Dungeon Masters, this one is for you. Dark Horse Comics and Wizards of the Coast are launching a new Dungeons & Dragons ongoing comic series in two weeks, and its special variant covers double as campaign material for your next session.
Dark Horse shared a fresh look at the series ahead of its launch, highlighting the dragon foil variant covers by artist Antonio Jose Manzanedo. Each issue's dragon variant will include that dragon's in-game stats and lore, so you can bring it straight to your table.
Mordenkainen Needs Help
The story puts one of the most famous wizards in D&D history at the center. Here is Dark Horse's official description:
"A draconic apocalypse approaches the Forgotten Realms, and it has one name on its lips: MORDENKAINEN. Now, stripped of his magic but never out of the fight, the most powerful wizard in all reality will need the help of Faerun's most legendary heroes to restore the balance."
Mordenkainen was created by Gary Gygax for his own home campaign and has since lent his name to spells and sourcebooks like Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes and Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. Without his magic, the Mad Mage will lean on familiar faces from the Forgotten Realms, including Volo and Tasha. Players know them from Volo's Guide to Monsters and Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, so seeing them out on an adventure, rather than narrating rulebooks, should be a treat.
Mordenkainen also comes with a fun wrinkle for longtime fans. He originally hails from the Greyhawk setting, so building a Forgotten Realms story around him lets the series play with D&D's wider multiverse. Lanzing and Kelly have plenty of experience juggling huge casts and sprawling continuity from their work on Star Trek, which should help with a story that pulls in characters from across the game's history.
The Creative Team
The series is written by Eisner-nominated duo Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, whose credits include Star Trek, Captain America and NYX. Ibraim Roberson handles pencils, with inks by Arabson Oliveira, colors by Dan Brown and letters by Haley Rose-Lyon.
Manzanedo is a natural pick for the dragon covers. He has done art for the D&D adventure Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk and for several Magic: The Gathering sets, including Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Based on the first covers Polygon revealed, one of the dragons appears to be Bahamut, the god of good dragons.
Extras For Your Campaign
The dragon stat blocks are only part of the bonus content. According to Dark Horse, every issue will include backmatter that is exclusive to the single issues, either essays from well-known RPG personalities or game assets for D&D campaigns. The first issue features an essay from voice actor and actual-play performer Erika Ishii of Dimension 20.
Issue #1 has a main cover by Esad Ribic, plus variants by Tyler Jacobson, Karen Darboe, Mateus Manhanini and Eric Canete, with Canete's as a 1:25 ratio variant. Manzanedo's dragon foil cover is an open-order variant priced at $6.99.
Release Details
Dungeons & Dragons #1 arrives in comic shops in two weeks (November 4th). It runs 32 pages for $4.99 and is rated for ages 14 and up. Dark Horse currently lists issue #2 for early January, also with a dragon foil variant.
The ongoing joins Dark Horse's growing D&D lineup, which also includes The Fallbacks, Total Party Killers and Ravenloft. You can preorder it now at your local comic shop. If you are planning to grab the dragon foil variant for the stat block, it is worth reserving a copy early, since the variants carry content you will not find in the main edition.
Would you rather use the dragon stat blocks in your own campaign, or keep the foil covers bagged and boarded?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.