Dungeons & Dragons: Fortune Finder #2 - IDW Publishing

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: FORTUNE FINDER No. 2, December 2023

In many ways something of a hard reboot of this mini-series, Jim Zub’s storyline for Issue Two of “Dungeons & Dragons: Fortune Finder” will probably still baffle and bewilder many a bibliophile with its early soup-based shenanigans and tongue-in-cheek theatrics. True, the overall adventure does start to make a little progress once the central character suddenly teleports to Dungeonland. But any excitement garnered from the comic’s revelation that the gnome girl is actually the highly sought after Shard is sadly soon dispelled, courtesy of the short-statured server's horrific death upon the horns of a stampeding bull; “Watch out for… the Cow.”

What the “Dungeons & Dragons fan favourite” author does do well though, is imbue this latest incarnation of Finder with plenty of brazen bravado, which leads to a few genuine loud-out-loud moments. Perhaps the best of these is Maddyknack’s green-skinned seeker spitting out his wine when he spots the small humanoid spying upon his business meeting from an overhead chandelier. Although the goblin magic user’s stoicism at being blasted to pieces by some explosive glyphs during the one time he’s not surrounded by healing clerics is perhaps just as waggishly penned.

The Canadian writer is also rather good at introducing the audience to “Sigil’s most famous casino” without delving too deeply into the “new Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook” which apparently “inspired” this comic. Rather than just wax lyrical about all the different deities and denizens who frequent the gambling den, as if the twenty-page periodical was a mere textbook, the reader is instead introduced to the frantic, almost chaotic gaming house via its army of catering staff – who buzz about the place’s patrons carrying all sorts of exotic dishes and drinks.

Helping to add the odd guffaw to this publication’s proceedings is Jose Jaro, who for the large part does a solid job of pencilling the fast-paced antics of young Finder. However, the illustrator does arguably appear to somewhat struggle with some of the larger panels he’s asked to populate, such as a double-splash page welcoming the audience to Fortune’s Wheel, which contains large areas of blank walls, ceilings, and floor space – despite supposedly being an incredibly popular saloon.

The regular cover art to "DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: FORTUNE FINDER" #2 by Max Dunbar