Dungeons & Dragons the Comic – Resurrected!

Hasbro and IDW Publishing (who kind of specializes in licensed comics – GI Joe, Transformers, Angel to name a few) have announced a partnership to produce a of comics based on Dungeons and Dragons. The comics will follow the model IDW uses for most of their licensed products – a dedicated mini/maxi-series that is designed to be collected into trade collections released shortly after completion. The first series will take place in the core world with Dark Sun being the next (and a Forgotten Realms series on the table). This isn’t the first time there’s been a D&D-based comic series: DC Comics produced four separate series (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms and Spelljammer – yeah, they even did Spelljammer). A few smaller publishers have tried as well (Devil’s Due and Iron Hammer Graphics), but none of the series have found a lasting audience. That said, IDW seems to have a magic formula for this sort of thing sustaining runs on GI Joe and Transformers that are close to rivaling the early runs by Marvel in the 80’s for longevity. The first series, Dungeons & Dragons, will debut in August, with the first trade reprint in November.