D&D comics history part 8 - War of the Gods ! Avatar (DC)

   Between February and May 1991, along with their D&D licensed ongoing series, DC will issue a standalone mini-series set in the Forgotten Realms :

War of the Gods ! Avatar

   This 3 issues series is the comic version of the three 1989 novels composing The Avatar Trilogy written by Scott Ciencin (Shadowdale, Tantras) & Troy Denning (Waterdeep) under the shared pen-name Richard Awlinson. 

The Avatar Trilogy - French novels version (Fleuve Noir, 1994)

   It's been adapted here by Barbara Kessel and a bunch of artists worked on these :

   Pencils : Dameon Willich (all issues)

   Inks : Monika Livingston & Tom Romano (issue #1)

            John Nyberg & Todd Hamilton (issues #2 & 3)

            Jerry Acerno, Jan Harpes, Pamela Eklund & Mickey Ritter (issue #3)

   Colors : Eric & Linda Kachelhofer (all issues)

   Letters : Elliot S. Maggin & Kim Yale (only credited in issue #3).

   The events told here depict what will be called the Time of Troubles. The deities of Faerûn are exiled from the Planes after the theft of the Tablets of Fate until these are recovered. Banished by Ao, Overgod of Abeir-Toril, to the mortal world, the gods are now roaming the Realms as avatars. Mystra, goddess of Magic (known as The Lady of Mysteries) will charge Ariel Manx (human wizardess more known as Midnight) to recover the Tablets and protect them from the other deities. The magic-user, now in possession of a mysterious amulet given by the goddess, will soon team up with Kelemvor Lyonsbane (human fighter), Adon (human cleric of Sune) and Cyric (human thief) to fulfill her mission. (Note that these four fellows are often and wrongly considered as being the Company of the Lynx which is in fact the band Midnight was working with and betrayed -for good reasons- before she met her actual companions)

From left to right : Kelemvor, Adon, Cyric and Midnight

   The story will take our heroes in many known places and they'll encounter an amazing number of characters during their quest, including (aside gods... XD) über-famous ones as Elminster or Khelben Blackstaff... It would be too long to list all the references here, but for those interested in these, each novel (so as a result each comic book) has its dedicated AD&D 2nd edition module (in which you'll find among tons of info, the stats of our protagonists...) :

FRE1 Shadowdale, FRE2 Tantras & FRE3 Waterdeep by Ed Greenwood (TSR, 1989)

   Patently this adaptation tends to respect the unfolding of the story as it is told in the novels, only sacrificing some passages by taking narrative shortcuts. In the whole if we can respect the idea behind its construction, the story-telling in the comics is far from being as fluent and understandable as in the novels. Not sure if a reader who's not aware of the universe or the plot would really get it... 

   More on that, the drawing, instead of helping the narration, is some kind of melting pot of -let's say- audacious but badly-rendered and disharmonious artistic choices, which makes the whole a thick soup you have great trouble swallowing... It also sometimes looks like a (basically) colored sketchbook... and the quality is not often there (and even being particularly awful at some point).

 Pages from book one (left), book two (middle) and book three (right)

   Despite the obvious desire to do well and some hard work we can't deny (282 pages in total !), the final rendering is far -very, very far- from being up to the expectation... It's really a shame as the story adapted here depicts one of the best epic moment that forged the history of the Realms... Now, it remains a viable materials source... but kinda a fail that marks the ending of the DC era within the D&D comics history.

(o_O;)

Dungeons & Dragons vintage treasures - part 6

In 1983, Marvel published 2 little storybooks under the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons trademark.

These are entitled The Forest of Enchantment and The Treasure of Time.

In The Forest of Enchantment, a young elven bard named Caruso survives an encounter with evil lizard men who are invading his forest while he was just having peaceful time...

