Delver #1

Delver #1

by C. Spike Trotman, Mk Reed, Clive Hawken (Artist)

When the door to a living dungeon surfaces in the tiny hamlet of Oddgoat, village girl Temerity Aster has two choices: abandon the only home she's ever known to carpet baggers and sellswords, or carve out a place for herself and her family in the new and dangerous world of delving. A 5-issue miniseries.

Part of the comiXology Originals line of exclusive digital content only available on comiXology and Kindle. On release, this title is available as part of comiXology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited and Prime Reading.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Supernatural

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 20, 2019

About the author

Trotman is also the creator of the webcomics Lucas and Odessa, Sparkneedle, and Blikada, as well as the somewhat less serious Playing With Dolls. She lives in Chicago with her husband.

Reviews

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd like to read more comics by this artist/writer team. It's great to read fantasy where the characters are not Euro-normative in addition to characters that look fantastic.

[Alex Arias · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gosh, I feel so bad leaving a two star review for this graphic novel, and I take full responsibility for it as well. I saw the big sword on the front and thought it said “Deliver,” and immediately assumed it would be some sort of King Arthur genderbent retelling. It became increasingly obvious that this story was more of a dnd variety, which are great! Just not my cup of tea.

Beyond my quick assumptions based on the cover, I did have some other issues with the story :( the beginning jumps from character to character, and it takes a while to settle into the true protagonist’s POV. Not having a clear perspective made it really difficult for me to understand what was happening and who was who (there’s a lot of characters!). Even as the story progresses, the constant influx of new characters (which, I understand is necessary to show the rapidly growing population) seemed overwhelming and a bit distracting from the main story.

I really do appreciate how this story comments on colonialism, of losing a home and also losing a culture, and how the two clash when a family is forced to stay in their disappearing town. I wanted to know more behind their fear/disdain of magic, and I wanted to know more about the town and main family we see. Instead we get a broad view of how the town continues to expand and change over a period of 100 days. I found the birds-eye view illustrations really distanced me from the plot and the characters. I understand what that book is saying and showing, but I wish it would have a few more intimate moments of what the change means to the main character and the family.

I don’t think I’ll continue reading this series. I really wanted to like this! But I just don’t think this story is for me.

[Fable · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best re-imaginings of the classic fantasy adventurer world-building amongst a growing field of others. Much like the slate of stories that explore realist or cynical imaginings of if superheroes were real, this story focuses on a small community that cares for itself and one another when their way of life is upended by the appearance of a dangerous magical dungeon nearby. We watch the town slowly become inundated with gentrification and exploitative capitalism by outside adventurers and the tagalong industries that serve them as they come to risk their lives for the wealth of the dungeon. This leaves our original townfolk to struggle and find a new way of living amongst the smothering of this bloody business. A brilliant work all DMs and fantasy world-builders should read; cant wait for later volumes.

[Matt Vella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any story that looks at the common people, whose lives are upended by the heroes that go marching through the pages, I'm an immediate fan of. And this story felt authentic; the clash of people trying to eek out a living and seeing it upended by a dungeon door. The door brings wealth and a connection to the wider world, but also stresses on the family and negative effects throughout the area. And the delving parties! Each frame, showing a different party make up, is incredibly creative and speaks to the effortless world building of this initial issue. I cannot wait for the next issue!

[Victor Catano · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens to those towns the dungeon is in?

If you’ve played D&D, you know how it goes. Stop in the village & get supplies before you head into the dungeon in search of magic & treasure.
One small village of farmers is surprised when a gateway to The Dungeon appears in their land. But even worse, the hordes of delvers - treasure hunters who don’t care about the village.
Soon, the magic from The Dungeon is leaking out and it starts to cause problems...
Looking forward to where this goes!

[Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

A decent start to this comic. Seems like it'll be sad but I like the concept and the drawing style.

[Lucky Star · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

An interesting start to a story about how a surprise Dungeon & Delvers (there for the dungeon) affect a small, rural community.

[Valissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aww man

Wowzer. Makes me rethink what happens to the towns when I play d&d :(

Nice delve into the effects of magic and adventurers on locals