Die Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker

As someone who hasn’t played many RPGs it took a minute to adjust to this story. Many things were happening but I didn’t feel the weight of it until chapter 3, and that’s when it started to come together. This book is definitely something you would enjoy all the way through the second time. Kieron Gillen touches on many themes and develops each character wonderfully. The art is also a big standout. Stephanie Hans creates beautiful images and really helps immerse the reader into the story. 9/10 👍🏽

I read 40% of this and gave up on it. I like the premise. A group of friends play Dungeons and Dragons and get pulled to another dimension, then get spit back into the human world some time later, traumatized and broken. We don't know what happened to them until later. The artwork is slightly better than decent. I give it a 7/10. Colors are okay but edges aren't clearly defined and the artwork can be blurry. I would like to see more detail. The story is also a little confusing. When characters talk or narrate they expect you to know what they're talking about. The author didn't do a good enough job of setting the scene and helping us understand the history and jumps too far into details without giving us enough backstory. I'm not asking for infodumps. But because the author shows the main story taking place 20 years after the prologue it makes it hard to introduce the plot compared to if the author just showed us what happened when the main characters were transported to another dimension. The characters all felt similar except for one or two people. Because 20 years pass in the first two chapters it's hard to grow attached to the characters. But that makes sense because the main story only happens about 30% in. The dialogue felt a little flat, like filler content (kind of boring too), and characters weren't all that interesting.

Such a fabulous read. From the very first issue. I can envision someone interested in dipping a toe into the worlds of role playing games reading this then pulling back saying, “No thank you.” This book does for RPGs what Jaws did for ocean nocturnal skinny-dipping. Jumanji meets Hellraiser.

Brilliant writing, excellent characters, and one of the most unique takes on the role-playing genre I've ever read. A world I'm both terrified of and am 100% dying to visit.

You may think you've read enough takes on "Help, we got sucked into a fantasy universe!" but I will still suggest that you consider this one, as it's unusual and just plain good enough to be worth it, even for those who have had multiple encounters with the theme before. For me, the twist that made it worth it was these people in their 40s (with all the baggage and history that entails) being sucked back into a world they thought they had forever left behind, paired with the companions of their youth. It's a lot! It's Kieron Gillen, so the world-building is incredible (and even by his standards, there is a lot of work put into this world). Stephanie Hans is a newer artist to me, but her art is just incredible, especially how she plays with light and how characters changed over the passage of time (and between our world and the fantasy world). This is going to be an auto-buy for me, I can't wait to see how this story develops.

A pretty good dark D &D style book. A group gets put into a game and get out but are scarred. Gender issues and other problems they have to deal with . They get a chance to go back and find there lost friend they left behind 25 years later. They go back and they have unfinished business with the Die game

I love fantasy roleplaying games, I love metafictions and I love Kieron Gillen comics. This should've been a gimme but for some reason I found it left me cold. It's weird because I feel like I know most of the source materials intimately. I can see the influence of Apocalypse World on the design of the companion RPG which Gillen wrote. I know what the true definition of a Fantasy Heartbreaker is. I'm mid-way through reading "Playing At The World" and recognize where some of the Gygax/Arneson quotes come from and I've read enough Tolkien biography to relate to the chapter where he shows up. So why doesn't it work for me? I'm not sure I can say for certain, but I can take two guesses: Firstly, Stephanie Hans' painted artwork does a good job of capturing the "dungeonpunk" idiom and looking like D&D 3rd edition come to life but it suffers from an issue that a lot of painted artwork does and looks incredibly static. There's very little flow of motion between the panels and I can't help but feel that the concept of cartooning ... of being a comic ... has been lost. (To be fair, I feel the same way about the much-feted Alex Ross. If you want to see painted artwork that really does flow I recommend the work of Bill Sienkiewicz or the Jon J Muth/Kent Williams jam Meltdown) Secondly, and I admit that this is quite personal, I feel like Gillen's concept of a "deep" roleplaying game is quite shallow, unfortunately. I feel like I already *did* the "we all are ourselves, trapped in the game" thing back in high school and since then I've managed to participate in quite a large number of roleplaying games that were actually quite good, using Amber DRPG, Everway, Sorcerer, Nobilis, Mouse Guard, Bliss Stage, The Shadow of Yesterday, World of Dungeons, Mutant: Year Zero et al as systems. I feel like Gillen is still trapped in the notion of, "gee, could roleplaying actually be good?" and that means that his ambition for this series is set uncharacteristically low.

