First Encounters

Table Titans #1

by Scott R. Kurtz, Cory Casoni (Editor), Steve Hamaker (Illustrations)

The Winotaur, gaming's greatest prize, is up for grabs, and the Table Titans intend to win it! Join Val, Alan, Andrew, and newcomer Darby as they embark on adventures, both at and away from the table, in their quest for gaming glory. All that stands between the Titans and the Winotaur is a new Dungeon Master, a rival gaming group, and their own insecurities.

The world's mightiest adventurers just rolled initiative on their First Encounter! A terrible beast is plaguing the City of Haverford. Citizens are going missing nightly, the garrison is lost, and help is out of reach. Can the Table Titans put aside their pride to save the fictional town of Haverford-and in the process, their friendships?

Table Titans Volume 1: First Encounters collects the first year of the hit online comic from Eisner and Harvey Award winning cartoonist, Scott Kurtz. It is a spin-off of Kurtz's other webcomic, PvP. It chronicles their adventures of playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). D&D publisher, Wizards of the Coast, have partnered with Kurtz so that Table Titans can feature official D&D products.

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics, Dungeons and Dragons, Gaming

80 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Scott Kurtz has been self-publishing his comics to the world wide web since 1998. His work has been nominated for the Harvey Award and in 2006 won the prestigious Eisner Award for best digital comic.
He co-founded the new webcomics.com with his peers to help promote and develop the independent work of online cartoonists.
Mr. Kurtz lives in Dallas, TX with his wife Angela.
PvP is read globally by over 150,000 daily readers.

Reviews

[Chris Conley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this as a Christmas gift. Good call. It's exactly the sort of hilarious, absurd and generally goofy romp that I enjoy. Now, I have to wait for Volume 2. Well, I might need to break down and read the web comics, which likely won't stop me from eventually buying any physical version that gets released (Hello, Looking for Group).

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this graphic novel. Story is excellent and the artwork is stunning! A group of friends get together to play Dungeons and Dragons but the story also takes you into their game play and takes you along on their D&D quest! Looking forward to Volume 2.

[Angele Joubert-Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was surprisingly well done! I haven't seen a story told quite like this. For people like me who are just barely scratching the surface of DnD, I felt like this was an extremely fun way to immerse myself in the genre while learning a few things. It felt relatable.

[Ben Stoutenburgh · Rating 4 out of 5]

:)

[April Funk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, and want to read the next books. But I do think that the story was a bit confusing. Lots of jumps, and I think it’d be easier to understand with more dialogue between the characters

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great artwork. Enjoyable storyline. I look forward to catching up on the series.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kurtz perfectly captures what a roleplaying game can feel like, while toying with the concepts of gamer cliches like the min-maxer, the roleplayer, the newbie, etc. Table Titans is part adventure story, part character development. Alan, Val, and the rest of the crew have their own hangups and problems, and there's a lot of subtext in certain scenes.. For example, there are hints of a larger story behind the animosity that Alan has with Kate, the leader of the rival "Dungeon Dogs" group. While real-life drama occurs, their D&D characters are embroiled in a mystery of their own, alongside traps, puzzles, and violent encounters. The result is a story that takes place in two different worlds: one where our protagonists are heroes, and the other where they are just everyday people.

Full review here at Geekundspiel.

[Ham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've played D&D maybe four times in my life and mostly it consisted of making fun of my brothers. But this comic was so funny and endearing it made me wish I'd been more of a nerd growing up. (Who am I kidding, I was plenty nerdy, but I wish I would've embraced my inner dork.) Loved the art and the story. Might try to find myself a D&D group. Definitely will be following this series. Warning: It's got mild language and some blood. Not for little kids. I had to do some quick editing when reading it to my six-yr-old.

[Bmeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up at PAXSouth this year and I'm really glad I did. It's a delightful and absorbing comic that reflected almost every DnD group I've ever played in. I love the curvy and confident Val Bronzebottom most of all.

[Dayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good comic that displays the fun of roll playing.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I backed the Kickstarter of this after seeing the comic online. It's kind of odd buying something when it's available for free, but this is that good. Roll on Volume 2

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, funny, and engaging!

[Kat Schwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute comic for those of us who LOVE to game.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good story. But kind of oversized and expensive, as short as it is. Interesting backstory and D&D anecdotes. But it doesn't seem worth the $20 price tag.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read for those that love D&D or RPG's of any brand. Wonderful characters and there is so much here to be explored with these characters.

[Frederick Tan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Table titan tells the story of a trio of friends who are into D&D tabletop games. This book feature their adventure to a village Haverford. A so so plot and story. Average at best.