D&D comics history part 15 - Tempest's Gate (K&C)

   As In the Shadow of Dragons was well ongoing, Kenzer & Company launched in december 2001 a second Greyhawk comics series entitled :

Tempest's Gate

   This time each issue is called a "book"... well...
Book One : Born of Fire (Dec. '01)
Book Two : Forged in Tears (Jan. '02)
Book Three : Tempered in Fellowship (Feb. '02)
Book Four : Sheathed in Justice (Mar. '02)

   Story has been written by Sean Smith, and as expected, a bunch of different artists worked on this series as well (Basically a team for the first 2 issues and another one for the last 2) :

Mike (Michael) Lilly : Penciller of books 1 & 2, Cover artist of all books
Travis Walton : Inker of books 1 & 2, Cover colorist/inker of all books
Rich Kelly : Inker of book 1
Bob Wiacek : Inker of book 1
Bill (Alfred O.) Williams : Inker of book 1
Mickey Clausen : Colorist of books 1 & 2, Letterer of book 1
Tony Duncan : Letterer of book 2
Rodrigo Pereira : Penciller/ Inker of books 3 & 4
Nelson (Pereira) Mendonça : Inker of books 3 & 4
Salvatore Aiala : Colorist of books 3 & 4
Ricardo Riamonte : Colorist of books 3 & 4
Marcos Schmidt : Letterer of books 3 & 4

 

 Book Two - Double page (art by M.Lilly)

 

 

Book Three - Double page (art by R.Pereira)

   When we have really fine art in every issue, Mike Lilly & Rodrigo Pereira doing great here, I was kinda shocked by the lack of visual coherence (not talking about the styles here) between the end of Book Two and the beginning of Book Three, especially considering we're in the very same scene (cf pict below... for the more obvious discrepancies). This being said, the comic in its whole is very entertaining. We have here far less chitchat and more action than in their previous mini-series. Tho, imo, they could have done a 5 issues story as some scene are kinda shorten and could have easily been more developed (especially at the end where it's a bit (to say the least...) sloppy in a rush to conclude).

 

And for the quick-change performance, Ladies & Gentlemen...we're welcoming... Aidus !!

   Note here that the assassin in charge of murdering our hero is the famous Zarak from the LJN toys line (who, as Warduke did, travelled from Mystara to Greyhawk a few ago...). FYI, he also appears in The Treasure of Time storybook I reviewed years ago.

  

Zarak - 1983 LJN basic figure (left - picture from my own collection) & stats from D&D modules (right)

   This time the plot takes place in the area of Bissel, near the frontier with Ket, in some outpost called Tempest's Gate (cf map below). The outpost being attacked by Oghs (some local variety of orcs... cf pict below) lead by Flame, a powerful Fire Sorceress taking orders from the evil necromancer Evard (cf info sheet below), the young lieutenant Aidus soon get the charge of the defense as his captain passes away. Helped by the arrival of the hill-man barbarian Urik and his tribe they manage to repel the attackers. Soon joined by the dwarf Hakignm Strongarm, whose people of Kharak Dhul's mining colony have been decimated by the same fiends a few ago, and helped by the imperial advisor and great Ice Wizard Zed-Kraken and some other allies, the gathered party is sent to track the evil menace. Some will have to look back in their past to overcome present's troubles. As said earlier, if some parts could have been expanded, we have here a story rich of elements as the many kinds of monsters/species as well as a great bunch of interesting characters.

 

World of Oerth, March of Bissel and probable location of Tempest's Gate (red dot)

 

Evard info, bio and stats (Dungeon Magazine #107)

   Also note that we are granted with some RPG materials in each issue (tho only a tiny list of Greyhawk references in Book Two) as stats of Aidus (B.3) and his beloved Vail (B.4) as well as the description of Oghs (B.1).