I've read a variety of books about people entering the game they've played. This is easily the best I have found. It's not pleasant, they aren't heroes, but it's a good story.

Loved the concept of this story. It's easy to relate to each character. The individualism of each character shines through. The world building is great and complex. I can't wait to read the other volumes

Every time I remember that The Wicked + The Divine is nearly over, I start to get upset. Thank goodness I’ve started reading Die. Unlike Wic + Div, which I read in single issues, I decided to be patient and wait for the first volume. I will always be torn between the quick gratification of having single issues of a comic to read on the (sometimes semi) regular and the satisfaction of getting to read an entire collection of issues at once. I suppose that’s why I continue to do both. Die is about a group of 1990s teenage D&D players who vanish for 2 years into their game. 30 years later, now all grown up, they get sucked right back in again. Depending on your perspective, this is either the worst nightmare or a dream come true for tabletop role-playing gamers. Either way, it’s wonderfully dark and jaw-droppingly stylish fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed the first volume and can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.

As someone who hasn’t played many RPGs it took a minute to adjust to this story. Many things were happening but I didn’t feel the weight of it until chapter 3, and that’s when it started to come together. This book is definitely something you would enjoy all the way through the second time. Kieron Gillen touches on many themes and develops each character wonderfully. The art is also a big standout. Stephanie Hans creates beautiful images and really helps immerse the reader into the story. 9/10 👍🏽

I read 40% of this and gave up on it. I like the premise. A group of friends play Dungeons and Dragons and get pulled to another dimension, then get spit back into the human world some time later, traumatized and broken. We don't know what happened to them until later. The artwork is slightly better than decent. I give it a 7/10. Colors are okay but edges aren't clearly defined and the artwork can be blurry. I would like to see more detail. The story is also a little confusing. When characters talk or narrate they expect you to know what they're talking about. The author didn't do a good enough job of setting the scene and helping us understand the history and jumps too far into details without giving us enough backstory. I'm not asking for infodumps. But because the author shows the main story taking place 20 years after the prologue it makes it hard to introduce the plot compared to if the author just showed us what happened when the main characters were transported to another dimension. The characters all felt similar except for one or two people. Because 20 years pass in the first two chapters it's hard to grow attached to the characters. But that makes sense because the main story only happens about 30% in. The dialogue felt a little flat, like filler content (kind of boring too), and characters weren't all that interesting.

Such a fabulous read. From the very first issue. I can envision someone interested in dipping a toe into the worlds of role playing games reading this then pulling back saying, “No thank you.” This book does for RPGs what Jaws did for ocean nocturnal skinny-dipping. Jumanji meets Hellraiser.

Brilliant writing, excellent characters, and one of the most unique takes on the role-playing genre I've ever read. A world I'm both terrified of and am 100% dying to visit.

You may think you've read enough takes on "Help, we got sucked into a fantasy universe!" but I will still suggest that you consider this one, as it's unusual and just plain good enough to be worth it, even for those who have had multiple encounters with the theme before. For me, the twist that made it worth it was these people in their 40s (with all the baggage and history that entails) being sucked back into a world they thought they had forever left behind, paired with the companions of their youth. It's a lot! It's Kieron Gillen, so the world-building is incredible (and even by his standards, there is a lot of work put into this world). Stephanie Hans is a newer artist to me, but her art is just incredible, especially how she plays with light and how characters changed over the passage of time (and between our world and the fantasy world). This is going to be an auto-buy for me, I can't wait to see how this story develops.

