Dungeons & Dragons: Fortune Finder #4 - IDW Publishing

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: FORTUNE FINDER No. 4, February 2024

For a brief while there’s probably plenty of fun to be had with Jim Zub’s storyline for “Lawful Uph-Evil”, regardless of whether the reader be a devoted disciple of Dave Arneson’s tabletop role-playing game or not. Indeed, Finder’s journey through the chaotic cogs, winding wheels, and spiralling sprockets of Mechanus should still ensnare even the most uninformed of bibliophiles, courtesy of the pink-hued succubus’ desperate attempt to escape the diabolical clutches of Missy Maddyknack, and her subsequent heartwarming meeting with the well-mannered, tinker orc Crundlespike.

Frustratingly however, these intriguing exploits are soon replaced with a tremendously tiresome court room trial, which sees the colourfully-costumed ‘crystal shard’ attempt to reason with the mechanical logic of the Modrons. Admittedly, the computer-like behaviour of this particular race of robotic immortals is arguably quite endearing at first, especially when they march about their kingdom like human-sized, wind-up soldiers. But by the time the aforementioned Maddyknack has inexplicably returned as the titular character’s dubiously-qualified defence counsel, it debatably appears that even this mini-series’ Canadian author has somewhat lost the will to pen anything moderately understandable; “Council, your insipid, incoherent, and insulting display is a mockery of our esteemed judicial process!”

In fact, what follows Finder’s predictable capture appears to have been written simply so the lead protagonist can once again demonstrate their propensity for both dying quite horribly, and then being reborn in a completely different physical guise. This sequence sadly smacks of the author badly needing to find something long-winded to help pad out the twenty-page-periodical’s plot, and simultaneously cause the creation of a cliff-hanger conclusion which sees the “agent of chaos” sensationally transformed into a winged Modron.

Nobly assisting Zub in his endeavour to pack Mechanus with all manner of gearwheels and bone-grinding machinery are Jose Jaro’s layouts. The “Filipino American” designer appears particularly adept at greatly expanding upon any modicum of action found within this book’s script, such as when Finder takes a seriously long tumble through numerous giant gears, or Maddyknack does her best to keep the two trespassers out of the ultimate law’s sight. Furthermore, the illustrator is evidently a ‘dab hand’ when elongating a reasonably straightforward conversation, as seen when the “plane hopping” adventurer just asks the fortress of disciplined enlightenment’s guardians for help and spends an unnecessarily long ten-panelled piece to do so.

The regular cover art to "DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: FORTUNE FINDER" #4 by Max Dunbar