Rick and Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons #1: New Series
Happy new comic book day ya’ big ole lovable nerds~! I was thinking on this “new comic” day, and if you are dedicated enough and want to come visit, every day could be new comic book day! Imagine the possibilities! New comics EVERYDAY. Someone should get on that...
This week’s pick is the new mashup of Rick and Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons. As some of you probably know, Dan Harmon, one of the creators of the Rick and Morty show, has his own D&D actual play called HarmonQuest that is part animation, part live action, along side his other work with Wizards of the Coast. So it doesn’t come as a big surprise that this eventual team up would happen, especially with the huge resurgence of D&D’s popularity in pop culture, but it is exciting to see it in comic format!
This week’s creative team consists of writers Patrick Rothfuss & Jim Zub, artist Troy Little, and colorist Leonardo Ito.
Let’s get into the review! Wubba Lubba Dub Dub!
Story and Visuals
Hmmm... Where should we start?
I’ve definitely seen some episodes of Rick and Morty and I’ve read a few comic issues here and there, but I’m not typically one for the over the top grossy-gross that often comes along with the visuals. It’s a personal preference and I can appreciate the style and and characterizations without throwing the book across the room.
NOW. We can have fun~ The issue starts in with Morty having a very real, very relatable realization that EVERYONE is talking, playing, watching, listening to Dungeons & Dragons. I personally have experienced this and gone through it! And look at me now, I’ve muscled my way in and set up a D&D display at the shop here in Greensboro! (So come buy books and dice and tell me about your campaigns!) There are a lot of references that readers will hone in on immediately with mentions of various shows and podcasts and lots of dice.
Morty goes through it all, the stress of finding the right place to start learning, creating a character, playing with experienced players that offer no guidance, having your new character die, and then trying to quit only to be sucked back in again. It occurred to me half way through the issue just how absolutely wordy it is. I started to wonder how comprehensive it was to people who don’t know a lot about the game, or who actually are just starting out, so I asked.
Me: As a player new to the game were you able to easily understand what all was happening?
Stephen: Yea.
Me: Do you think someone who doesn’t play or listen to podcasts would understand it?
Stephen: No.
And there you have it folks! Usually I really dislike comics that are dependent on dialog to move a story along, but I have to laugh at this one because it’s kind of another D&D reference. Every session is long and wordy because that’s the only medium you get to tell the story. But I can definitely see how someone not familiar with the game would get frustrated.
They play, they fight, they die, And right when Morty is ready to give up Rick of course takes things a step up and plugs the two of them into a realistic D&D game simulator where they go questing and Morty experiences his own critical failure where he guts Rick in the heat of battle. But honestly, the most unrealistic thing to me is that he could find not one, but two, YES TWO, player groups who’s schedules aligned and had an opening in their campaign that he could just slide into, in the same afternoon that he bought his first handbook! Wild.
From a Rick and Morty fan perspective, this book is made for you. Action, stupidity mixed with carelessness, and lots of burping. From a D&D fan perspective, it kind of makes getting into the game a bit intimidating.
But there are a lot of tools that make it easy and invite new players to ease there way in. One such tool is the new series from Lion Forge called Rolled & Told. Rolled & Told is a new monthly that includes a comic, trips/tricks/articles for new GMs, 2 ready-to-play adventures, and full maps and illustrations! It’s $7.99, but I think well worth the price if you are just starting out. I will do a review of the 1st issue when it comes out in October, but Issue #0 is on the shelf now (released in July)! FOR FREE! Ask you local comic shop to subscribe and get your copy on that good, good New Comic Wednesday!
C’mon Morty, we gotta do the numbers. The NUMBERS, Morty!
Ratings:
Overall
5/10 - I’m keeping to neutral territory here. I’m excited to see more and more people get into D&D and community story telling, but I’m just not crazy about this story yet.
Butts
0/10 - Thank goodness for censor bars. But also, I don’t think I would want any butts in this adventure...
Chances of Picking Up the Next Issue:
3/10 - Yea I’m good guys. Again, I’m excited for the idea! But it looks like the adventure is going to take a turn away from game play and into mindless monster hacking. But I encourage anyone interested in the series to pick it up!!