With the help of his friend, the elven druid Filaree, they get information from Figgen of the Thieves' Guild that the army of lizard men is under the orders of Warduke who is planning to rob the Ruby of the Seven Suns which is carried by a certain Princess Mirra, whose caravan will cross through the forest the next day.

They also learn that the evil wizard Kelek has joined Warduke.

Back in the forest, stupid Caruso is made prisoner by the villains and guarded by evil thief Foxfingers. But with some luck, he manages to free himself in the morning while the Princess' party, composed of an escort of 6 horsemen, Mirra herself and her hand-maiden Bess, arrived in the forest.

At the moment of the assault, the villains got disturbed by the druid (who was hiding under a tree form all night...) and our stupid bard. Swift, the druid cast a Plant Growth spell and the bad guys got entangled.

And everything ends fine... heh.

Click image to download (.pdf)

In The Treasure of Time, Kelek the bad bad wizard is spying the good magic-user Charmay who is helding a scroll leading to "The Treasure of Time"... Kelek manages to fool her and get the scroll.

On his way back, Kelek avoids the attack of the good dwarf fighter Elkhorn with the unexpected help of Charmay who still under his charm.

Elkhorn will then seek the help of the good paladin Strongheart and they will start to investigate at Charmay's. With a magic mirror they discover that Kelek was willing to use the powerful spell. But Kelek was also watching the good party with a crystal ball... and he orders the bad bad orc assassin Zarak to stop them.

On the way to Kelek's, Elkhorn got attacked by poisonous snakes and Zarak engages a fight with Strongheart. After the defeat of the villains, they finally reach a ruined castle in which they manages to find the chest containing the Treasure of Time. But Kelek was waiting for the companions and traps them with some spells. That time, Charmay, free of Kelek's charm, arrives at the castle and order Kelek to not open the chest... but well... villains being villains, Kelek opens it and absorbs the power which makes him become young again.

In a try to attack the party Kelek discovers that if he has lost his old age he also lost his knowledge and powers ! Charmay then takes back the scroll and let the crying wizard alone. End of story.

Click image to download (.pdf)

I scanned and compiled the entire books in 2 pdf documents. Just click on pics to download. Enjoy !!

O_oV

D&D comics history part 19 - The Unity of Rings

On 11/13/2003, WOTC put online, in their D&D archives, the scans of the comic :

The Unity of Rings

This issue is the missing piece in the 1996 Limited Edition serie. For some reason, this had not been released that time despite what could have been expected based on what TSR's advert was saying.

Believing what WOTC was saying on it on their website (page down since), the original pages were lost and suddenly reappeared during some office move... and they decided to put it online as the story is complete. (Without cover tho)

The Unity of Rings - First page

The WOTC archive is still online while I am writing these lines :

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnD_PS_Comic.asp

One thing, they inversed the second and the third page there... (-_-;)
Here's a link to a pdf of my own for a smoother reading :
The Unity of Rings.pdf

This comic is totally in the line of the limited editions. Funny (even cynical) with attractive graphics and a nice and well-constructed story.

"The story was conceived by the Planescape group -- Monte Cook (writer of "Hand of the Revenant" module), Michelle Carter, Colin McComb, Ray Vallese, and Andria Hayday -- and scripted by veteran planewalker (and experienced comic author) Jeff Grubb. It includes the art and lettering skills of Mark Heike, Brad Gorby, Chris Allen, and Bill Black (founder of AC comics), and colors by Barbara Brecker."
(dixit WOTC)

As it is online, I won t say more about the plot, you can discover it yourself.

Just it is based on Planescape. (campaign setting created in 1994 based on the concept of multiple planes of existence, in which are included the existing worlds of D&D such as Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, etc)

And well, a (loop-)story about a ring... doesn t that ring a bell ? :P

Double scanned page spread

It is just sad, for us collectors, that WOTC never released printed versions of it, even in very limited editions for some convention or else... :/

It could have been my preciouuuus... :P

D&D comics history part 13 - The Forbidden Sands of Anauroch

These two volumes of Forgotten Realms - The Forbidden Sands of Anauroch are like some UFOs in the D&D comics' sky... and for more than one reason...

They have been released in 2000, under the agreement of WOTC, by 21st Century Comics. (Trademark of 21st century games, an italian company that published the famous miniature versions of AD&D rules and accessories books)

It should have been a 6 issues serie but only the first two volumes were ever published.

These are hard-covers and mesure 24,5 x 16,5 cm. (and dun ask for inch ! :P)

Script by Alessandro Zeminian and Andrea Verardi.

Art (part 1) by Isabella Dalla Vecchia and Michele Rizzardi

Art (part 2) by Sonia Bernabei and Tatiana Mavaracchio

AND translation by Lucy Lenzi (p.1) and Margherita Monti (p.2)

I share the translators infos because I don t get how WOTC allowed the publishing of these books with such a pathetic level of english. I mean I have no idea on how good was the original script in italian but the render in english let you think it has been translated by some italian high-school student. It s almost correct grammatically tho but... heh... well... read it and make your own opinion. XD

The main surprising thing is the graphic style used... it s completely inspired by japanese manga. But italian-made manga.

We have had lots of european artists that imitated the manga-style and tried to put their own graphic culture in it this last decade... most often with poor success. Imo, it s the case here. It s not that awful, but you can see it s just a pale copy of japanese comics.

And if the artists are different in the 2 volumes, I can hardly decide which one has the best graphics...

Anyway, it was a deliberate and risky choice of the authors and well... all know what to expect when ya start gambling heh... :P

Concerning the story, first point is that it has never been finished... which means it could have turned excellent...or also gone nowhere...

Plot takes place in Anauroch, the huge desert of the Forgotten Realms and we are following a bunch of good (!) thieves and some nomads running after (or the inverse) the sexy chaotic neutral lvl.10 mage bitch Ce'Nedra... whose existence seems to be dedicated in creating shitstorms...

If there weren t some allusions to the Realms' deities and also the characters and monsters' succint descriptive sheets at the end of each volume (only stats on some blur chara sketch, no background heh...), we would have no idea that it s based on Forgotten Realms license.

Ah ! On other hand, it is obviously RPG based... Very like there were players behind the characters explaining to the DM (and rest of the party) all the actions they re doing...and that, step by step...

"Let me roll for traps..."

And well, concerning the environment, imo, it s more Al Qadim inspired than F.R.

It also really reminds me of the first issue of the "New-Sorcerian Series", (13th issue of Sorcerian), 1991 manga published by Dragon Comics. (It was a bit more Ancient Egypt-inspired tho...)

In conclusion, I feel a bit dazed. It s original (almost conceptual XD), it could have been great, lots of ideas, and you can feel the passion and dedication put into its creation but so many mistakes done, unfinished... In the end it s a fail.

Still, I dun regret to have that strange "experiment" on my shelves; worse D&D comics exist...

D&D comics history part 12 - Baldur's Gate (TSR / Bioware)

In 1998, Bioware & TSR issued a promotional comic : Baldur's Gate, with a story that acts like an introduction to the video game. Art and scenario done by Bioware staff when production and marketing were handled by Interplay.

Writers : James Ohlen / Lucas Kristjanson

Cover illustration : Michael Sass

Pencils/Inks/Letters : John Gallagher

Colorist : Dean White

I still have to dig on how the comic was released. I believe it came out in some convention or maybe was gifted in some video game box... (If you have any info...)

Now on the contents... Well, the graphics are not that bad... it s mostly bloody slaughters after ambushes and betrayals (heads flying, flow of blood splashing everywhere...) but on the other hand, the artist put lots of hidden D&D references... if you observe well, you ll find Elminster lightning his pipe in front of Drizzt and Guenhwyvar...

...as well as some funny beholder (plush ? o_O) on the tavern shelves... or even the famous Marco Volo on the same frame... and could it be Flint Fireforge from the Dragonlance chronicles smoking his pipe next to him ? o_O

In addition, ya can find lots of known coats of arms on shields or banners... No doubt the artist has a solid knowledge of the Forgotten Realms. (Baldur' Gate being one of the most important city in the Realms after Waterdeep)

Despite my first impression that wasn t very enthousiastic about this comic, I have to admit it s far more interesting than it seemed at first sight.
I am sure I am still missing lots of winks hidden in the frames...

D&D comics history part 10 - Limited Editions (TSR)

 I believe that TSR, after the fail of Dragonstrike was no really willing to come back in comic industry for good.

But in 1996, to promote the sales of its AD&D and affiliated products, TSR was offering a free comic for any 15$ or more purchase.

 Believing the ad, 5 comics were meant to be distributed as limited edition :

Forgotten Realms : The Grand Tour

Birthright : The Serpent's Eye

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons : Labyrinth of Madness

Dragonlance : The Fifth Age

Planescape : The Unity of Rings

In the end, only 4 will be released. The Unity of Rings, which was entirely done, will never be published but WOTC will decide to put it freely online in 2003 on their website.

Understanding the advert, the first one released is The Grand Tour

 Story by Jeff Grubb and art by Todd Fox.

If the graphics are not really great (even mediocre on some pages...) the story is pretty funny and quirky as main characters are Elminster, the most famous mage of the Realms and....... Presto(n) from the D&D cartoon (well years after the cartoon's story tho :P)

 

These guys took a shot of old heh...

   It s a nice original and nostalgic way of getting the reader involved in the story using a character he surely saw on TV years ago. 

Plot is very simple : Preston is getting his chance to become Elminster's apprentice and this last one decides to take the guy to a tour of the Realms.

Tour during which they ll meet legendary figures of the Forgotten Realms as Marco Volo, Qilué Veladron (who s telling about Drizzt and Lirel...), or even Alias and Dragonbait in famous place as Cormyr, Skullport (hidden city under Waterdeep), or Shadowdale.

Each meeting being an excuse to have a nice synopsis of some aspect of the Realms, its people and history.

   Also, special wink from Jeff Grubb to authors Ed Greenwood and Julia Martin.

(Who wrote some of the F.R. novels together)

 

Ed (Greenwood), Marco Volo & Julia (Martin)

 Strange thing is that Khelben Blackstaff, high magus and one of the known lords of Waterdeep (left guy on the cover) is not appearing in the story...

...as well as the cover style differ totally from the comic...

All that in order to puzzle the reader imo... no one would expect to see the guys from D&DC here, heh.

 Second Limited Edition issue seems to be The Serpent's Eye. I base this thinking on the shape of the "logo" in the upper left corner, which is (but the character) similar to The Grand Tour one.

 Story by Ed Stark and art by Dave Gross. Both are average imo.

We re put into some mini-quest involving Jahan, emir of Khourane, his uncle Khalil El-Faran and Marlae baroness of Roesone trying to retrieve the Serpent's eye (A powerful artifact belonging to the mentionned Serpent, an awnsheghlien, monstrous semi-deity)

 Birthright is a rpg-system based on the principle of divine bloodline.

Long ago, on the planet Aebrynis, more especially on the Cerilia continent, a war occured between elves and humans. During the battle on Mount Deismaar, the gods themselves took part of the melee and a bunch of good gods sacrified themselves in order to kick the bad bad god Azrai's ass. This ended in a cataclysmic fight in which all the gods (good and evil) were destroyed.

But the divine core having not been totally wiped out, it infiltrated the blood of the present fighters, the nearest and strongest of them receiving more power.

The most powerful of them became almost gods themselves and developped special divine attributes, making them natural leaders.

Some of them turned aberrations, like the Serpent or the Spider.

 I never had the chance to play Birthright and the few I learnt about this world was what I read in novels. (5 of them have been translated into french years ago)

 This comic story is in the line of the novels, not very funny, not very interesting, with not very charismatic characters... we re far from the richness of worlds as Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance.

 Now, I am sure it s a perfect game system to build some über toon... or for those who like the system of bloodline... but well we cut the head of our aristocracy 2 centuries ago here... froggy talking :P

Anyway, the job has been done with this comic. 

You want a glimpse of B.R. ? Read it.

 In comparaison, Labyrinth of Madness is a really nice issue that fits more in the tone of these Limited Editions.

Writer : Mike Barron         Penciller : Arnie Swekel

 The story, based on an adventure module originally written by Monte Cook, is about adventurers on a quest to rescue their buddy, captive in some hellish trapped dungeon.

The adventure module

 It s somehow very alike the first cartoon ads story. Typical D&D party in some dungeon crawl on which you add a serious amount of comedy.

As characters, we have the captive one... Sorril the Paladin trapped in the deepest level of the labyrinth by the very evil Aerthun, a titan who s some mix between a giant and a cobra...

...and the rescue team composed of its leader and wizard Kirtig, Shardeus a female paladin, the 2 dwarves brothers : Dharveth the fighter and Dwelhach the Cleric and the indispensable and so murphy-ish Jedin, the halfling rogue.

 All the elements of a playable adventure are here... the random encounters, the puzzles, the temptating pathes full of traps, the treasures and the mega-boss at the end. Plus, the story is livened up with a very plesant style of drawing that matches the tone of the narrative.

Labyrinth of Madness - Double page

 In the end it s a really nice way to get an overview of what you can expect on a night spent D&D gaming around a table with your weirdo friends. (you ll never play RPG with only "normal guys"... that can t be :P)

 Take adventures, fights againts incredible monsters, achievements (unbelievable fails too heh)... and some ladles of fun and humour with a grain of salt. Put all that together, add the unlimited possibilities of your imagination and that s it.

You get what AD&D was intended to be imo.

   An online version of this comic can be found on WotC website. 

The fourth and last one ever released is Fifth Age.

 

Writers : Tom & Mary Bierbaum        Penciller : Arnie Swekel

 Inspired by the novel Dragons of a Summer Flame by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, the story depicts the moment when Palin, son of Caramon and Tika Majere discovers the "new magic" while elves of Qualinesti are under the domination of Beryllinthranox, the great green dragon.

After the War of the Lance followed by the Chaos War, ancient gods are gone as well as the three moons. There is no more magic of good, neutral and evil. The reign of great wirms has come and the people of Krynn are in desperate needs of power to fight them.

 Palin, sorcerer apprentice and nephew of the legendary doomed Archmage Raistlin Majere, was told by ancient god of good, Paladine, that he was the one who will find the new source of magic.

 The story is pretty serious in comparaison of other limited edition issues. I do believe Dragonlance is more a world of legends than one of adventures. The War of the Lance is somehow very similar to Tolkien's Lord of the Ring. If the 2 stories have different plots, their tones is pretty serious in the end.

 That explains, imo, that this limited issue was not written to be lighthearted.

It is a nice introduction to the new campaign setting of Dragonlance.

The quality of the graphics as well as the narration are pretty correct. (even if find that Beryl's design is a bit childish, reminding me of the 1982 animated movie "The Flight of Dragons"...ok, I admit I am maybe going too far here... :P)

 It also seems that artist Arnie Swekel has some speciality in the use of double page spreads... requiring the reader to turn the comic to continue his reading...

Fifth Age - Double page

 If I ve read the Dragonlance Chronicles novels with delight years ago, I am not an expert concerning the Fifth Age. So I can t say if this little story and the novels are well matched or not and at which degree of accuracy. But at first sight, it seems pretty correct to me.

