Dungeon Fun #1 Review

I’ll be the first to admit that I'm a huge fan of comic books. It’s a great collaborative (at times just one person too) medium that produces some amazing work. Generally, the first thing you think of when you hear “Comic Books” are capes comics like Spider-Man or Batman. However, comics are much more diverse than just capes stories and Dungeon Fun is proof of that.

One area of the comic book realm that has been catching my eye of late are all ages titles. Being able to cater for adults as well as children is no mean feat, but Colin Bell and Neil Slorance do it well with DungeonFun.

The first release from new small-press publisher Dogooder Comics, Dungeon Fun, follows the adventures of Fun Mudlifter. Raised by trolls in the moat of a castle, Fun’s life is changed forever when a sword plummets into her village from high above. This sets her off on a quest to confront the trolls responsible for all the falling items that plague her village. An odyssey that will involve jobsworth trolls, three-headed beasts, soothsaying shamans and headless barbarians, as she battles her way through dungeons to her final goal.

This isn’t the first time that Bell and Slorance have worked together. They previously created the fan favourite web series Jonbot Vs Martha which is described as "Kramer vs Kramer meets Short Circuit but with more swearing". What's not to love? You can see how well they work together as the story flows amazingly with an incredible amount of creativity. The fluid nature of the storytelling is testament to the foundation that the duo have laid with their time on Jonbot Vs Martha.

Slorance’s art style suits the tone of series so well. While it may seem simplistic, the art is able to convey so much emotion in every panel. Bell’s writing is never off pace, moving from comedy, to action and from sad to uplifting at an even flow. This book has love poured into it by these two and you can tell that Dungeon Fun is a labour of love.

Dungeon Fun contains the spirit of Adventure Time and Monty Pythonesque absurdist humour while still managing to be its own creature. Combining the utter fun of all ages comics with the modest, ingenuous heart of an indie book, Dungeon Fun is a real treat.

Dungeon Fun will go on sale in select comic stores in Glasgow on DUNGEON FUN DAY (Wednesday 20th November 2013), with digital editions available through Dogooder Comics, before debuting UK-wide at Leeds’ Thought Bubble Festival on the 22nd and 23rd of November 2013.

- Billy