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Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins
Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins: Jester Lavorre
Jester Lavorre had an unconventional upbringing, even for one born in cosmopolitan Nicodranas. Daughter of the famed Ruby of the Sea, she had many opportunities for mischief as a small child, of which she took full advantage! Dive into the mystery of Jester’s early years, her first meeting with the Traveler, and the fateful events that set her on a path to eventually join the Mighty Nein.
56 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2021
31 people are currently reading
2966 people want to read
About the author
Sam Maggs
117 books992 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 353 reviews
August 21, 2021
I haven't watched any Critical Role, only really read the Vox Machina comics, so I'm possibly not the target audience - I'm judging the book on its own merits. And the merits aren't great.
The story is quite simplistic, it reads like an episode of a soap opera. Some deeper issues are touched on, but it all stays very surface level. The interactions between characters and the characters themselves feel soapy and like fan-fic for itself, if that is possible.
I have the most problems with the art - it reminds me of the more typical DeviantArt art, which combined with the strangely over-colourful colouring makes the whole thing feel flat, like a Saturday-morning cartoon. The art has no atmosphere, no sense of place, which you see a lot in fantasy comics and it's a shame.
(Also, there seems a weird bit of kinkshaming towards the end..?)
I'm sure fans of the series will like this a lot more, but it might be too niche for 'outsiders'.
(Thanks to Dark Horse Books for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
The story is quite simplistic, it reads like an episode of a soap opera. Some deeper issues are touched on, but it all stays very surface level. The interactions between characters and the characters themselves feel soapy and like fan-fic for itself, if that is possible.
I have the most problems with the art - it reminds me of the more typical DeviantArt art, which combined with the strangely over-colourful colouring makes the whole thing feel flat, like a Saturday-morning cartoon. The art has no atmosphere, no sense of place, which you see a lot in fantasy comics and it's a shame.
(Also, there seems a weird bit of kinkshaming towards the end..?)
I'm sure fans of the series will like this a lot more, but it might be too niche for 'outsiders'.
(Thanks to Dark Horse Books for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
September 22, 2023
I haven't watched 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.
December 22, 2021
Being an avid Critical Role watcher of both first campaigns, and especially following the second one closely for a while, I have to say I'm fairly disappointed at how Jester's backstory came to "life" on this issue.
Jester is a magical character and like most C2 characters, has a very compelling and unique backstory that explains her idiosyncratic point of view. There was none of the sort here. Aside from a few lines, it was like it was a totally different character, stripped of her quirkiness and extremes. Marion also was never defined by her agoraphobia the way she is here. Jester's and Artagan's relationship feels more like a teenage flick story about two casual rebels and less about a child living in solitude who had a magical best friend that taught to always be proud of who she is and to not take the oppresive world around her so seriously.
It felt like Jester's tale was stripped of its frankly inoffensive fangs by making her older when she met the Traveler and completely erasing her characteristic off-color jokes. Hunter's lineart is absolutely beautiful throughout the whole spread, but the compositions and pace were unimaginative and did not help to enact the magic of wild imagination that only exists in the world shared between the tiefling and the archfey - that we get to witness in full throttle by Laura's and Matt's acting during the campaign. The basic silhouette of that story was presented in a too straightforward and a matter-of-factly way and Lord Sharpe's plotline involving his son behind her ultimate prank back at home felt shoehorned and dissonant with our main heroine's characterization, which was definetely the element suffered the most with this iteration.
As a fanservice product, the enjoyment of this issue can be debated, as we can witness a few hints of the moments during the campaign (like Fjord being present in a background) and having more Jester for those who already love her can feel great. But as a standalone product and additional lore content for the fans of the campaign of the show, it failed to make justice for the story many saw unfold before their eyes weaved by the group of friends and actors that makes the heart of Critical Role.
Jester is a magical character and like most C2 characters, has a very compelling and unique backstory that explains her idiosyncratic point of view. There was none of the sort here. Aside from a few lines, it was like it was a totally different character, stripped of her quirkiness and extremes. Marion also was never defined by her agoraphobia the way she is here. Jester's and Artagan's relationship feels more like a teenage flick story about two casual rebels and less about a child living in solitude who had a magical best friend that taught to always be proud of who she is and to not take the oppresive world around her so seriously.