 

Characters and monster stats

   It's a nice piece Kenzer & Co offered us here even if it lacks some rigor here and there... we have some plots without any clue on the whys and wherefores and some villains mentioned without any appearance... wondering here if it wasn't meant to be a longer series at first that ended shorter for some reason... Still, a fun reading anyway.

o_O;

D&D comics history part 14 - In the Shadow of Dragons (K&C)

   After a decade of very rare production (10 D&D comics... not talking about this blog's posts here :P), WotC, which acquired TSR a few years ago and also became a subsidiary of Hasbro in 1999, well decided to promote their 3rd edition of D&D, gave the hand to Kenzer & Company to edit their new comics line from 2001. Kenzer & Co was specialized in publishing RPG materials as the Kingdoms of Kalamar (which will be later officially included in D&D 3rd) and the famous comic Knights of the Dinner Table. And so, in march 2001, is released the first issue of :

In the Shadow of Dragons

   The whole story will count 8 issues, called "parts" :

Part 1 : The Last of my Father (Mar. '01)
Part 2 : In the Belly of the Lone Heath (May '01)
Part 3 : Through the Darkness of Anasteo (July '01)
Part 4 : The Lies that Bind (Sep. '01)
Part 5 : Guardian of the Dragonhold (Nov. '01)
Part 6 : An Eclipse of Stolen Blood (Jan. '02)
Part 7 : Wrapped in Betrayal's Kiss (Mar. '02)
Part 8 : Where Strangers Once Stood... (May '02)

   And while it will be written all along by Jay Donovan, a bunch of artists will work on these : 
Hung Vinh Mac : Cover artist of parts 1 to 4
Tyler Walpole : Penciller/Letterer of parts 1,2,4 & 5
John Hahn : Penciller/Inker of part 6
Sam Wang : Ink Assists of part 6
Tommy Castillo : Penciller/Inker of parts 7 & 8, Cover artist of parts 5 to 8 
Andy Brase : Inker of parts 1,2,4 & 5
Jeff Mayer : Inker of part 3 p.1,3-6
Tony Moy : Penciller/Inker of part 3
Abby Moy : Letter of part 3
Chad Fidler : Colorist of part 1 & 2
Mike Estlick : Colorist of part 3
V. Shane Colclough : Colorist of part 4 p.1-21
Tom Martin : Colorist of part 4 p.22-24, Cover colorist of parts 5 to 8
Scott Kester : Colorist of parts 5 to 8

Part 3 (Art by T.Moy)                                        P.5 (Art by T.Walpole)

 P.6 (Art by J.Hahn)                                              P.8 (Art by T.Castillo)

   The art is pretty decent in its whole even if I have to say, knowing what the artist is capable of, I am a bit disappointed by Tyler Walpole's one, especially on the first issues. These ones are somehow laborious to read as for the long and kinda boring dialogues in the bubbles but also for the lack of humor. But little by little, the story is getting entertaining and the tone less serious. As well, on the visual aspect, the work of different artists made the whole getting into a more pleasant and dynamic reading as the story goes on. On another aspect, the lettering is sometimes not helping a runny reading... especially when using some "artistic" tiny fonts as at the beginning of part 6... °-°

   But in the end, for something starting a bit too classic and serious, we got a nice story here. It takes place in the Greyhawk campaign setting as well as the Kenzer & Co's productions that will follow and the Hammer Graphics' Vecna - Hand of the Revenant during the same period (2001-04). Obviously WotC was willing to maximize their promotion of the last version of its setting (Greyhawk will finally die in 2008 - tho some references to it -deities, races, classes- will be part of the 2014's 5th edition of the Player's Handbook...).

