Not that Critical Role's immense fame among D&D fans ever really went away, but it's certainly surging right now thanks to the gang's triumphant return for Critical Role Campaign 4, with (my number one TTRPG crush) Brennan Lee Mulligan in the DM hot seat. That's already an excuse to dive deeper into the lore through Dark Horse Comics' range of Exandria based graphic novels, but I can offer you a better one: Humble Bundle is offering 21 volumes, worth $203, in one 18-buck bundle.
The Critical Role cast have almost single handedly powered DnD's huge expansion into the (relative) mainstream over the last decade by putting charismatic, expertly acted human faces onto both their characters and the game they're playing.
One thing actual play can't do on its own, though, is fully immerse you visually in their game's world and environment. That's why the Critters are making animated series adapting and dramatizing their TTRPG campaigns, including the wildly popular Legend of Vox Machina and forthcoming The Mighty Nein. But you knew all that already.
What you might not have known (I didn't, sue me) is that comic book powerhouse Dark Horse Comics started putting out official Critical Role graphic novels and art books as early as 2017, and there's now a whole range of illustrated volumes delving into the origin stories of all your fave characters from both Vox Machina and Mighty Nein.
Better still, Humble has just gone live with their Critical Role Comic Collection bundle, which offers 21 of them at a supreme 91% discount. For $18 bucks, you're getting all four volumes of Vox Machina: Origins; the separate origin comic for each of the eight core Mighty Nein characters; two Mighty Nein art collections; and both volumes of Tales of Exandria, telling new stories from the world's distant past.
Here's the full contents of the Critical Role Comic Collection bundle:
- Vox Machina: Origins Volumes 1 - 3
- Vox Machina: Origins Volume 4 (as 6 separate issues)
- The Chronicles of Exandria: The Mighty Nein
- The Chronicles of Exandria - The Mighty Nein Part Two
- The Tales of Exandria Volume 1 -The Bright Queen
- The Tales of Exandria Volume 2 - Artagan
- The Mighty Nein Origins - Jester Lavorre
- The Mighty Nein Origins - Caleb Widogast
- The Mighty Nein Origins - Yasha Nydoorin
- The Mighty Nein Origins - Fjord Stone
- The Mighty Nein Origins - Nott the Brave
- The Mighty Nein Origins - Mollymauk Tealeaf
- The Mighty Nein Origins - Beauregard Lionett
- The Mighty Nein Origins - Caduceus Clay
As it's a Humble Bundle, of course part of your 18 dollars goes to a good cause. In this case it's the Critical Role Foundation, the critters' own nonprofit, which actually funds a wide variety of different causes; so it's worth looking into it to see what you're supporting.
Have you already dipped into the Critical Role comics, or would this be your first foray into them? As (to be honest) a comic book newbie who's read one and a half Sandman issues and one ancient Preacher collection, I'm very tempted, and hovering over the buy button. So if you have recommendations for these or other D&D related graphic novels come join the free Wargamer Discord community and let me know!
Oh, and if you need refreshers on how Dungeons and Dragons works these days, check out our full guides on all the playable DnD races, and how to play each of the 13 DnD classes.