The latest official graphic novel in Dark Horse‘s Mighty Nein Origins line just came out, and fans of Critical Role will get a chance to explore the troubled past of Caleb Widogast.
Critical Role began in 2015 as a web series recording the Dungeons & Dragons sessions of DM Matt Mercer and a cast made by his voice actor friends and colleagues. Critical Role was so successful that it changed the way D&D is perceived today: streamed or recorded live games became more and more popular, leading to a wider recognition of the game inside the entertainment industry. 2020 was Dungeons and Dragons’ best year ever, with sales going up 33 percent and an estimated 50 million players worldwide, according to publisher Wizards of the Coast. Meanwhile, the original idea of Critical Role has spawned a franchise comprising official D&D books, novels, comic books, and even an Amazon Studios original animated series based on Critical Role’s first campaign, The Legend of Vox Machina.
Critical Role comic books are published by Dark Horse. They include the series Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins and Critical Role: The Chronicles of Exandria, and a graphic novel line, Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins that started being published in November 2021. After a first book dedicated to the character of Jester Lavorre, a second one was distributed in February 2022, featuring Caleb Widogast, played on the show by Liam O’Brien. The Mighty Nein is the second Critical Role campaign, focusing on the eponymous group of seven adventurers: Caleb the human wizard, Beauregard the human monk, Fjord the half-orc warlock, Caduceus the firbolg cleric, Nott the goblin rogue, Yasha the aasimar barbarian, and Jester the tiefling cleric. Supposedly, each one of them will receive their dedicated graphic novel, exploring the origins of the character and their backstory before they encountered the rest of the group at the beginning of the campaign. At the moment, six books have been announced.
The Mighty Nein Origins – Caleb Widogast is written by Jody Houser (who also wrote Vox Machina Origins) with art by Selina Espiritu and colors Diana Sousa. Liam O’Brien and Matthew Mercer provided creative direction. Caleb’s story is a particularly dark one: as a child, he suffered abuse at the hands of his instructor at the school of magic called Soltryce Academy and was forced to commit a heinous act that will haunt him for the rest of his life.
Readers and fans of Critical Role can find out more about Caleb’s tragic past by adding this beautiful, hardcover graphic novel to their Mighty Nein library.
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