the best of these origin stories I've read so far. It's about a halfling family captured by goblins. It ultimately could have used some more fleshing out but it's not half bad.
William Kirkby's art is growing. I absolutely hated the first one of these origins he did. He still needs to learn how to draw pupils. If you can't draw eyes as an artist that's a real problem as they are the most expressive part of a face. But the backgrounds were detailed and lush. Once he gets facial features down, he'll be a capable artist.
Jestor Lavorre by Sam Maggs, Hunter Severn Bonyun & Cathy Le - ★★★
I haven't listened to any of Critical Role but a comic should be able to stand on its own. Introductions to the characters would have helped a bit. Still it was a light and fun comic. I liked the art and animation style coloring.
Yasha Nydoorin by Cecil Castellucci, William Kirkby & Diana Sousa - ★
This thing dragged on much more than a 50-page comic should. The art was awful. It looked like a knock-off fantasy Rick and Morty comic. Not at all what I want in what should be a gritty story.
Caleb Widogast by Jodi Houser, Selina Espiritu & Diana Sousa - ★★★
A really dark and depressing story of a young mage sent off to school where he was twisted into being a monster for the Empire before breaking free. Surprisingly erotic as well as Bren develops a throuple while in school. Not bad, but also not as fun as other Critical Role comics.
Nott the Brave by Sam Maggs, William Kirkby & Eren Angiolini - ★★★
This may be the best of these origin stories I've read so far. It's about a halfling family captured by goblins. It ultimately could have used some more fleshing out but it's not half bad.
William Kirkby's art is growing. I absolutely hated the first one of these origins he did. He still needs to learn how to draw pupils. If you can't draw eyes as an artist that's a real problem as they are the most expressive part of a face. But the backgrounds were detailed and lush. Once he gets facial features down, he'll be a capable artist.
November 6, 2024
Aaah! Every since seeing Vox Machina I've been interested in the other campaigns as well, I'm so glad I've managed to get my hands on some of Mighty Nein! I'm very invested now because of these origin stories. My only real complaint is that they aren't all together so I have to get another volume to read the rest xD.
Jester - ⭐⭐⭐
I was kind of surprised Jesters was as tame as it is! I was kind of expecting like a circus or something. Regardless, it was a fun little tale, but it didn't make me feel particularly invested in her. Still entertaining though. And her mom 🥵
Nott the Brave - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one hit so hard man 😭😭 Poor Nott. This story is heart breaking on so many levels, I can't even. Instantly and easily my favourite.
Yasha - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The gays be gay, and they're cute as shit. It's also very tragic though. This one had a lot of text to it, and was really long, it was nice to get so much back info! I did feel that the art style in this one was weird though? Maybe it's because I read it last, or maybe its cause I was kind of pissed off at life while reading it, but it was distracting for me.
Caleb - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
DAAAAMN. Liam O'Brien really doesn't like to have parents, eh? This one escalated SO DRAMATICALLY. Like damn. Just damn. I'm excited to see what happens with his character.
Jester - ⭐⭐⭐
I was kind of surprised Jesters was as tame as it is! I was kind of expecting like a circus or something. Regardless, it was a fun little tale, but it didn't make me feel particularly invested in her. Still entertaining though. And her mom 🥵
Nott the Brave - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one hit so hard man 😭😭 Poor Nott. This story is heart breaking on so many levels, I can't even. Instantly and easily my favourite.
Yasha - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The gays be gay, and they're cute as shit. It's also very tragic though. This one had a lot of text to it, and was really long, it was nice to get so much back info! I did feel that the art style in this one was weird though? Maybe it's because I read it last, or maybe its cause I was kind of pissed off at life while reading it, but it was distracting for me.
Caleb - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
DAAAAMN. Liam O'Brien really doesn't like to have parents, eh? This one escalated SO DRAMATICALLY. Like damn. Just damn. I'm excited to see what happens with his character.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2025
Es curioso leer estos tebeos ahora que la serie ya esta en marcha. Me lei la primera historia cuando salió, pero lo deje aparcado y no lo había retomado hasta ahora que ha salido el segundo volumen.
Comencé a ver la campaña de Mighty Nein, pero solo vi unos 20 y pocos episodios antes de acabar perdiéndole la pista. Asi que conozco algo a los personajes, pero no recuerdo muchos detalles. Sin embargo estoy disfrutando de los tebeos, y me parecen muy entretenidos.
