Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft Caravan Of Curses #1 - IDW Publishing [Part Two]

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: RAVENLOFT CARAVAN OF CURSES No. 1, April 2024

Whilst similar-sized tomes to this “Dungeons & Dragons” anthology might well sag somewhat in the middle, such an accusation surely cannot be levelled against Amy Chase and Casey Gilly’s genuinely gross story to begin this book’s second half. In fact, it’s apparent obsession with a man-eating goddess and her self-harming cult of wannabe mothers probably walks a very fine line between completely captivating its readers’ attention, and causing many to simply put the comic down in disgust; “You must understand that to a child of Viktal, an outsider is no different from wild game.”

Foremost of these disturbing plot threads is that all the women must apparently pluck out one of their eyes if they want to become pregnant, or, in the case of Hesta Sinclove, consider sacrificing a close friend’s baby in order to have one of her own. Coupled with luring strangers to the village so the hapless visitors can be feasted upon, as well as the expectant protagonist developing a craving for bowls of blood, and this yarn is certainly not one for the squeamish, or a bibliophile anticipating having any sympathy whatsoever for the curse’s victim.

By far this comic’s least ghoulish tale is its finale, which somewhat unexpectedly attempts to tie together some of the loose threads left unanswered in its preceding gore-fest whilst simultaneously bringing the crone’s own adventure to a surprisingly sickly-sweet close. Indeed, it’s arguably not until the halfling mass-murderer Wilkis Nettlekettle makes an appearance some seven pages in, that the co-authors’ penmanship thankfully stops waxing lyrical about a carnival worker’s life tending goats, and finally settles down to telling “a new nightmare”.

Intriguingly however, it would seem that the owner of a blade which causes his own body to be cut whenever it is used to even just slice cheese, is an entirely appropriate punishment for its evil owner. And yet that doesn’t initially seem to stop Shortcrust’s owner from ridding the fiendish fellow of his jeopardising jinx so she can trick him into accepting an even worse fate than bleeding to death. This subsequent, shocking transference of ownership of the Caravan of Curses rather neatly brings the anthology to an end, albeit many within the audience may well be left wondering what crime the now rejuvenated Zhyl committed to have “seen all these years of evil” herself.

The regular cover art of "DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: RAVENLOFT CARAVAN OF CURSES" #1 by Sarah Stern