Saturday, September 28, 2019

New Comics Review: Rolled & Told #7 March 2019 and Adventure Finders-The Edge of Empire #1

I haven’t been a total snob only buying old comics (here and here).  I did pick up a couple of new comics.

Rolled & Told #7 March 2019


This is a bit of a cheat; it’s not a comic book.  Actually, this was first (and only) thing I bought when I went to the new Zia ComicsRolled & Told is a 5e D&D magazine in a comic book format.  It’s twice the price of a typical comic ($8), but it is 64 pages (but there’s some blank filler pages in the back).  It has a thick cover on it, so it can be abused at the gametable.    


They sold the issues bagged, so I couldn’t look at it until I bought it.  Inside, I was pleased with the cheery artwork featuring their iconic characters.  The art was spread throughout and well done.  There were two adventures inside.  Each featured comic pages to go with them.  There were also three general gaming articles. 

Unfortunately, here’s where I have to be honest.  Actually reading the issue was a disappointment.  The adventures were little delves and not that great.  They left me really wanting.  Expanding them yourself might be difficult, because they are pretty self-contained.  Given the size format, they’d have to devote the entire issue to a Dungeon Magazine-sized adventure, so it’s an editorial choice.  Some new monsters and magic items were included.  The articles were of little interest.  You can go to their website and get copies of their maps and see some articles for yourself. 


(That said, the reason I actually went back to the store after my first visit, when I had declared I was done with them, was because I was looking for another issue of this.  They didn’t have the one I was looking for and that’s how ended up buying some comic books instead.)


Adventure Finders-The Edge of Empire #1


One thing that surprised me on the comic book shelves was how many were fantasy-inspired.  There was Conan, Red Sonja, some licensed D&D and Pathfinder comics, and a Critical Role comic.  There were a couple of independent titles as well.  This one caught my eye immediately.  Of course, I was only judging by the cover, since it was bagged. 



I was delighted that the artwork inside was even better.  It could perhaps be described as a manga that was Euro-comics inspired.  It doesn’t look like Nausiccaa, but it reminded me of it in style.  Pretty panographic pictures fill the issue.  It’s a good thing visually, but story-wise that makes this very decompressed.  Not a whole lot happens towards advancing the story.  On the other hand, this $4 comic had a recap page and a roster of characters page at the end and everything in between was story.  Marvel and DC will not give you this many pages of story in a 32 page comic.


I can’t tell you much about the characters or the story, because I couldn’t really figure out much of what was going on.  The recap was no help.  The little bit of story just gave a hint of the characters and set the stage of very large caravan moving out.  There was quite a bit of action at the end though.  The slightly disturbing image of a naked Gnoll, who shows up to help defend the caravan, seemed a bit unnecessary.  No naughty bits were shown, but either give him a loincloth or a bunch of thick fur down there.  (No, I’m not posting a picture of that.)   


So, I kind of liked it.  Given that it’s an independent one-man comic production, who knows when the next issue comes out.  I’m not holding my breath, but I’ll keep an eye out for it.

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