It felt like Jester's tale was stripped of its frankly inoffensive fangs by making her older when she met the Traveler and completely erasing her characteristic off-color jokes. Hunter's lineart is absolutely beautiful throughout the whole spread, but the compositions and pace were unimaginative and did not help to enact the magic of wild imagination that only exists in the world shared between the tiefling and the archfey - that we get to witness in full throttle by Laura's and Matt's acting during the campaign. The basic silhouette of that story was presented in a too straightforward and a matter-of-factly way and Lord Sharpe's plotline involving his son behind her ultimate prank back at home felt shoehorned and dissonant with our main heroine's characterization, which was definetely the element suffered the most with this iteration.
As a fanservice product, the enjoyment of this issue can be debated, as we can witness a few hints of the moments during the campaign (like Fjord being present in a background) and having more Jester for those who already love her can feel great. But as a standalone product and additional lore content for the fans of the campaign of the show, it failed to make justice for the story many saw unfold before their eyes weaved by the group of friends and actors that makes the heart of Critical Role.
May 24, 2024
Short and sweet, this prequel comic shows Jester's first meeting with The Traveler, the prank that caused her need to flee from Nicodranas, and a window into Jester's relationship with her mother. It's a slight story but I loved the artwork, especially the outfits and the beautiful city views.
August 15, 2021
I received an ARC copy of this book from Edelweiss
A must read for any Critical Role fan. I'm not sure exactly how much of this is new information and how much we already knew because my watching of the Mighty Nein arc was incredibly chaotic and sporadic but Jester is great and it's such a fun little story and the art is incredible so I think it's worth it for that alone. Also I absolutely adore the Traveler ;)
A must read for any Critical Role fan. I'm not sure exactly how much of this is new information and how much we already knew because my watching of the Mighty Nein arc was incredibly chaotic and sporadic but Jester is great and it's such a fun little story and the art is incredible so I think it's worth it for that alone. Also I absolutely adore the Traveler ;)
December 28, 2025
Ik had dit veel te snel uit, maar heb mij heerlijk vermaakt.
December 13, 2021
I like the art. That was all I liked. I preordered this because Jester is one of my favorites (more fool me, which actually is fitting considering this is about Jester). Even when treating it as something new, like if you were just going into Critical Role, it's very bad. There is little to no plot or story or what have you. If you have followed Critical Role, it breaks a lot of things already established. The characters were out of character. The dialogue was as disinteresting as the plot. It fell completely flat. If they wanted to tell this story, the writer needed to flesh it out. By which I mean the writer needed to do more than hand in a skeleton of a story. I'm honestly just very disappointed with this.
January 21, 2022
I give this four stars, being a fan of the show and loving Jester as a character. However, I do not recommend this book to anyone who is not a fan of the show. I'll explain why.
The comic gives you some beautiful drawings of Jester's childhood and gives you a little more insight in her backstory - something you already knew from the campaign. It won't add anything you didn't know, but it is more of an endearing read. I loved the art, however I found sometimes the text bubbles/boxes not in style with the art, making them feel a bit simplistic/not really match the comic. Which was a bit of a shame, but not too bad.
I found the drawings of Jester as a child especially very well done and I loved seeing her grow up over the course of the book.
If you don't know the Mighty Nein, Jester Lavorre or basically, anything of Critical Role, this comic is not the place to start. It could've introduced the characters better to the unknown audience and/or added a little introduction for the comic reader who might come across this in a shop, without any knowledge whatsoever. You basically end up reading a story thinking "What in the world is this?" and not in a good way.
The comic gives you some beautiful drawings of Jester's childhood and gives you a little more insight in her backstory - something you already knew from the campaign. It won't add anything you didn't know, but it is more of an endearing read. I loved the art, however I found sometimes the text bubbles/boxes not in style with the art, making them feel a bit simplistic/not really match the comic. Which was a bit of a shame, but not too bad.
I found the drawings of Jester as a child especially very well done and I loved seeing her grow up over the course of the book.
If you don't know the Mighty Nein, Jester Lavorre or basically, anything of Critical Role, this comic is not the place to start. It could've introduced the characters better to the unknown audience and/or added a little introduction for the comic reader who might come across this in a shop, without any knowledge whatsoever. You basically end up reading a story thinking "What in the world is this?" and not in a good way.