A pretty good dark D &D style book. A group gets put into a game and get out but are scarred. Gender issues and other problems they have to deal with . They get a chance to go back and find there lost friend they left behind 25 years later. They go back and they have unfinished business with the Die game

I love fantasy roleplaying games, I love metafictions and I love Kieron Gillen comics. This should've been a gimme but for some reason I found it left me cold. It's weird because I feel like I know most of the source materials intimately. I can see the influence of Apocalypse World on the design of the companion RPG which Gillen wrote. I know what the true definition of a Fantasy Heartbreaker is. I'm mid-way through reading "Playing At The World" and recognize where some of the Gygax/Arneson quotes come from and I've read enough Tolkien biography to relate to the chapter where he shows up. So why doesn't it work for me? I'm not sure I can say for certain, but I can take two guesses: Firstly, Stephanie Hans' painted artwork does a good job of capturing the "dungeonpunk" idiom and looking like D&D 3rd edition come to life but it suffers from an issue that a lot of painted artwork does and looks incredibly static. There's very little flow of motion between the panels and I can't help but feel that the concept of cartooning ... of being a comic ... has been lost. (To be fair, I feel the same way about the much-feted Alex Ross. If you want to see painted artwork that really does flow I recommend the work of Bill Sienkiewicz or the Jon J Muth/Kent Williams jam Meltdown) Secondly, and I admit that this is quite personal, I feel like Gillen's concept of a "deep" roleplaying game is quite shallow, unfortunately. I feel like I already *did* the "we all are ourselves, trapped in the game" thing back in high school and since then I've managed to participate in quite a large number of roleplaying games that were actually quite good, using Amber DRPG, Everway, Sorcerer, Nobilis, Mouse Guard, Bliss Stage, The Shadow of Yesterday, World of Dungeons, Mutant: Year Zero et al as systems. I feel like Gillen is still trapped in the notion of, "gee, could roleplaying actually be good?" and that means that his ambition for this series is set uncharacteristically low.

I've read a variety of books about people entering the game they've played. This is easily the best I have found. It's not pleasant, they aren't heroes, but it's a good story.

Loved the concept of this story. It's easy to relate to each character. The individualism of each character shines through. The world building is great and complex. I can't wait to read the other volumes

Every time I remember that The Wicked + The Divine is nearly over, I start to get upset. Thank goodness I’ve started reading Die. Unlike Wic + Div, which I read in single issues, I decided to be patient and wait for the first volume. I will always be torn between the quick gratification of having single issues of a comic to read on the (sometimes semi) regular and the satisfaction of getting to read an entire collection of issues at once. I suppose that’s why I continue to do both. Die is about a group of 1990s teenage D&D players who vanish for 2 years into their game. 30 years later, now all grown up, they get sucked right back in again. Depending on your perspective, this is either the worst nightmare or a dream come true for tabletop role-playing gamers. Either way, it’s wonderfully dark and jaw-droppingly stylish fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed the first volume and can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.

Excellent graphic novel. I was initially concerned about adding this to my classroom collection because of the title and some content but after pre-reading it, I believe it is absolutely appropriate for my liberal-minded high school students (maybe grade 10+). Some mentions of sex but no actual sex scenes or nudity, a lot of f-bombs but in ways students use them themselves, and the title is not die-death but die-dice. Violence is actually pretty minimal, surprisingly. Most of the baddies are monsters and there's really not that much gore at all. Maybe a 3/10 as there is blood but no actual images of carving up monsters just the spray around the character doing the slaying. A LGBT friendly graphic novel with POC well represented.

On paper it ticks all the boxes for something that I should love. But the pacing, I guess, just lost me. It tries to come off mysterious, but it just ends up being frustrating. Vol 1 was OK as the set up. Vol 2 is where I gave up. It should be so so good, but it just doesn't ever quite make it there.

I’d give it 3 stars but for the fact that I wouldn’t choose to read any more volumes, and had to make myself finish this one. The artwork was pretty. The writing was pretty good. Just didn’t enjoy the experience. My main issue was how... rushed the plot felt? It was like someone was irritably trying to recount a story to you even though they were tired and wanted to go to bed. Like “he did this, she did that, yada yada yada.” Over and over, a character did ‘X’ action, and immediately the narrator explains why they did that action. I’d rather piece these things together as a reader. There was not much left for me to do. I start the book wondering, who are these people and why should I care about them? The book explains, quite literally, who they are and why I should care about them. A opponent pops up? The book explains what they are, and why X character is choosing to fight them. Show, don’t tell, ya know? I want to feel a sense of wonder and curiosity as I see what the characters see.

