In a time of fickle gods and feckless governors, the world yearns for heroes! But what it gets are the Fallbacks – a party of daring, dubious, and dysfunctional adventurers who arrive in the city of Loudwater in search of gold and glory. But an encounter with kobold thieves puts the Fallbacks in the crosshairs of a rival team of deeply annoying local heroes. Will the Fallbacks pull off a heist for the ages? Or will they sacrifice it all to put these “heroes” in their place? Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks #1 is an entertaining start as the classic property finds a new comic publisher with Dark Horse.

Written by Greg Pak, Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks #1 is a find start with a general fantasy story that uses elements from the classic tabletop roleplaying game. When it comes to comics based on fantasy tabletop roleplaying games, we’ve seen them range in style from the seriousness of a Conan comic to the silly off the rails insanity that is Skullkickers. There’s no right way or wrong way to adapt the stories, but your enjoyment here will rest on what you’re looking for. Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks #1 leans more towards the Skullkickers concept, coming off more as similar recent comics based on Pathfinder and Gloomhaven. All of those comics, while based off of tabletop game properties and being in a fantasy world, lean more towards humor and off the rails adventures than a serious fantasy take. Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks #1 like those comics is entertaining while taking elements from their games without feeling like it’s completely of that game. This isn’t some hardcore adaptation of Ravenloft with a dark horror tone, it’s a group of adventurers who are kind of screwups and get no respect. It’s the type of story one might expect from a bunch of friends gathering to relax and play their own game.

The art by Wilton Santos is good with ink by Edvan Alves, color by Raúl Angulo, and lettering by Nate Piekos. Like the story itself, the art has a more relaxed style about it fitting the tone well. The characters are all identifiable and the team has done a great job of bringing classic characters and some more obscure creatures, to the page. The colors pop and lettering stands out with some of what must be done like spellcasting. Overall, the art matches the tone very well but also feels like it’s what really brings the comic into Dungeons & Dragons with some known looks, otherwise it could be just any generic fantasy adventure.

Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks #1 takes characters and concepts from the tabletop game to the comic page but also doesn’t feel like it has at the same time. There’s something rather generic about it all but at the same time it’s entertaining and easy to dive into for longtime fans of DnD and those new to the property. It’s a comic that plays it safe in some ways but also feels like it’s a story being told by friends as they get together to roll some dice. It’s a casual adventure that is welcoming to all who want to join the party.

Story: Greg Pak Art: Wilton Santos
Ink: Edvan Alves Color: Raúl Angulo Letterer: Nate Piekos
Story: 7.75 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle