Dungeons & Denizens
My column in the argosy from March 6th. Here is to hoping for and end to the chaos that currently saturates my life.
In a complete reversal from last week's comic, this week I am doing a comic that is silly, light, funny, and even cute. The comic is called Dungeons & Denizens, and it was created by three people who go by the names Graveyard Greg, John Yakimow, and C. Wilson Trull. Most people will immediately get the obvious Dungeons and Dragons reference, and those in the know will immediately see links to World of Warcraft and Everquest, plus perhaps some things I am not personally aware of. Now, I want you to forget all that. This comic has elements that tend to appeal to the “geek culture,” but even if that isn't your thing, do not let it fool you into thinking that this comic is anything but great.
The setting of Dungeons & Denizens is in fact a dungeon and the main characters are the traditional monsters one expects to see in a fantasy setting. The comic is not, however, about telling the story from the monsters' point of view, which has been done by other comics. Rather, the characters are the employees who are charged with maintaining the dungeon for use by parties of adventurers. The main character, for example, is a Minotaur named Min who was recently hired as tech support for the dungeon. The other main characters include an assortment of defective personalities attached to monstrous bodies and often dangerous powers.
Min is a bit of a naïf as the comic begins, enthusiastic to begin his job but not so good at staying out of trouble, usually in the form of his bosses practical jokes. While he usually gets the “fuzzy end of the lollipop,” he begins to wizen up and give as good as he gets. His boss is Gazdar, an archetypical ruff gruff boss with a heart of gold. Sort of. Besides the afore mentioned practical jokes, Gazdar has no problem dumping a burden on others with his somewhat creative problem solving. Amongst the others are the undead dungeon manager with a hight complex, Litchvell, his surly teenage daughter who always miscasts spells, and a jealous gorgon. Also, the landlord is a giant flaming demon. The best of all the characters are Donna and Diana, the two headed fire breathing hellhound. Calling them conjoined twins might me more appropriate, as each head has its own personality, as well as a crush on the same person. Pity the poor man. They alternate between having big cartoon eyes, giant maws filled with enormous teeth, and spitting fire at those who annoy them. They are always cute, and will delight you, I promise.
The comic is recently back after a nine month hiatus. The creators are regularly updating it now on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and there is a decent archive to go through. While the site lacks certain features that webcomic readers might come to expect, such as character bios or even links, the comic more than makes up for it. You really do not have to be a geek to enjoy this one, so go check it out at www.dungeond.com/