It has a little bit of a rough start but once you get into the characters and dialogue, it starts to really open up.

I'm just disappointed that Kieron didnt just omit this plot hole. It's also a very lame, over done cliché to even have an entire story use as a foundation. The art style is also not a stand comic style. While I welcome this, it fails to show the pace of a comic. Idk how else to describe it other than it's like it is a storyboard for a movie, not a comic. Semi-Spoilers will follow: At the climax/end of the first issue the Villain and Hero face each other to ... Talk. This lazy exposition style of storyline really disappointed me in Kieron. Then the line that actually puts a gaping plot whole: (paraphrase to protect spoilers) Hero: "I know I could end this all if I say the word, but I just can't do it ." WTF?!? It's end it now, or spend another tramatizing amount of time, trapped in an alternate world.... Why do writers have to say this. It totally makes the reader feel like they are stupid. I give it 2 stars because I respect what they want to accomplish, and because most people ignore 1 star reviews

I received my package earlier than scheduled and in good condition. Die is a solid mix of adventure and horror. It takes all the whimsy of your favorite media and deconstructs it while you watch everything burn. Every page is a feast for the eyes and perfectly compliments the script. It an adventure worth diving into.

When you title a book "Die", you're really not going for subtlety, and true to form, this book rarely shows much restraint; each hero has a tortured backstory complete with awesome, tortured powers. One character even uses sadness to power his sword, which is. . . yeah. In spite of this overwrought emotional heft, I truly enjoyed this first volume and look forward to seeing how this all develops. ***SPOILERS*** The book ends in a way that addresses the contradiction that was nagging at my mind while reading it: for how much complaining the heroes do about being trapped in this fantasy world. . . it seems pretty sweet! Really grabbed the bull by the horns.

This graphic novel takes the trope of modern characters entering a fantasy world and turns it on its head, in a good way. Mature, dark and gritty characters that really capture the transition from teenage gamer to adults who are various levels of broken; great nods to some well known fantasy standards and very interesting worldbuilding. Highly recommend for any gamer or any fan of great writing and art.

This series is amazing. It's dark and gritty. The pain the characters experience at the things they did as kids and carried with them is well portrayed. The art is amazing. Several times I stopped reading just to look at the amazing pages. Can't wait to read the rest have already pre-ordered all the ones I don't have.

It seems odd that no one has written a sort of twisted, horror D&D story in the same way before but it's an amazing setting. I really enjoyed this collection and am excited to see more. I'm sure it'll continue to be this fun concept mixed with a real somber reality.

Yikes! How do publishers justify this kind of bablum to make it on bookstore shelves? The graphics are fine, cudos to the artists, BUT can we please make our sentences coherent please. Stuff like this “Does Saul’s voice tweak stop the voice now he’s gone?” Pepper the entire work. It gets so bad that one is hard pressed to give a synopsis of the story. Is there no editing process at all?

This was my first voyage into graphic novels, and at the end it was very enjoyable. Good read and great art.

I want to preface this- the comic itself is more than deserving of five stars. A wonderful critique of edgelordism illustrated beautifully. Really hope to get a lot more of this eventually However, a brand new graphic novel shouldn’t be falling out of its binding. A problem I’ve had a few times with image

The comics are great, just definitely got damaged in transit. The package was slightly open on arrival and all three corners of the books were damaged the same way and one cover has a big crease at the bottom. Can’t wait till my local book stores open so I can pick them up in person again!

Words can't describe how much I love this comic series. I was hooked after just a few pages due to the beautiful art and unique page layout. If you are a fan of fantasy (especially D&D) you will LOVE this book. Not only is Stephanie Hans' art mesmerizing and hauntingly beautiful, but Kieron Gillen's writing is brilliant. There are so many layers to the story. The unique character classes are so fresh and portrayed masterfully. Read this book!!!