Este volumen recopila los orígenes de 4 de los personajes, y me ha planteado más de una sorpresa, por no tener tanta familiaridad con la campaña. Lo que me parece estupendo. Estas son historias que puedo disfrutar ahora, y de paso me han dado algo mas de trasfondo para poder ver la serie de Prime con otros ojos, y disfrutar de la adaptación. Resulta curioso poder afrontar una misma historia desde tres formatos diferentes, y ver los cambios y evoluciones de los personajes.
El arte es variado, en un estilo más sucio que el de los volúmenes de Vox Machina, pero tiene mucha expresividad en líneas generales, y cumple bien. Quizás no sin historias muy "D&D", sino mas el tipo de historias que los jugadores desarrollan para dar forma a los personajes que van a jugar. Y en esa linea plantea situaciones iniciales muy interesantes para todos los personajes.
A ver que tal el segundo tomo.
Comencé a ver la campaña de Mighty Nein, pero solo vi unos 20 y pocos episodios antes de acabar perdiéndole la pista. Asi que conozco algo a los personajes, pero no recuerdo muchos detalles. Sin embargo estoy disfrutando de los tebeos, y me parecen muy entretenidos.
Este volumen recopila los orígenes de 4 de los personajes, y me ha planteado más de una sorpresa, por no tener tanta familiaridad con la campaña. Lo que me parece estupendo. Estas son historias que puedo disfrutar ahora, y de paso me han dado algo mas de trasfondo para poder ver la serie de Prime con otros ojos, y disfrutar de la adaptación. Resulta curioso poder afrontar una misma historia desde tres formatos diferentes, y ver los cambios y evoluciones de los personajes.
El arte es variado, en un estilo más sucio que el de los volúmenes de Vox Machina, pero tiene mucha expresividad en líneas generales, y cumple bien. Quizás no sin historias muy "D&D", sino mas el tipo de historias que los jugadores desarrollan para dar forma a los personajes que van a jugar. Y en esa linea plantea situaciones iniciales muy interesantes para todos los personajes.
A ver que tal el segundo tomo.
December 27, 2025
La nostalgia por la campaña original me ha pegado fuerte mientras veía la nueva serie que la adapta, así que bueno, os podéis imaginar donde he acabado. La verdad es que es una colección de historias/prólogos muy irregular, tanto a nivel gráfico como narrativo. Las de Nott y Caleb son las que mejor funcionan (la de Caleb encima, uno de mis personajes favoritos de todo CR, es que encima está ilustrada por una de mis artistas favoritas, así que tengo derecho a ponerme en plan fangirl con ella), pese a que la de Nott ganaba mucho con como se reveló y narró en el podcast. Las de Jester y Yasha me parecen las más flojas, la primera hubiera ganado más con un poco de intimismo con el personaje, y la de Yasha de un estilo gráfico más acorde, aunque ambas creo que capturan bien sus "esencias".
Probablemente me lea el segundo volumen más pronto que tarde, pero he de decir que comparadas con los cómics de la primera campaña (que seguían las aventuras de Vox Machina que no se emitieron en el podcast ya que se jugaron antes de que empezaran a grabarse jugando) funcionaban mucho mejor como cómic. Aún así, tengo ganas de ver que hacen con Beau y Fjord, que son dos de mis personajes favoritos de esta campaña, y con Molly y Caduceus, los cuales, a mi parecer, salieron muy perjudicados por la narrativa una vez el podcast se retomó en 2020.
Probablemente me lea el segundo volumen más pronto que tarde, pero he de decir que comparadas con los cómics de la primera campaña (que seguían las aventuras de Vox Machina que no se emitieron en el podcast ya que se jugaron antes de que empezaran a grabarse jugando) funcionaban mucho mejor como cómic. Aún así, tengo ganas de ver que hacen con Beau y Fjord, que son dos de mis personajes favoritos de esta campaña, y con Molly y Caduceus, los cuales, a mi parecer, salieron muy perjudicados por la narrativa una vez el podcast se retomó en 2020.
