Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures Vol 1

Title: Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures Vol 1

ISBN: 9781684059430

Price: $12.99

Publisher/Year: IDW, 2023

Writer:  David M. Booher, Sam Maggs 

Artist: George Kambadais

Rating: 4/5

Five friends from our world have been transported to the land of the Forgotten Realms and, after fighting so many monsters and escaping many times from the Big Bad, Venger, they’re looking forward to possibly having a good night’s rest along with their pal Uni the Unicorn. But their sleep is interrupted when monsters attack their camp and a portal opens up. On the other side, find themselves in Waterdeep and trying to save a young girl cursed with Wild Magic that can surge at any time, a labyrinth with Beholders, and other monsters that test them to their limits!

The trade feels like it begins at the end of the last adventure from the TV show but without any sort of segue or introduction for brand new fans who haven’t watched the last episode which aired in 1985. Since the comic takes the same tone as the cartoon, there is a good chance it will be picked up by younger audiences, and it could have benefitted from some sort of introduction to bridge for new readers who are jumping in at this point. Aside from this, the story feels just like an episode of the cartoon, so fans of the original series will feel like they're on another adventure with the gang. Younger fans getting into playing Dungeons and Dragons might get a kick out of recognizing familiar game monsters and items included in the story.

The illustration team has beautifully captured the spirit of the original cartoon and brought the characters into a 2-D format. The coloring is especially beautiful when comparing the cartoon cels to the panels. The overall pacing and panel layout keeps the energy up throughout the story just like an episode.