November 11, 2021
Aaaah, Jester <3
October 13, 2023
short and sweet, just like jes :)
December 13, 2021
Considering this Comic was delayed for over a Year it was not really worth the wait.
I preordered it 10 months ago and almost forgot about it when it came today in the Mail.
The Art ist amazing und beautiful to look at, but the Story is very short and feels extremly rushed. With just short under 50 pages it feels a lot like a cash grab.
I think it's just sad considering the possiblities they threw away. You could have made it a little longer to really dive into the Characters early life and put some faces and Pictures to the great characters and places described in the campaign.
Now it is just a pretty rushed recap of the Story we heard about in the show.
For Fans it's a nice extra to have but all in all a really weak product.
Especially next to the other Critical Role Comics that are way more engaging.
I preordered it 10 months ago and almost forgot about it when it came today in the Mail.
The Art ist amazing und beautiful to look at, but the Story is very short and feels extremly rushed. With just short under 50 pages it feels a lot like a cash grab.
I think it's just sad considering the possiblities they threw away. You could have made it a little longer to really dive into the Characters early life and put some faces and Pictures to the great characters and places described in the campaign.
Now it is just a pretty rushed recap of the Story we heard about in the show.
For Fans it's a nice extra to have but all in all a really weak product.
Especially next to the other Critical Role Comics that are way more engaging.
December 27, 2021
Short and whimsical, the graphic novel seems to capture the fun side of Jester that Laura Bailey portrayed in the campaign!
Outside that, there wasn’t a whole lot of depth. I was surprised it set up more questions instead of answers, it being an origin story. I was hoping we would find out who the traveler was, why he had interest in Jester, and more about her mother. Yet none of those answers came, and that was a little disappointing for me.
Still, the artwork was great, and it was a fun and easy read that fits in well with the lore of the Mighty Nein!
Outside that, there wasn’t a whole lot of depth. I was surprised it set up more questions instead of answers, it being an origin story. I was hoping we would find out who the traveler was, why he had interest in Jester, and more about her mother. Yet none of those answers came, and that was a little disappointing for me.
Still, the artwork was great, and it was a fun and easy read that fits in well with the lore of the Mighty Nein!
January 21, 2022
3 stars in general, 4 as a Critical Role (Mighty Nein) fan
This was very short and the story is not that deep, I expected this to be a little bit longer, but it’s very cute and heartwarming. Jester is by far my favourite of the Mighty Nein, I loved the illustrations so much and I personally thought that her character is very well captured even though this is so short.
If you read this as a stand-alone it’s still a cute story in my opinion.
This was very short and the story is not that deep, I expected this to be a little bit longer, but it’s very cute and heartwarming. Jester is by far my favourite of the Mighty Nein, I loved the illustrations so much and I personally thought that her character is very well captured even though this is so short.
If you read this as a stand-alone it’s still a cute story in my opinion.
February 2, 2022
Beautiful inks cannot compldtly overshadow the feeling the drawings had to be rushed; the backgrounds are kinda flat and empty, the comic's missing big establishers to show the vibrant life of a city like nicodramus. The focus on the main characters works really good, dialogue sounds like from the gaming table itself - besides Jesters mom who talks mostly in infernal monologues, without showing her conflicts with other pafties.
Overall an okay read with a clearly visible " heart" that is kept down by the feeling of being rushed and having no real purpose in being in the comic world in the first place. Hard to recommend to an audience, Fans know the details in more fun and engaging ways from the storys at the table, casual readers are not introduced properly to have fun on their own.
Overall an okay read with a clearly visible " heart" that is kept down by the feeling of being rushed and having no real purpose in being in the comic world in the first place. Hard to recommend to an audience, Fans know the details in more fun and engaging ways from the storys at the table, casual readers are not introduced properly to have fun on their own.
December 12, 2021
I feel like I would have enjoyed this a lot more a) if Jester wasn’t so freakishly skinny (not a fan of the art in general tbh) and b) it followed any of the internal continuity of the show
April 13, 2022
[caleb to jester] “I’m a transmutation wizard, but you’re the one that changes people” 😭🤚
Ok first of all I am so in love with the character designs in this. Everyone looks so good and baby Jester was SO CUTE. And I’m even more in love with Marion now than I already was before.