November 11, 2025
jester: real sweet and cute, her mom is hot, i have many questions about why marion is so scared of going outside. this art style was my fav she was so kyaaa anime girl. go traveler!!!
yasha: ohhhhhh this one sucker punched me right in the chest. i love a good barbarian that has so much love and tenderness in them even when the rest of the world tries desperately to get rid of it. and to constantly have that level of devotion be wielded against her… my only flaw with this one was i didn’t fw the art style
caleb: cmon man we all knew this one was gonna be good. honestly i’m just gagged by how much the stinky wizard fucks. also… he caused that burn scar??? damn…
nott: so i think this is the only one where i explicitly liked the in-game storytelling better, but i still greatly enjoyed seeing HOW everything played out. i also have a lot of feelings about veth looking at herself moments before drowning and finally believing every good thing yeza has ever tried to convince her of and… well, it’s too late, isnt it?
yasha: ohhhhhh this one sucker punched me right in the chest. i love a good barbarian that has so much love and tenderness in them even when the rest of the world tries desperately to get rid of it. and to constantly have that level of devotion be wielded against her… my only flaw with this one was i didn’t fw the art style
caleb: cmon man we all knew this one was gonna be good. honestly i’m just gagged by how much the stinky wizard fucks. also… he caused that burn scar??? damn…
nott: so i think this is the only one where i explicitly liked the in-game storytelling better, but i still greatly enjoyed seeing HOW everything played out. i also have a lot of feelings about veth looking at herself moments before drowning and finally believing every good thing yeza has ever tried to convince her of and… well, it’s too late, isnt it?
September 18, 2024
I really enjoyed this collection of the origin stories for the characters of the Mighty Nein. I'm watching the campaign for the first time, and I'm around the 65 episode mark as I'm reading these volumes and there's nothing in here that's particularly crazy with spoilers of things that I don't know at this point in the show.
Yasha's story by far was the most interesting to me since there's so much still that I don't know about her character at this point in the series, but the art style made her issue an absolute slog to get through. All of the character stories were really solid, though Caleb's I think benefited the least from this addition to his story because so much of this was exactly what we've already seen relayed to us through the campaign. Jester's story was my favorite in this collection. Between the art style and the the story that it told of her life with her mother and the Traveller, I was fully invested in her story for every page.
Yasha's story by far was the most interesting to me since there's so much still that I don't know about her character at this point in the series, but the art style made her issue an absolute slog to get through. All of the character stories were really solid, though Caleb's I think benefited the least from this addition to his story because so much of this was exactly what we've already seen relayed to us through the campaign. Jester's story was my favorite in this collection. Between the art style and the the story that it told of her life with her mother and the Traveller, I was fully invested in her story for every page.
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March 10, 2025There was clearly a lot of thought and care put into this collection. I love that each of these stories are essentially about the isolation our main characters experienced before the campaign starts, and that each story ends with another member of The Mighty Nein looking at the main character. Beautiful! What a succinct, subtle way to summarize what the campaign has to say about the power of connection.
In terms of story, I did feel like Jester's was the weakest only because there wasn't really any new information revealed, while Caleb's to me was the most interesting for that same reason. But overall, the collection is an interesting supplemental to the campaign! The composition and coloring of certain pages are truly stunning.
In terms of story, I did feel like Jester's was the weakest only because there wasn't really any new information revealed, while Caleb's to me was the most interesting for that same reason. But overall, the collection is an interesting supplemental to the campaign! The composition and coloring of certain pages are truly stunning.
October 19, 2023
I absolutely adore this book. Amazing quality in art and writing and material. The fact that the art style changes with every story makes them all unique and distinct, and it works very well in showing the kind of stories and characters they are. I especially love Caleb's story - his story is a tragic and heartbreaking one. The inclusion of Frumpkin just broke my heart a little each time he appeared. The art was fantastic and there was some super powerful panels in the high point of the story. 10/10 recommend, although I dont think the comics are as easily enjoyable or understandable without any prior knowledge to the Mighty Nein.
December 1, 2023
Lovely stories and great characters. Read this if you know The Mighty Nein and want to see their stories before they became a group. If you don't know these characters, this is a great entryway into their world without needing to know much of the lore. If you want to dive into Critical Role, this is a great start because you get a flavor for the characters, and you can still enjoy watching the campaign.
