Filed under: Comic Reviews, Indie Comics | Tags: Colin Bell, Dungeon Fun, Fun, Neil Slorance, Thought Bubble
The all-ages book Dungeon Fun is back in issue #3 from creators Neil Slorance & Colin Bell and after a multiple SICBA award-winning issue #1…..the biggest question was always going to be “could the team match that success?”
My short answer is YES…..but that doesn’t make for a very interesting blog post/review so I’ll tell you a bit more about the deal with issue #3. The quest seems to be growing page upon page for our fearless adventurer Fun as she continues her travels with her ghost companion Games the Knight and this issue is steeped in magic. Bad magic though, in the form of curses that have stricken almost every member of the village of Dungeonham and Fun & Games (genius) are soon drawn into the mystery surrounding the city…..which ultimately gets them arrested and thrown in jail……adventure cut short???…..of course not.
A comedy escape later and the sea of characters in the village seem to come one after another to help/hinder Fun in equal measure and they ultimately end up BACK in jail. We get witches, ghosts, talking worms in flatcaps & mega-Trolls (if that’s even a thing) thrown into the mix but the plucky heroine gets passed each of these with a smart-ass comment or a well-timed swish of her trusty sword. This gives the issue a feeling of being crammed full of things happening…….if anything, that’s the only downside of the issue as the initial quest seems to be briefly lost in a sea of mini-quests and jailbreaks.
That being said, the pace may have been lost ever so slightly from those first 2 books but it comes good in the end and the humour and imagination from the creative team is damn impressive. They have some smart interludes over at the Magic Police HQ which offers some laughs but the TOP scene from this issue…..and possibly from the title so far has to be the musical scene where a parody of “Be Our Guest” from Beauty & The Beast…..only it’s about curses. I’m assuming it’s a parody of that because that’s how I sang it when I was reading the issue…..that’s right, I SANG it……I couldn’t help myself.
That’s the real success of this book though…..it’s infectious sense of fun that either gets you laughing…..or singing……or just interested in turning the page to see what is going to happen next…..and to be honest I haven’t guessed right yet but I’m OK with that. Colin Bell writes this in a way that’s natural for each of the characters…..regardless of how absurd the situations or ideas may be and then Neil Slorance adds another layer to that storytelling with his artwork. Again, Neil keeps the same look and feel to how work – it’s simple but effective and while certain characters may lack definition in comparison to others the surprises that both writer & artist bring up just seem to work exactly as intended.
We’re still knee-deep in adventure after 3 issues and the laughs, the pitch perfect cast members gives enough insight to dread that “to be continued” ending that hints at big things but leaves us hanging……it’s part of the magic though…..and this is one of the few titles I can read & re-read and still laugh where I’m supposed to laugh and get some fun out of comics……after all, that’s why I got into being a comic book fan in the first place…..and an all-ages book that’s as well crafted as this……instantly gives me a flashback to the type of stories that started me on that comic book adventure of my own.
Well played Colin & Neil…….well played!
Grab this issue when it debuts at Thought Bubble this weekend and grab issues #1 & #2 if you don’t already have them. Also head over to the Dogooder website for more details on this and their other titles.
8/10
G-Man
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