The new D&D cartoon successfully advertises the D&D brand, but does little else.
Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures II continues the adventures of a cancelled Saturday morning cartoon, but with some updated advertising that ironically would have made Gary Gygax proud. Last year, IDW published Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures, a continuation of the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons cartoon that ran on CBS until it was cancelled without a finale. The comic pushed the cast of the cartoon (a group of kids from the “real” world that were isekai-ed into the world of Dungeons & Dragons) into the Forgotten Realms, a setting that wouldn’t be released until after the cartoon had already aired. The comics series fared better than the cartoon, as IDW is now publishing a second set of adventures featuring the same cast of characters, written once again by David Booher and illustrated by George Kambadias.
The new miniseries picks up hot on the heels of the first series, with the heroes searching the Forgotten Realms looking for a cure for the ailing Dungeon Master. Over the course of the first issue, the characters travel from Icewind Dale to Luskan while meeting assorted famed denizens of the Sword Coast like Drizzt and Jaraxle. The opening issue sets up a small personal conflict with Bobby (the youngest character of the group and their resident barbarian) while also bringing back the cartoon’s overarching nemesis Venger.
To be honest, this series (like the one before it) feels both like a solid adaptation of the cartoon and yet somehow misses the series’ charm. The characterization is there, but the plot feels like it’s missing some of the magic of the original series, which featured amazingly deep storylines for its time. Keep in mind that the 1980s cartoon featured an actual de-Nazification episode, but the comic basically pushes characters from one location to another while having the cast interact with well-known D&D characters.
The other irony of the series is the fact that the characters are now fully integrated into the Forgotten Realms, a world that technically existed in the mind and writings of Ed Greenwood at the time of the original cartoon’s airing, but wasn’t published by TSR until after the cartoon’s cancellation. It’s a bit off-putting to hear the characters fanboy over Drizzt, a character who didn’t appear in novels until after the show was already aired and cancelled. While I found it (and the not so subtle references to three separate D&D books) to be a bit forced, I had to remind myself that the cartoon itself was simply a way for TSR to advertise the game and push its first attempt to sell D&D as a lifestyle brand. The original show served to advertise D&D action figures of characters that had to be awkwardly inserted into game material; I suppose the comic sequel is honoring that by awkwardly promoting Forgotten Realms characters and current D&D adventures and sourcebooks currently found on the shelves of game stores and book stores across the country.
If you were a fan of the original Dungeons & Dragons cartoon, you’ll probably enjoy this bite-sized dose of nostalgia served up in comics form. It doesn’t have a particularly deep plot or flashy art, but that doesn’t really matter if the comic can successfully take you back to a time where you sat in front of your TV watching a group of kids getting chased by a five-headed dragon after a PSA aired that Dungeons & Dragons was responsible for actual real-world violence.
Published by IDW Publishing
On January 24, 2024
Written by David Booher
Art by George Kambadias
Colors by John-Paul Bove
Letters by Ed Dukeshire
Cover by George Kambadias