Characters-10
Atmosphere-10
Writing-10
Plot-9
Intrigue-9
Logic-10
Enoyment-10
Characters-10
Atmosphere-10
Writing-10
Plot-9
Intrigue-9
Logic-10
Enoyment-10
December 19, 2024
4 Stars (8/10)
I love the art for all of them. Caleb's was the strongest overall: story, art, paneling, etc. The most immersive, I think. Yasha and Nott's were good as well; I enjoyed William Kirkby's very distinct art style especially. The art for Jester's was stunning, but the story felt amateurish, and wasn't particularly interesting. I'm certainly not a comic making expert, or even a novice, but the paneling felt too spread apart and inefficient, mostly big splash panels. Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot overall, very glad to have it in my collection
I love the art for all of them. Caleb's was the strongest overall: story, art, paneling, etc. The most immersive, I think. Yasha and Nott's were good as well; I enjoyed William Kirkby's very distinct art style especially. The art for Jester's was stunning, but the story felt amateurish, and wasn't particularly interesting. I'm certainly not a comic making expert, or even a novice, but the paneling felt too spread apart and inefficient, mostly big splash panels. Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot overall, very glad to have it in my collection
December 31, 2024
You know a fictional world is good when it can be built upon, and all the characters have multiple layers to them. I love Critical Role, I’ve loved Vox Machina, and I’m falling more in love with the Mighty Nein. I enjoyed getting more fleshed-out stories of the past lives of Jester, Caleb, Yasha, and Nott the Brave (Veth). The panels are so well done, and the dialogue is exactly right for every character. These campaigns go beyond the actual Dungeons & Dragons game. They have created amazing stories and people.
November 19, 2023
4.5/5
I think the weight of my love for these characters and maybe my previous knowledge of their stories carried me through this collection. The art was gorgeous. I think some of these stories would have benefited from being given a little more space. They’re very much unfinished beginnings for who these characters are and wouldn’t stand alone at all, but that’s what I was expecting for the most part.
I think the weight of my love for these characters and maybe my previous knowledge of their stories carried me through this collection. The art was gorgeous. I think some of these stories would have benefited from being given a little more space. They’re very much unfinished beginnings for who these characters are and wouldn’t stand alone at all, but that’s what I was expecting for the most part.
March 31, 2025
These were enjoyable comics offering a deeper understanding of The Mighty Nein as characters. They aren't perfect by any means. For example, I did find some issues with the pacing, but these are short comics, so it's to be expected. However, they were effective in explaining how their personalities were shaped to what we see in the main storyline. The art for Jester and Caleb suited my tastes more than Yasha and Nott's.
August 1, 2025
This reminded me how much I miss these characters, and how forward I'm looking to the tv show coming out this year. I loved that, unlike in the first series, they didn't limit themselves to a single art style, making each chapter distinct in its own way. Story wise, Jester and Caleb's chapters were standouts. I felt like Yasha's was a bit too long in comparison, but her art style was the most interesting.
September 26, 2025
I liked getting to know the characters, my favorite was Caleb since it felt a bit darker than the others and I appreciate an academic setting. My least favorite was Jester, I didn’t find her story as exciting as the others and felt a bit bland.
The artwork was great for Jester, god awful for Yasha, good for Caleb, and not so good for Nott. It kind of gave me whiplash from how pretty to ugly it could get.
The artwork was great for Jester, god awful for Yasha, good for Caleb, and not so good for Nott. It kind of gave me whiplash from how pretty to ugly it could get.
January 7, 2026
Does its job and gives the backstories of these various characters from Critical Role Campaign 2. Gets 5/5 because it sets out what it aims to do . . . and that's all it aims to do.
I prefer the origin story of Caleb Widogast in this version as opposed to the one in the animated series. Having his memories magically manipulated is plenty dark and makes Trent Ikithon a better bad guy than having Caleb be brainwashed in a normal sense to commit the murder of his family (and cat).
I prefer the origin story of Caleb Widogast in this version as opposed to the one in the animated series. Having his memories magically manipulated is plenty dark and makes Trent Ikithon a better bad guy than having Caleb be brainwashed in a normal sense to commit the murder of his family (and cat).
December 29, 2023
Jester Lavorre - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Yasha Nydoorin - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Caleb Widogast - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Nott the Brave - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I loved them all. The stories were incredible. Yasha is only 4 stars because I'm not a fan of the art style but her story was just as good as the others. To pick a favourite I'd say Jester, but Jester was my 2nd favourite character of Mighty Nein (Caduceus being my favourite).
Yasha Nydoorin - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Caleb Widogast - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Nott the Brave - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I loved them all. The stories were incredible. Yasha is only 4 stars because I'm not a fan of the art style but her story was just as good as the others. To pick a favourite I'd say Jester, but Jester was my 2nd favourite character of Mighty Nein (Caduceus being my favourite).
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