Archfey Artagan, sometimes known as the Traveler, gets his day in the Seelie and Unseelie court. Find out if he can escape in Critical Role Tales of Exandria II: Artagan #1 by Dark Horse Comics! 

CRITICAL ROLE TALES OF EXANDRIA II: ARTAGAN #1

Writer: Sam Maggs
Artist: Aviv Or
Colorist: Cris Peter
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Editor: Rachel Roberts
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 3rd, 2023 

Previously in Critical Role: Join the world of Exandria, based on the web series Critical Role, where they are nerdy voice actors who play Dungeons and Dragons.  

Critical Role Tales of Exandria II: Artagan #1 starts with Artagan pretending to be a prophet, summoning a dying whale. This action banishes him from the mortal realm and places him in the Seelie and Unseelie Court, where he is judged by Lady Elmenore and Potentate Sammanar. During the trial, he attempts to plead his case while secretly trying to escape his confinement. As he feigns remorse for his actions, he is also shown his punishment. He will be sent into a prison inside a bespelled gem for eternity. However, he manages to escape his chains, but his judges stop him in his tracks.  

I struggled with this book quite a bit. Artagan doesn’t have any traits that make me want to root for him, and I don’t have an invested interest in the Critical Role web show. Because of these reasons, I don’t think this book worked. It is almost like the Tales of Exandria title wants to have the seriousness of great fantasy epics but with the tone of something I would expect from a children’s book. But I would not give my kids the themes and plot points presented in this comic. So, I struggle to find the intended audience. Artagan lacks a lot of depth and follows a familiar trickster idea you would expect from mythology, and that surface-level interpretation doesn’t carry a story. The reader isn’t given the motivation to care about him or his situation at all. At least the art was well done and followed that fantasy style very well. 

I picked Critical Role Tales of Exandria II: Artagan #1 because I love fantasy narratives and comics. Some of the stuff that Critical Role has put out in comic form has been very well designed. But this is something only devout watchers of the web show would appreciate; without that connection, there isn’t much narrative and characterization to follow. Unfortunately, this comic is very well drawn but not well written. Maybe the next issue will pick up. I give 3 out of 5 stars for this Critical Role title. 

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Critical Role Tales of Exandria II: Artagan #1

60%

60%

I would pass on this

Critical Role Tales of Exandria II: Artagan #1 will only be attractive if you are familiar with the character Artagan from the web show.

• Writing

  4
• Art

  7
• Coloring

  7
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0