Showing posts with label Andrea Di Vito. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andrea Di Vito. Show all posts

2014/05/12

D&D comics history part 27 - Dungeons & Dragons : Fell's Five (IDW)

And here came a neeeeew challeeeengeeeer ! XD

   After the financial crash of DDP, in 2010, IDW comics is given the right to issue D&D licensed materials. Their first publication is "number 0" comic that introduce both upcoming series, one ongoing based on D&D world and a Dark Sun-based 5-issues limited one.

The ongoing series will count a total of 16 issues (#0-15) and will be named :

Dungeons & Dragons - Fell's Five

Omnibus cover

 HC covers

   There's lots to say about this series.
First of all, it's obvious that IDW has a great experience in sale management. With this issue #0, they produced an introduction to a serie, kinda like a trailer, putting in place their pre-order business, but also they developped it as a product to create exclusive collectionable items. The fact is, like other comics publisher, they offered mutiple-covers issues. With this #0, to my knowledge, we're up to a total of 7 variants ! o_O

From left to right: Cover A, B, RI (Retailer Incentive), RE (Retailer Exclusive - Hastings),
Con Exclusive (GEN CON), Con Exclusive (PAX 2010), Con Exclusive (Convention 2010 Edition)
 
   After this promotional move, if we could have expected only A & B covers for issue#1, at contrary, IDW will continue and improve their concept by adding to rarity variants, RPG materials issues... o_O

From left to right : Cover A, B, RE (Hastings), RE (Larry's Limited Edition), SP-1 (Module Edition) 

   The upcoming republication by IDW of late eighties DC's AD&D series, in which we could read a few pages here and there dedicated to RPG, may be an explanation to the origins of this concept. It's obvious that IDW was showing a real determination to provide its readers a new but also old-school experience.

   When all variants of issue #1 contain the character sheet of the main hero, only the module edition is enriched with 6 pages of the role-playing adventure based on the story told in the issue.


Only 3 issues of the series have their module edition :
SP-1 Bad Day, SP-2 Hide in Plain Sight & SP-11 It goes Horribly Right
We could have expected more, in terms of module-issues but also in contents. These playing adventures include descriptions text with some basic area maps and monsters/characters stats... which is mainly raw materials dedicated to dungeon masters. But well, better that than nothing heh ! :)

   In addition to these variants, a single issue containing the covers done by Wayne Reynolds will be edited.


   The whole serie will be compiled in HC then in TPB (3 volumes each) and finally in a 49$ HC omnibus of 424 pages containing all the issues as well as extra (RPG parts) found in module editions but also an art gallery with all the variant covers.

   The first TPB has been published in France, in august 2011, by Milady under the name : 1. Le Fleau des Ombres. The rest will never be edited, sadly.


   Considering the story and the art, I have just to say that it's been a delightful surprise. First of all, we're not into some (re)adaptation of a D&D best selling novel... and if DDP did some great stuff there, it was time to get some new stuff to read. IDW successed here, and that has to be said.

   The main artist is Andrea Di Vito and his work is just of really good quality. His characters are well-drawn, having understandable and credible expressions. The movements as well as the choice of the shots and the pages construction are totally fitting the needs of the action.

   For the story, we have writer John Rogers in charge. It's been ages since I've last laughed reading a D&D inspired comic... and his story as well as his characters just made it. We're following the adventures of a bunch of sympathic (but somehow powerful) losers... an amusing (almost) antiheroes band. I am pretty fond of Bree, the rogue... who's just the perfect definition of a lovely lil smart & sarcastic bastard. <3


   Well, in conclusion, I'd say that, with this series,  IDW did manage to successfully renew the D&D comics line. When DDP was more into "serious" fantasy, the most often illustrating stories from the official D&D novels (which are for the most written in classic fantasy style), IDW regenerated the funny D&D universe. (once more the parallel with the DC series is really tempting). If I could dare some weird references comparisons, DDP succeded in Tolkien-inspired D&D adaptation when IDW did it on Willow-inspired one. And for the oldschool D&D players that loved to spend nights around a table with friends, for whom the success of an adventure was far more into the fun they got than the XP on their character sheet, this is totally in the spirit.

VO_ov

2011/05/01

D&D comics history part 21 - The Legend of Huma (DDP)

Adapted from the novel by Richard A. Knaak, The Legend of Huma (based on D&D's DragonLance settings) released in 6 issues from jan. 2004 to oct. 2005 by Devil's Due Publishing (and compiled in TPB in 2007) depicts the adventures of Huma Dragonbane, young Knight of Solamnia, who will be later known as hero of the Third Dragon War.


The story takes place around 1300 years before the War of the Lance (events depicted in the famous trilogy "The Dragonlance Chronicles").
The comic is not covering the entire novel, ending in midstream and leading the reader to get the book from Knaak to know the denouement.
Interesting way of getting people to reading heh.

A bunch of artists worked on this serie, and uncommon fact (or not ? -> am not comics specialist heh XD) is that even in the same issue pages can be drawn by different pencillers.
Mike S. Miller worked on issues 1 & 2 and the 12 first pages of 3rd issue in collaboration with Rael Lyra (who will also work on the first 8 pages of 4th issue).
Mike Crowell did the pages 14-17 of 3rd issue and Joe Prado p.13 and p.18-22.
Abdul Rashid drew the pages 9 to 15 of issue 4 and Carlos Paul p.16 to 22.
Issue 5 was done entirely by Andrea Di Vito.
6th and last issue by Steve Kurth. (Who will work on the 2 first volumes of the Dragonlance Chronicles).

 Pages from issues 1 & 2 by Miller & Lyra
 
 Issue 3 - by Prado                              Issue 4 - by Paul

Even if the styles of the artists is obviously different from one to another, the reader doesn t suffer a really brutal visual change from a chapter to another, excepting, imo, the last issue which inking is very pastel compared to the rest of the work.

Issue 6 - by Kurth

I believe that the quality of the serie will convince Hasbro to grant DDP the full D&D license who will allow the publisher to start working on other settings as Forgotten Realms, Eberron or even Ravenloft.

Now, I can t stop wondering on the choice of DDP to adapt this D&D novel amongts the hundreds released.
It s an interesting story, no doubt, and very epic in the end... but having read dozens of D&D novels, I would not consider it as a must-to-read compared to the rest. More, only DragonLance fans would have heard of Huma, which is, in term of sales, a risky adventure DDP decided to undertake... The ways of Devil's due are unpredictable heh...

Anyway, the comic itself is a great realization and marks the evolution of D&D comics line.

o_O