   The plot is about 3 great and somehow amazingly powerful blue dragons (Blackwing and his siblings Eclipse & Azzre) harassing the city of Rel Astra (cf map below) in order to reclaim a powerful artifact they call "The Last of My Father". The city, governed by Lord Drax - known as The Invulnerable (cf pict below) - will try to counter-attack but without any success. Willing to surrender and giving the dragons what they are seeking but having no clue of the whereabouts, a party is formed around a mage apprentice, Gifre, who will be sent on the roads to meet the powerful wizard master Ealadhach in Roland. According to Gifre and to what his former master, Landuwek, shared with him, the wizard master is said to have the knowledge and power to defeat dragons. To protect the young and unexperienced apprentice on his trek, Drax will command Evina, his best bodyguard, Lucien Cathal, a celebrated paladin and also Kiernan Ornarus, a convicted rogue to join the group of travellers. The team will be soon beefed up on its way to Roland by the coming of Roarn Stonehearth, a dwarven warrior, Verena Mornbringer, an elvish ranger and Sissel, a blind shapeshifter druid. They will all together cross the wild lands to do their best to avoid the destruction of Rel Astra by the angered wyrms. (More info on the Free Cities of Rel Astra, Roland & Ountsy here and there)

 

World of Oerth, western Flanaess - City of Rel Astra and its area (including City of Roland)

 

Lord Drax short description (Ivid the Undying adventure, TSR 1995)

   Note also that, as well as it occured on DC's series and in some IDW's later on, a few RPG material was added in this comic. At the end of part 3 we are granted with Lucien and Roarn's chara-sheets. When we would have waited for the rest of the team ones, sadly and strangely it will be only this. Well, better than nothing I suppose heh...

 

Lucien & Roarn characters sheets

   With this series and the upcoming ones, Kenzer and Company settled the new D&D comics era with a relative success at that time but surely laying the foundation of a solid renewal other publishers, as DDP and IDW, will lean on in the years to come.

   The series will have, in 2003, a sequel (with no direct link with the scenario here) featuring some of the heroes we met here, entitled Where Shadows Fall. (also written by Jay Donovan but with a different team of artists)

O_oV

Dungeons & Dragons vintage treasures - part 4

   In 2001, 10 years after the AD&D trivia game, WOTC via Hasbro (creation and distribution by USAopoly) adapts another family game with the release of :

D&D clue game

   The first noticeable thing is the dimensions of the box (around 51 x 26 cm)... ya know, it's that kind of boardgame that fits nowhere in your shelves... XD

Now, the contents... well it's a Clue game heh, text on back of the box says :

WHO KILLED THE ARCHMAGE ?
Was it Tordek in the Dragon's Lair with the Flaming Battle Axe ?
Or Mialee in the Dungeon with the Staff of Power ?

A group of heroic adventurers has been called to the Archmage's castle.
But one of those heroes isn't who he or she appears to be. One of the heroes is a doppelganger, a monster that can look like anyone ! In the darkest part of the night, the doppelganger kills the Archmage, triggering a spell that seals the castle until the monster is caught.

Now, in the grand tradition of Clue, the six suspects must determine which one of them is the doppelganger : Redgar the Human fighter, Tordek the Dwarf Fighter, Lidda the Halfling Rogue, Mialee the Elf Wizard, Ember the Human Monk or Nebin the Gnome Wizard. The heroes try to figure out who killed the Archmage, where the crime occured, and what magical weapon was used.

All is said...well almost...

Game includes :

Game board

6 Pewter Suspect Tokens

6 Pewter Weapons

Confidential Scroll Case

Deck of Suspect, Weapon, Location and Monster Scrolls

Detective Scroll Pad

Die

   But there is a plus coming with this Clue, the optional rule : 

THE MONSTER CHALLENGE

   There are 6 claw marks on the board. Moving your character to one of those will end in a battle with a wandering monster (Goblin, Skeleton, Bugbear, Gelatinous Cube, Displacer Beast or even Beholder !)

Winning the battle will give you bonuses (roll more dice, extra turn, etc) and losing it will send you to the Maze, where you'll be stuck until rolling a 5 or 6.

Amazing, isn't it...

Now.....when the D&D monopoly ? (cf Wizards of the Coast's 2007 april fool's - not sure actually if there is still a record of it on the web tho, page was still up in 2012 if I recall well...) :P

Offical WotC review here.