Writer: Jim Zub (@JimZub)
Art: Troy Little (@meanwhilestudio)
Colors: Leonardo Ito
Letters: Crank!
Once upon a game, Rick and Morty and the Smith family went on magical D&D adventures…Now, magical D&D adventures are coming to Earth, and no one will survive the Painscape! The pop culture juggernaut and bestselling role-playing game team up once again in an all new companion story!
I have to be totally up front about this: I’m not a big fan of Rick and Morty. I’ve tried watching the show a few times, but after a night of binging I never find my way back to it. There are parts I find funny, but the general, “IT’S THE BEST FU*^ING SHOW EVER!” feeling just isn’t one I share.
So why take on this review? Why knowingly dive headlong into a world I’m not that excited to read about? Jim Zub..that’s why. But wait, there’s more! It’s Jim Zub writing Dungeons and Dragons! That’s a kind of chocolate and peanut butter I can get down with.
The story in a nutshell is what you would expect from a Rick and Morty adventure. It’s D&D night at the Smith house and the adventure comes alive, sucking them in a D&D fueled nightmare world. This is where Zub’s writing shines. He captures the character dialog and this is perfectly translated through the lettering of Crank!. This is a shining example of how the art (yes, I wrote art) of lettering can be used to add so much to the experience.
While the Rick and Morty aspects are strong, they say can’t have a crossover with just one intellectual property. I’m not sure who “they” are, but they do say a lot of things. I digress: The other half of this crossover is the biggest, awesomest, suddenly cool among the normies fantasy RPG Dungeons and Dragons! I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Jim Zub has played D&D more than a few times. He crafts the adventure using all the power of world building the D&D has to offer. I was expecting Zub’s story to be strictly in the 5th Edition D&D world. To my surprise, and to much hilarity, all the versions of D&D are represented here. Even the dreaded THACO
Troy Little’s art is also put on fantastic display. He’s got mastery over the Rick and Morty character designs and does an fantastic job translating D&D into Rick and Morty’s world. Multi-armed demons and vulture faced baddies all come to life in this well rendered hack slash moments
Bottom Line: This life-long D&D gamer and limited Rick and Morty fan was highly entertained by this book. You’ll certainly have advantage when rolling the dice on this one, and my guess is it will be a critical hit.
And now…..I’m going to watch some Rick and Morty.
Score: 12/13
