Comic Reviews by Walt

Creator: Matt Dinniman
Writer: Tevagah
Art: Laurel Pursuit
Cover and Lead Art: Kuzumari
Colors: Ludwig
Letters: Ali Zaghlul
Lineart: Huaxuan
Background Art: Anna Kate
Reformatting and Lettering: Magma
Cover Price: $0.00
Published by: Vault Comics / Aethon

Welcome, Reader! Welcome to… ahem. My first comic review in a (too) long, long time!

In its way, this is a hard issue to review, as I have been positively steeped in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series for 15+ months now.

The first thing that I noticed about this issue is the art. The cover is bright and colorful (matching the "energy" of the prose novels’ hardbacks). Inside, the art very much has a look and feel (to me) of something akin to screen grabs from an animated series…like having a colorized manga volume of an anime.

This style is definitely not like I’m used to with typical DC and/or Marvel super-hero comics, so is a bit jarring at first. I’ve watched a fair bit of anime of the years, read a number of manga volumes, so this isn’t entirely foreign to me…just not my "usual" wheelhouse.

On my initial read-through of this issue, I had a bit of a hard time following exactly what was going on. The story jumps quickly back and forth across a few minutes’ time that introduce the core of the series: Earth fallen, a "world dungeon" survivors can enter, this guy and his ex’s cat.

It’s several pages in that narration kinda clarifies what the visuals were showing; I "knew" what was going on from the actual novels/audiobooks, but jumping in cold, I probably would have been just a bit lost.

That all said, the fact that I’ve been steeped in this series also colors my reading a bit…I’m looking to re-experience the story, and as I know what’s supposed to be happening…it’s easy to "gloss over" smaller contextual details IN the art itself.

This is a Free Comic Book Day comic…that is, presumably "free" for most readers (barring problems with variants, speculation, and other things that frustrate the heck outta me in modern comics). In an EXTREMELY RARE exception for me, I chose to purchase an "exclusive cover" edition…I actually paid money for a copy of this issue, so I’m judging it not "just" as a freebie, but as a comic that I actually paid for.

Was the issue worth it? I think so. I enjoyed my read, and by the time I got to the end of the issue, I was champing at the bit for MORE STORY. What comes next? Basically…despite the slightly confusing start of the issue, by its end I very much would be looking forward to the next issue in a single-issue format.

However, this issue is (from what I understand) "just" the "first chapter" of the upcoming graphic novel/collection that will collect the first 13 or so chapters of the Webtoon online series, adapting the story from the original novel(s).

As I am not an online/webcomic reader in general, I cannot speak to how this appeared in that format…but as a manga-style comic issue, of something I’ve been enjoying and looking forward to more content, this was a great little diversion from everyday life.

I suspect that the core, primary audience for this issue will be existing fans of the books/property/author, but I definitely hope that it introduces some new readers to the concept/property, and that it reaches not just the existing fans but also potential new fans.

As far as I am concerned, this is THE issue to snag for Free Comic Book Day 2026…yes, I paid for the copy I read, but I do also want the "real cover," and on the whole do not really have any other FCBD issues that I’m going out specifically seeking.

If this issue even slightly piques your interest as a reader, I would definitely suggest checking out the novels (prose or audiobooks) and/or the upcoming graphic novel volume this issue’s content is a part of.

All told…I highly recommend this issue!

Filed under: 2026 Posts, 2026 Reviews, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Dungeon Crawler Carl (graphic novel), Vault Comics | Tagged: Aethon, Ali Zaghlul, Anna Kate, Carl, Donut, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Huaxuan, Kuzumari, Ludwig, Magma, Matt Dinniman, Princess Donut, Queen Anne Chonk, Tevagah, Vault Comics, Webtoon |