The dark elf Downer Tarantula thought his dungeon guard duty would be
a good way to earn some easy gold pieces, but his last day on the job
finds him engaged in a mysterious and deadly quest for a powerful artifact
called the Ulolok, an entity capable of reshaping the multiverse. Join
Downer and his motley crew of subterranean adventurers on their epic
quest to deliver the Ulolok to the drow city of Oubliette! Collected from the
popular Dungeon cartoon designed and written by Kyle Stanley Hunter.
Downer: Wandering Monster contains 64 pages of comic strips collected from the pages of Dungeon magazine. The compilation allows readers to experience Downer's rich,
complex story from the very first installment!
Finally, a D&D comic series that is as engaging as Wormy, as humourous as Zogonia and as fresh as a newly-planted corpse! I got interested in Downer during the latter half of its story arc and was as amazed by its intricate subterranean world as I was perplexed by its convoluted storyline. Now I can finally understand the whole picture and catch the story.
Kyle has added helpful commentary to explain the sometimes abrupt transitions between segments, and there is lot of additional content that rounds out the book. The book itself is only volume one and runs up until Downer is about to enter the Overbright (above-ground), but a subsequent volume should complete the story. The quality of the book is very high, and the map of Oubliette (one of the most memorable Underdark cities I've ever seen) could make for a great roleplaying location. The appendix of Kyle's monster cartoons could be photocopied and used during gaming sessions.
All in all an excellent collection and a good value. Here's hoping to see more Downer some time in the future!