The fact that Jester started drawing and painting to “bring the world” to her mom? Because Marion has some heavy anxiety over leaving their establishment? Excuse me this had no business hitting me in the feelings.
With that being said though, I’m confused a bit because there are discrepancies with the canon here? Firstly, in the campaign Jester says that the Traveller appeared to her for the first time when she was a kid and he appeared as a little kid at the time as well and grew up with her, here he seems to appear to her for the first time as she’s well into her teen years. On top of that Artie tells her that he is god? Somewhat jokingly, but still. Meanwhile, somewhere at the beginning of Rumblecusp arc of c2, Jester tells the party that he never *actually* told her that he is a god. She assumed that and started calling him a god herself, he never corrected her but he never told her specifically that he is a god. ANYWAYS it’s not like this even matters much but still.
All in all, I just love Jester so much and I love her family so bad😭 Marion (and Bluud too) deserve all the best things in the world.
Ok first of all I am so in love with the character designs in this. Everyone looks so good and baby Jester was SO CUTE. And I’m even more in love with Marion now than I already was before.
The fact that Jester started drawing and painting to “bring the world” to her mom? Because Marion has some heavy anxiety over leaving their establishment? Excuse me this had no business hitting me in the feelings.
With that being said though, I’m confused a bit because there are discrepancies with the canon here? Firstly, in the campaign Jester says that the Traveller appeared to her for the first time when she was a kid and he appeared as a little kid at the time as well and grew up with her, here he seems to appear to her for the first time as she’s well into her teen years. On top of that Artie tells her that he is god? Somewhat jokingly, but still. Meanwhile, somewhere at the beginning of Rumblecusp arc of c2, Jester tells the party that he never *actually* told her that he is a god. She assumed that and started calling him a god herself, he never corrected her but he never told her specifically that he is a god. ANYWAYS it’s not like this even matters much but still.
All in all, I just love Jester so much and I love her family so bad😭 Marion (and Bluud too) deserve all the best things in the world.
May 28, 2024
As a person who watch Critical Role Campaign 2 from start to finish this was a nice visual layer to the information given during the actual campaigns. Everyone who worked on this comic this a wonderful job. I could tell is was Laura Bailey's vision of Jester all the way through. This was such a fun read as a Jester lover during the campaign. The character designs were beautiful and the small detail were great to see given that unless you are looking at the character art on a form of social media the visuals of the character in campaign 2 are up to your mind to put together. Marion looked gorgeous and Jester was so cute and funny. I especially loved the Travelers design. Definitely going to finish the rest of the Might Nein's origin comics. I hope they do this for Bells Hells as well, can't wait.
July 31, 2022
It has been “missing the Mighty Nein” o’clock at my house, so I finally started on these Origins comics.
I really liked the art in this and the look at Jester’s childhood. My one criticism is maybe that it was fairly short, but I loved the foreshadowing for C2, especially
I also like that the comic already foreshadows
I really liked the art in this and the look at Jester’s childhood. My one criticism is maybe that it was fairly short, but I loved the foreshadowing for C2, especially
I also like that the comic already foreshadows
December 14, 2024
At the end of this graphic novel, the process of designing the characters was explained. Here, I realised I had completely missed quite a lot of "big" parts of the characters changing throughout the story. I don't know if that's because I'm quite tired at the moment or it wasn't very clear to start with. But I did feel slightly disconnected to the story so that likely didn't help either.
It was fun seeing a bit more of the traveller. I didn't finish watching the campaign (stopped about 50% in) but this god always intrigued me.
Nonetheless, fun to read. I really liked the art. It's so fun how vastly different backgrounds DND characters can have!
It was fun seeing a bit more of the traveller. I didn't finish watching the campaign (stopped about 50% in) but this god always intrigued me.
Nonetheless, fun to read. I really liked the art. It's so fun how vastly different backgrounds DND characters can have!
January 5, 2022
I will start by saying I had almost no knowledge going into this of Criticsl Role. The cover caught my eye and after doing a little digging and saw it was possible to read this as a standalone, I knew it was coming home with me during B&Ns 50% off HC sale. I loved the artwork! The way the characters were drawn was very much my style and the colors were beautiful. I wish this was going to be a continued graphic novel series. I want to know more about The Traveler. As well as expanding on Jester's story and family.