This graphic novel is fantastical, energetic, heart-wrenching, and keeps you on the edge constantly wondering what happened to the characters, and what will happen next. I highly recommend DIE, whether or not you enjoy role-playing. It's more about our vices and failures, and how those help and hinder us in life, rather than dressing up and going on adventures.

Great comic. Interesting take on a classic story with wonderful illustrations to accompany. The problem is the poor printing and binding. It looks like the prints on the pages are slightly crooked leaving a noticeable white gap near the binding. On one page a bar code is present and there is about a inch gap where the pages are not secured. I have many image comics and they are all in perfect order so this was a great surprise.

Jumanji meets D&D is the beat and mlst accurate description that I can think of. It ia really interesting and this ia a great start to a really good series.

Fantastic artwork and engaging story.

I love this series so much! Fun read, especially if you’re into D&D!

Tons of additional content to an already great story. If you haven't picked up the individual comics, then what are you waiting for? If you have, this is still a must buy!

Interesting story. Cool RPG idea. Meh art. Looking forward to the game.

Such a good comic, I love it, but only for people into fantasies or rpgs.

Book itself was great quality and an amazing story, can't wait to read more!

I LOVE this comic! Great story, killer art..but the manufacturing of this is abysmal. The glue in the spine fell out and the majority of pages just dropped!

The lengthy essays at the back add something, but too late - and it should have been integrated into the story. This is one of those books that would be better with more exposition and fewer illustrations. There is nothing wrong with the art, but Gillen had a lot more to say in writing. This would be perfect for an illustrated hypertext novel, but I guess those don't really exist.

Very original and entertaining with solid character work and great art. Deserves the hype.

Top notch story! Outstanding art!

Just get it. It’s great.

One of the best comics on the stands today.

This comic book series is awesome!

I'm embarrassed to own this book. It's only saving grace is it gives me hope for my own career as an artist. If someone as talentless as Gillen can have a successful career, maybe I can too.

Such a good book

I love the artist. She did an amazing job. Storyline? Crap. Hard to follow. I'm finishing it just to get through it and appreciate the artwork. Not worth purchasing.

Great start.

Easily the best comic I've ever read. It's gorgeous, dark, and captivating. Everything I want in a story. Can't recommend highly enough.

A story about the consequences of players' actions in an RPG that becomes real and the scars they leave behind.

The binding is all bent and cracked

The basic concept behind Die isn't anything new. A group of teenagers sit down to play a game and end up getting sucked into the fantasy world behind it. What makes it interesting is the fact that Gillen doesn't deliver us the story of their escape, but what happened after. Decades later, the players, now in their 40s, find themselves pulled back into the world responsible for so much trauma to encounter a player left behind. Die is an incredibly dark story filled with complex characters and absolutely jaw-dropping artwork by Stephanie Hans. There's a bit of meta-commentary to be found here, so handing this comic to someone with zero knowledge of RPGs and fantasy (especially Tolkein) isn't suggested, but those who even have even a little experience in those areas are likely to find a lot to enjoy here. This is a really strong first book and I'm curious to see how Die will continue to explore these characters and this dark world in future volumes.

In the 1980s there was a cartoon called Dungeons & Dragons where a group of kids from our dimension were sucked via a magic carnival ride (damn carnies) into a fantasy world where they are assigned classes (thief, barbarian, cavalier) to fight the orc forces of Venger and occasionally Tiamat would show up to scare the Hell out of everyone. It lasted three seasons and left off with the characters still stuck in their otherworld. In 1985 Arrow comics (soon to become Caliber) created a series called The Realm and later Legendlore, where four ordinary teenagers were sucked into a fantasy realm and forced to fight their way back to their homeworld. They never made it out. I’m sure you can see where this is going. In Die, six ordinary English teenagers are sucked into a fantasy realm blah, blah, blah. But then the action jumps two years. Only five of them have returned. Jump ahead again twenty five years, the five find themselves forced to return to the land, called die, where their former friend is now the Grandmaster and runs - sort of- the world. While the others have matured, he still wants to play. Thus they are forced into a strange world, fun to children, nightmarish to adults, where they must battle their way out of. The world here is deep and actually shaped like a 20 sided die. Obviously the author has gone into a lot of detail in creating the characters and this world. From the notes included in the graphic novel, he even created a role playing game surrounding it.The heroes’ journey isn’t all just sword and sorcery though, it also has a deeply personal element stretching through it. Their trip though this world of fantasy brings back many shameful and troubling elements from the group’s past, developing a theme that addresses nostalgia and the trials of growing up. Added to this the art sets the mood perfectly. It is an absolutely gorgeous and just looking at the book was worth the price I paid for the volume.

