Munchkin: Volume 1

Munchkin #1

by Thomas Siddell, Jim Zub, Rian Sygh

Kill the monsters. Steal the treasure. Stab your buddy.

Based on the immensely popular Steve Jackson card game, Munchkin comes to comics! Munchkin takes place in a mashup of genres. Originally a satire of fantasy roleplaying, it has since then taken on non-fantasy and non-gaming elements. Characters in Munchkin change constantly but never permanently. What do Munchkins do? They play for the win. They are rules lawyers. They backstab. They gloat. They whine when someone else backstabs or gloats. Munchkins are emotional. Munchkins may be clever, but they are never wise. Munchkins have short attention spans. Munchkins may be brave in the face of awful odds, but they are even braver when beating up crippled goblins for their lunch money. If a Munchkin seems to show mercy, it's because he was bored or distracted. After all, even stomping an ant helps you level up.

Welcome to the world of Munchkin. It’s a laugh a minute, pal. 

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Humor, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Games

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2015

About the author

Very little is known of Tom, as he doesn't speak about himself much. He is English, resides in Birmingham, recently was employed as an animator at a video game company but in 2012 decided to leave to work on Gunnerkrigg Court full time.

There is also conjecture that he likes Cadbury Extra Thick Chocolate Cakes, but no suitable references were provided.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goofy little comics based on a goofy card game that spoofs roleplaying.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

At 3-stars I feel like I'm being generous, but this was actually well done for what it is. And what is it? A comic-book based on a card game which is parody/homage to a table-top role-playing-game which was originally developed as a way to combine personalizing an appreciation of THE classic of epic fantasy literature with strategic miniature-battle-reenactments. Got that? Good. Munchkin isn't something for everyone, nor does it have something for everyone. But it is silly, escapism and it's, well, silly. If you ever played the card game you know just how absurd this game can become. But this isn't the game, so how does it translate into comics? Well, exactly how you might expect. Silly, stupid, absurd and filled with awful puns. Seriously, this is just for laughs. Seriously. I'm not kidding. I'm serious.

Just kidding.

The individual issues of this comic came with unique cards to add to the Munchkin card game. And to be honest, that's why I bought them. And with that, I'm serious. No seriously, I'm not kidding.

I'm not.

[Julie Eastlick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little graphic novel. A nice break from all the seriousness. Simple, cute, and clever.

[Lionala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mega cool. Wer das Spiel kennt und liebt, wird die Comics echt klasse finden!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very punny book. Not too much of a plot since the game is all about kicking in doors, fighting monsters and finding treasure.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure who this was targeted for. Maybe super fans of Munchkin, who will catch all the references to specific cards and versions of the game? For anyone else, it's a collection of short stories whose only connecting strand seems to be the annoyingness of every character.
It earns its second star due to the interstitial pieces by Jim Zub - "The Ecology of the Floating Nose" is the definite high point of the collection. The next best is a John Kovalic one pager built around bad word play. The rest is trying to do too much (covering various genres of the game) in too little space, making some pieces excruciating (the Cthulhu section, for example, is simply eye-rollingly bad).
The art definitely feels like the game. And there are brief moments that are okay throughout. But I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

[Min · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a surprise find. I found this volume while searching for something completely different.
I am a player of iterations of the Munchkin game, and do enjoy it greatly. I couldn't wait to see what tale the writers had to tell....

,...and what they said was, essentially, an example of how to play the game in a fantasy comic format. How wonderful! There are even passing mentions of the iterations of the game.

[Petr · Rating 2 out of 5]

It failed to rekindle my original Munchkin fun sentiment. The stories are full with references to the Munchkin world, but you basically get what you expect - silly, childish stories. The best part for me was the collection of cover art at the end with some semi-realistic depictions of Munchkin silliness.

[Matteo Lloyd Capanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It lives up to the game in a way; it has its good moments and bad but it's always ridiculously silly. It just seemed to lose something in this format that I can't quite put my finger on. I guess the lack of interaction with the narrative makes it feel less engrossing.

[Catriona Kelch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm actually just reviewing the first comic but this is the best goodreads fit for it I could find. The first comic is excellent though and they all come with collectable cards for the actual game. Hooray

[Silas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a collection of short stories based on the card games, which I enjoy, by a variety of artists and writers. They are of somewhat varying quality, and some of the writing is a bit stilted at times, but a few of the stories featuring some of the later games are full of amusing references and juxtapositions, which were enjoyable. This was a cute, light comic, which was fun, but not particularly memorable.

[Heydi Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hilarious companion for fans of the wildly popular card game.

[Lainy122 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I don't know what you're doing, but I'm here for three things! AD-VENT-TURE!"

This comic lives up to the epic hilarity of the game. 5/5 would dungeon again.

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good representation of the game, but it's shallow in the way of story and the gimmick lost me pretty quickly.

[Sienna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a few laughs here, but it’s hard to get stories out of a card game where the premise is that it has stripped D&D to the absolute basics: kill monsters and take their treasure.

[Arne D’Hondt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny comics that completely represent the card game!

[Kirsten Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable advertorial for the Munchkin table top game, which I love. My favourite story was backstory to the Giant Floating Nose. Children of Munchkin players may enjoy.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

really and funny and cute. there is lots of blood for kids that want to stay away from that.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a lot going on here, plot-wise, but it's a decent introduction to the world of Munchkin.

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Silly comic based on one of the silliest and best card games. Playing the game is much more fun then reading this but it was okay. I wish we would've only followed the monster's point od views rather than Spyke's or any other munchkin.

[Melissa Nisbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't played munchkin before. But if you have played, this graphic novel is hilarious in a sarcastic, witty way. It's full of references to monster, dungeon and item cards that will make you want to start a game of munchkin on the spot.

[Vinton Bayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - I came in with low expectations and left pleased. There is a lot here for old fans of the game series but if you were to take the Munchkin connection away you wouldn't be left with anything of substance. The jokes are very cheesy and endearing.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like the Munchkin games, enjoy silly comics, do not mind strange situations, you are likely to enjoy this compilation of the first four issues of the Munchkin comics. Plenty of dungeon crawling, backstabbing and treasure hogging to satisfy any Munchkin's little heart!

[Charlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, cartoon strip take on fantasy. Not deep, but still on par with the game, so appropriate.

[Raechel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I have a hankering to play the game.

[Alison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with the game series this is based on but I just thought this was all nonsense. None of the stories were interesting or made sense to me

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. The game is more fun than these comics. It makes me long for more Rat Queens.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and cute for fans of the game. I wouldn't pay full price for the comics, but they'd be a fun accompaniment to the exclusive cards, which are probably the main draw.

[Amy Ripley]

Read this for work. It was cute and silly.