Heart of Dorkness

Dork Tower #3

by John Kovalic

Midnight in the Garden of Lawful Good and Chaotic Evil! Bask in glorious geekdom at a new low price, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Dork Tower! From goths, gamers, and Trekkers to Renaissance Fairies and mundanes, Dork Tower covers the world of Dorkness like nobody else! So have another heaping helping of geekdom that anybody can enjoy as the Dork Tower gang tries to discover the Heart of Dorkness!

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Webcomic, Gaming

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

About the author

John Kovalic’s cartoons have appeared everywhere from his hometown WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL (Madison, WI) to the NEW YORK TIMES and DRAGON MAGAZINE. His creations include the sell-out comic book sensation DORK TOWER and “DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK,” as well as SNAPDRAGONS, NEWBIES, WILD LIFE, BEACHED, and panel cartoons including MURPHY’S RULES, THE UNSPEAKABLE OAF and others.

A co-founder and co-owner of Out of the Box Games, and a cartoonist for Steve Jackson Games, John has illustrated over 100 games and game supplements, and is at least in part responsible for best-sellers like APPLES TO APPLES (A GAMES Magazine Hall of Fame inductee) , MUNCHKIN, CHEZ GEEK and BLINK. He is closing in on 4,000 MUNCHKIN cards drawn, and boy, are his arms tired.

He was the first cartoonist inducted into the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Hall of Fame. In his spare time, John searches for spare time.

You can also read about how he got his wife into the National Enquirer.

The lovely and talented JUDITH, BTW, is world-famous now that she works at Michael Feldman’s Whad’Ya Know.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I really just write that Dork Tower can get repetitive in comic book form? Man, was I wrong. The issues in Heart of Dorkness felt more like a comic book story, complete with arcs and development. There was still the gag-a-page format (save for the comics that were written and drawn after 9-11; whoof), even in the arcs, but the setups varied a bit more.

Look, I can admit when I'm wrong. I can also admit that when I was reading the foreword, where Michael Stackpole was writing about how good a writer Kovalic is, I wrinkled up my forehead in skepticism.

I'm glad I was proven wrong....

[F. Malanoche · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found two or three issues of this series at a local store and loved everything about it. I ordered book one and loved it even more. It is a hilarious recap of what life was like for gamers and goths against society that isn't copacetic with such interests.

[Tim Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a dodecahedron kind of person then there are no funnier graphic novels around than these.

[Jlawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good polyhedral fun. Now I need the previous volumes.

[Cale]

I enjoy Dork Tower, and this is an interesting collection, if only because it gathers some of his work from right around September 11th. There's a lot of nerd humor here, although I think the foreword exaggerates its qualities a bit. It's a fun diversion, with a little overarching plot, but no real lasting value. The characters are fun and the situations are marginally relatable, but nothing long-lasting.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Kovalicin "Heart of Dorkness" (Dork Tower Press, 2002) on kolmas Dork Tower -albumi. Stripit hymyilyttävät vanhaan tuttuun tapaansa ja ihmissuhdesaaga saa uuden käänteen kun kuvioihin saapuu Mattin vanha tyttöystävä, pelaamista ja kaikenlaista muuta nörttitouhua inhoava Kayleigh. Ja kun pirteä goottityttö Gilly liittyy mukaan roolipeliryhmään, ei touhu voi olla karkaamatta käsistä...

[M— · Rating 3 out of 5]

The comic seems to have hit its stride a little more. It was still a bit uneven at times, but part of it were genuinely funny.

Reading order: 3 (out of order)
Publication order: 3 (2002)
Chronological order: 3

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not spectacular, but chuckle-worthy and entertaining enough. Volume III is probably the strongest of the first three volumes, for its character development. (B)

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

funny reading