December 11, 2021
I really really love the art style and character designs, it is also beautifully illustrated in colour all the way through, however this absolutely did not add anything to Jester or her backstory which wasn't already known from the campaign itself. It also was really short. And it doesn't really match up with the show's canon that well, which doesn't bother me THAT much but it's still a bit disappointing
February 2, 2023
4.5 stars
I loved this a lot, the art was so beautiful and it was incredible to see stories and characters from the campaign come to life visually. It was SO jester. Her mannerisms were all throughout the book both in word and visual form.
I thought it was a TAD less interesting than Caleb’s hence the 4.5 stars but ultimately GREAT stuff.
I loved this a lot, the art was so beautiful and it was incredible to see stories and characters from the campaign come to life visually. It was SO jester. Her mannerisms were all throughout the book both in word and visual form.
I thought it was a TAD less interesting than Caleb’s hence the 4.5 stars but ultimately GREAT stuff.
February 6, 2022
5 stars for the art.
3 stars for the story, it felt super rushed and could have done with being longer.
It didn't add anything new as Laura had already explained most of this info on the show.
3 stars for the story, it felt super rushed and could have done with being longer.
It didn't add anything new as Laura had already explained most of this info on the show.
April 13, 2022
Fun, but I would have liked to know how she and Fjord met...
March 5, 2024
Really funny to read. Great illustrations. Loved both story and art style.
January 24, 2022
The art is absolutely stunning! The story was fine but Jester honestly doesn’t have the most interesting background.
September 27, 2022
This was a cute look into Jester’s backstory, especially since not a lot was shared during the original campaign. I don’t think this would make sense to someone who wasn’t already familiar with the character, and I do wish it was longer.
February 22, 2022
I just love Jester. great illustrations and story
August 6, 2021
Thank you to Critical Role, Dark Horse, and Edelweiss+ for the earc!
I LOVED THIS STORY.
I mean, it's no secret that I adore Critical Role--I started watching during campaign 2, fell in love with the characters, then went back and saw campaign 1 and fell in love all over again.
There's a certain magic that CR brings to their characters and stories, and that hasn't changed now that they've expanded into comics, novels, and more. Side note: I'm so proud of how far they've come, how successful CR has gotten to be. It brings me so much joy.
Now, onto the story itself. Mighty Nein Origins: Jester follows Jester Lavorre before she's started her travels with the Mighty Nein. We see a vulnerable part of her we haven't necessarily seen in full before--her experiences living at the chateau, how she befriended the traveler, and the antics that led her to eventually finding the rest of the Nein.
We learn so much about Jester in a short graphic novel that it's practically begging to have a sequel. Which in reality, is just the Mighty Nein's story. And I love that.
This graphic novel gives us a peek into what Jester told us, but never expanded on. And we get a really fun version of the traveler. And just...seeing Jester come to life on these pages and having it SOUND so much like her....
I loved every minute I spent reading it.
I LOVED THIS STORY.
I mean, it's no secret that I adore Critical Role--I started watching during campaign 2, fell in love with the characters, then went back and saw campaign 1 and fell in love all over again.
There's a certain magic that CR brings to their characters and stories, and that hasn't changed now that they've expanded into comics, novels, and more. Side note: I'm so proud of how far they've come, how successful CR has gotten to be. It brings me so much joy.
Now, onto the story itself. Mighty Nein Origins: Jester follows Jester Lavorre before she's started her travels with the Mighty Nein. We see a vulnerable part of her we haven't necessarily seen in full before--her experiences living at the chateau, how she befriended the traveler, and the antics that led her to eventually finding the rest of the Nein.
We learn so much about Jester in a short graphic novel that it's practically begging to have a sequel. Which in reality, is just the Mighty Nein's story. And I love that.
This graphic novel gives us a peek into what Jester told us, but never expanded on. And we get a really fun version of the traveler. And just...seeing Jester come to life on these pages and having it SOUND so much like her....
I loved every minute I spent reading it.
November 6, 2021
The art style is beautiful and all of the outfits are amazing. Cosplay ideas??
Wow, was not expecting Bluud to be so sexy!
Such a quick fun read of instant happiness
Wow, was not expecting Bluud to be so sexy!
Such a quick fun read of instant happiness
Displaying 1 - 30 of 353 reviews