I was extremely skeptical of Die when I heard about it. My least favorite trope in the universe is the "ordinary people get sucked into a game world," and when I read the interviews with Kieron Gillen I didn't think the ideas could be well executed. The idea of having a fantasy RPG with classes based on emotions was a really neat concept, but how would that even work? It just didn't feel like it would turn out well. I'll withhold judgment on the tie-in RPG for another time, but in the comic it's expertly executed. It feels like a proper pocket reality, and the mechanics feel like something a very ambitious game designer might try to use in a homebrew game. It just works. But more than that the characters feel real, and the comic does a great job of conveying their feelings. It really is worth checking out. All that being said the first trade does feel like a proof of concept and/or prologue, so don't expect any real resolution out of it. And this is just my personal opinion, but I didn't really like the art. Don't get me wrong, it's absolutely gorgeous, but when the panels were larger scenes instead of tight shots I had a lot of trouble differentiating the characters and figuring out what was happening. But that might just be me.

This is an awesome comic. The art and story are compelling and there is a lot hinted at that I can't wait to read. This comic can't come out fast enough. A group of friends is transported to a fantasy land 20 years after they returned from their first trip. A trip that resulted in them leaving a friend behind that becomes the villain of this story arc. Issue #3 will not allow you to look at Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit in the same way ever again. Read this story!!!

To be honest, a 3.5 is probably more reflective of where I'm at on the book. I very much enjoyed the read and I feel it coalesced in the last two chapters. The concept is interesting, but I feel like it was somewhat rushed in the first chapter to get to a certain point. I would have liked to have known more about our cast before we plunge into the world of the book, and as such it becomes hard to suss out who is who at certain points. One odd sticking point, a character who changes gender in the fantasy world, isn't addressed until issue three and I kept assuming it was their sister who was also i the world and seems underrepresented in the story. In trying to constrain everything into twenty page chapters, it feels like there's information missing. I was a fan of Stephanie Hans art on Journey Into Mystery and it overall looks good. However, it can feel static in places and hard to track sequence to sequence. The artistic storytelling improves by the third issue and we get to a point when it all starts to work. I think the book can feel a little too in its own way in trying to be a "deconstructionary" as the author puts it in his backmatter essays. While I appreciate subversive or "flip-on-its-head" media, I think there are certain aspects where the book doesn't quite meet the intent. To a certain extent, I found some of the backmatter essays to verge on pretentious and rather than improving my experience or elucidating content, it just felt like clarifying some of murkier points the plot didn't make itself. I did enjoy the book and I am curious to read more. I think some of the issue 5 revelations may end up righting the ship a little bit.

As the title says, this book is amazing. The idea is awesome: kids get stuck in a d&d knockoff game's reality for years, come back to reality, and decades later, as adults, find themselves entering the fantasy land once again. Each character is fun and has their own quirks, which makes this really feel like a very good TV script. Each issue also builds off a storyline throughout, but it also has its own message, such as the amazing issue #3, which is a parallel for soldiers, especially in WW1. Amazing stuff, also the art is breathtaking. Can't recommend this more

Another masterpiece done by written by Kieron Gillen and captivating art by Stephanie Hans. I read this when it first came out in individual issues. Every time I could not wait till the next month. When those issues came out, I would read the previous issues over again. Just read it. So excited for this paperback release!!

Writing was on point, concept was great (as a big ol' TTRPG nerd this was perfectly positioned to attack my weak spot for maximum damage), and the art is gorgeous. Very much recommended.

I really like this story and can't wait to see what happens next.

Love this story. Def goes different ways than you expect. Cant wait to get through the next volumes.