 As well as all the other limited editions issues, besides the story itself, the comic is full of chosen ads about Dragonlance materials as upcoming novels or modules. Which is pretty coherent considering they were AD&D's campaign settings dedicated promotional goodies... (QED... or not XD)

   An online version of this comic can be found on WotC website. 

  This Limited Edition line is a must-to-have for any D&D comics collector in the meaning it gives,  in  only 4 issues (5 if you count the lost planescape comic...), a very large panel of what was AD&D in late 90's.

O_oV

D&D comics history part 8 - Annuals 1990 (DC)

         

D&D comics history part 6 - SpellJammer (DC)

D&D comics history part 4 - DragonLance (DC)

D&D comics history part 3 - AD&D (DC comics)

   In december 1988 the first issue of "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" was published by DC comics. Based on a monthly publication, the serie ended with the 36th issue in dec.91. An annual 1990 issue was also edited.

The story takes place in Waterdeep, the well-known city of splendors in the Forgotten Realms. It relates the adventures of some "almost" typical D&D party.

I have no idea if the main characters have been created especially for the comics or existed already in some D&D module. (I tend to think these guys are newcomers to the Realms...)

We have here Priam Agrivar, lvl 6 human paladin, Vajra Valmeyjar, the lvl 7 fighter, Onyx The Invincible, lvl 4 thief / lvl 4 fighter dwarf, Kyriani the lvl 5 half-elf mage, Conner the lvl 7 human rogue and Timoth Eyesbright, lvl 4 centaur (!) fighter.

The story is sequenced in episodes that last up to 4 issues.

If all the main characters don't always appear in each issue / sequence they all have roles in the latent storyline.

When the first issues are written by Michael Fleisher, the rest, except few issues by novelist Jeff Grubb, will be handled by Dan Mishkin.

So what to say about this serie ?

Considering my tastes, I personaly find that the graphics are of average quality. Even the covers are just ok... if it weren't D&D's, I doubt I'd have ever opened one... (Art by Jan Duursema ; except 3 issues by Tom Mandrake)

Art by Jan Duursema                           Art by Tom Mandrake

Now, concerning the plots, we're really in some PnP module's adventure-like scenario...

...and if that doesn't feed perfectly the needs of a good story, at least we have some concept here.

Like any dungeon quest, ya have specifics monsters, good and bad named dudes (like Xanathar the Beholder and her drow sidekick Shaina ! ["Eye of the Beholder" PC game psychotic fan here... XD]) as well as places and items that are taken from the Forgotten Realms novels or modules.

All this tends to balance the lack of quality in both graphics and stories. Also a special attention has been done on main characters' backgrounds and other particularities.

Like Timoth the Centaur ! A very sensitive horsy dude... we can't deny they used some creativity here heh...

Or even Kyriani the half-elf... mix of both her precedent personalities (Cybrinai a lvl 1 innocent half-elf mage and Kilili the half-drow lvl 9 caster badass...)

More, at the end of each issue, ya can find some characters, monsters or items descriptions sheets as well as maps, etc. All this giving (easy, imo) credits to this RPG-inspired comic experience.

But well we were still in the 80's... and we can't ask much of anything born that time... :P

DC & TSR will persist with the publishing of D&D comics and will produced other series as "Forgotten Realms", "Dragonlance", "Spelljammer" or even the mini-serie "Avatar".

Note that the whole serie will be reissued by IDW in 4 nice TPB compilations in 2011-2013 under the name "Dungeons & Dragons Classics". 

More info for collectors !

