You Shall Not Pass, Part One
The Dungeon: #1
NEXT>
Origin Stories
When starting a work of fiction, the place to start is rarely at the beginning. There are obviously exceptions. Marvel Studios has its own wing in Gringotts partly because they are forever telling origin stories, which is the most beginning of beginnings. A necessary evil in the world of comic book movies, emphasis on evil.1
My wife dislikes the first act of Captain America: The First Avenger because tiny, emaciated Steve Rogers is the exact opposite of tasty. Aesthetics aside, I think she’s also reacting to the fact that the story doesn’t really start until he’s ridiculously swole. Itty-bitty Rogers has some nice character moments, but we’re there to see him punch Nazis in the face. Though a superhero whose only power is inviting a beating strikes me as hilarious.2 (“Don’t make me let you punch me in the face.”)
You’re probably wondering what this has to do with a comic strip, or D&D, or like, anything. Great question—I’ll tell you.
When we decided to finally move on this long-gestating idea we had for a comic series, I knew right where we should start. This, and the next two strips, are actually the first ones we wrote several years ago. They occur not at the beginning of the story, or even at the entrance to the dungeon. We pick up in the middle of things, with the most familiar of D&D tropes: a dungeon, a trap, and our heroes grossly miscalculating the danger.
This is the introduction to our world. It’s intentionally stripped to the essentials. Three lines of dialogue, two unnamed characters, one goal: provide a clear sense of our worldview so you can decide if you want to come on this adventure with us.
NEXT>
I don’t actually hate origin stories. It’s just that they, like prequels, tend to emphasize the least interesting parts of the story.
Such a superhero would probably be into BDSM.