Here is the complete list of every titles of the serie, as well as some info on each one as trivia, notes, month of publication, main authors, etc :

  1. The Gathering (DEC 88)
Story : Michael Fleisher / Art : Jan Duursema
   2. The Bounty Seekers of Manshaka (JAN 89)
Story : Michael Fleisher / Art : Jan Duursema
   3. The Secret of Selune's Eye (FEB 89)
Story : Michael Fleisher / Art : Jan Duursema
   4. Sorcerer's Moon (MAR 89)
Story : Michael Fleisher / Art : Jan Duursema
Trivia : D.Mishkin is credited for story on cover when M.Fleischer (with "sc"...) is credited on title page
   5. The Spirit of Myrrth 1/4 (APR 89)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
   6. The Spirit of Myrrth 2/4 (MAY 89)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
Subheading : Beneath the City of the Dead
   7. The Spirit of Myrrth 3/4 (JUN 89)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Showtime ! or, Revenge of the Living Monologue
   8. The Spirit of Myrrth 4/4 (JUL 89)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Die Laughing
Note : Editor is credited as "Bye-Bye Barbara Kesel"
   9. Catspaw Quartet 1/4 (AUG 89)
Story : Jeff Grubb / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Night of the Moonpenguin
Trivia : entitled on cover : Timoth's Travails 1/4
   10. Catspaw Quartet 2/4 (SEP 89)
Story : Jeff Grubb / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Of Mirt & Mind Flayers
   11. Catspaw Quartet 3/4 (OCT 89)
Story : Jeff Grubb / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : All Hades Breaks Loose !
   12. Catspaw Quartet 4/4 (NOV 89)
Story : Jeff Grubb / Art : Jan Duursema
Subtitle : Down in the Depths
   13. Spell Games 1/4 (DEC 89)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
Subheading : Shackles of the Past
Trivia : J.Grubb is credited for story on cover when D.Mishkin is on title page
   14. Spell Games 2/4 (JAN 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Shell Game
   15. Spell Games 3/4 (FEB 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
Subheading : Cat & Mouse
   16. Spell Games 4/4 (MAR 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
Subheading : The Last Betrayal !
   17. Kyriani's Story : The Ostus Legacy 1/2 (APR 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
Note : This issue has a barcode on cover in place of authors credits
   18. Kyriani's Story : The Ostus Legacy 2/2 (MAY 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
Subheading : Day of the Darkening
   19. Phases of the Moon 1/4 (JUN 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : First Quarter : Selune Rising
   20. Phases of the Moon 2/4 (JUL 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Second Quarter : Dark of the Moon
Note : barcode on cover
   21. Phases of the Moon 3/4 (AUG 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Third Quarter : Lunatics !
   22. Phases of the Moon 4/4 (SEP 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Last Quarter : Total Eclipse
   23. Lawyers ! (NOV 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Tom Mandrake
Note : T.Mandrake is credited as Guest Artist
Trivia : Inker Rick Magyar is credited only on cover
Note : No october issue.
   24. Scavengers 1/3 (DEC 90)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Scavengers !
   25. Scavengers 2/3 (JAN 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
Subheading : Predators !
   26. Scavengers 3/3 (FEB 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Survivors !
Note : barcode on cover
   27. Death and the Dragon's Eye 1/4 (MAR 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
   28. Death and the Dragon's Eye 2/4 (APR 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Suspicion !
Note : barcode on cover
   29. Death and the Dragon's Eye 3/4 (MAY 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
Subheading : Dead of Night
Note : barcode on cover
   30. Death and the Dragon's Eye 4/4 (JUN 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Burning Questions
   31. Pillar of Gold 1/2 (JUL 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Tom Mandrake
   32. Pillar of Gold 2/2 (AUG 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Tom Mandrake 
Subheading : Broken Pillars
Note : This time T.Mandrake is credited as Guest Penciller
   33. Summer in the City (SEP 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema
Note : Entitled on cover : The Wager that saved Waterdeep !!
   34. Rites and Wrongs 1/3 (OCT 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Telling Lies
   35. Rites and Wrongs 2/3 (NOV 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : The Truth
   36. Rites and Wrongs 3/3 (DEC 91)
Story : Dan Mishkin / Art : Jan Duursema 
Subheading : Rights & Wrongs
Trivia : Next Issue : AD&D #37 announced on last page