The best serialized comic; probably in the world, if I felt like saying what I felt (certainly in Anglophone comics).

Kieron Gillen is an author that seems to always have great ideas but always leaves me wanting more. This premise hooked me but the book didn't click with me. I didn't dislike the book, I just didn't like it. It was fine. The art by Stephanie Hans was beautiful. Gillen's work though seemed too disjointed. Maybe I'm being too harsh because of my own high expectations but I never felt I knew anyone in the book. Overall, some good things but nothing that has me clamoring for the next volume.

Much of Gillen's work prioritizes style over substance, and comes across completely detached from emotion (to me). Whether it's Young Avengers, X-Men, or WicDiv, the ideas are all there on paper, but never provide a compelling reason why to care about these characters. They are charming, to be sure. They are witty. But they just don't feel real. With DIE, I feel Gillen trying to address this. DIE is clearly intensely personal, filled to overflowing with the realization that he is middle aged now. It feels pulled from something so particular to his own life, it's almost hard to look at. Voyeuristic, almost. And I appreciate the attempt. The idea is absolutely brilliant. But again, I just don't care about these characters. The mystery of their youth is INTERESTING, but they themselves are not. I really wish I could get into it, but I just can't. The art is absolutely gorgeous though.

Nothing stuck with me in the beginning issues. The story did not flow well because the presentation was not executed well enough from the start. Last issue was the best for me, but not enough to make this an enjoyable volume. Art is was cool. Not cool enough for me to continue with this series though.

Die Vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker (2018) by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans (Image) I absolutely loved this book. I picked up the Image introductory TPB with their $9.99 price point (I read the later volumes through Comixology). The art didn’t immediately speak to me, but (like the characters) it all came together and I would quickly enjoy everything about it. Whether it’s described as “Goth Jumanji” or “D&D Jumanji”, the premise is simple, but the story and characters are fun and complex. Anyone who has ever taken their RPGs a little seriously, should appreciate the effort into this work. I thought the history lessons/interviews in the back of the TPBs were very interesting. I’m looking forward to the collected hardcover in November 2022.

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Die graphic novel series. I got this book as a gift for my birthday. Thoughts: I enjoyed this even more than I thought I would. There are a lot of characters introduced very quickly but they are all fairly distinct so they are pretty easy to keep track of. It’s a bit confusing to start but not too bad. This is about a bunch of adults that get sent back to the horror world that they accidentally got trapped in as teens, only to find out that their missing teen friend is now the master of this world. I loved the crazy world here and the creativity behind it. The illustration style is well done and the story is engaging. All of the characters are strangely dark and somewhat sinister but still vulnerable because of the strange situations they are thrown into at this time in their lives (now that they are in their 40’s and supporting various jobs and families). I loved that their characters’ powers were also strangely dark (for example a Grief Knight who is only strong if he’s incredibly sad and a Dictator who can dictate other people’s emotions). I also really enjoyed how these characters are working to break the game so that the Gamemaster can’t predict their actions. The description of this series as a mash-up between Jumanji and Dungeons and Dragons is very apt. My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this enough that I recommended it to my husband to read (he’s more of a manga fan) and I plan on continuing the series. I really enjoyed the characters, the world and the way the story is progressing. This is a fast-paced and fun read that I would recommend to fans of horror/fantasy graphic novels.

Eine sehr düstere fast schon nihilistische Story, die mal nicht die klassischen Helden von Marvel oder DC zeigt.

I liked it just fine. Personally I found it nowhere near as much as it was hyped up to be. Maybe it's because I never played any of those role playing games. The story is rather basic, in my opinion. A group of people get sucked back into a jumanji like world and have to beat the bad guy. There is more to it, of course, but that's the gist of it. My main problem is that there really isnt much character development of the characters, except for ash, who is the main focus of the book. Which would be fine, but it's basically about 6 people. I really dodnt care about anyone except for ash. So there wasnt really any stakes in it for me. The art, on the other hand, is superb. Its hands down the main selling point for the book. Personally I think I would have enjoyed this book alot more if I didnt hear so much about how this series is the greatest story ever. It's not. I really dont understand how people are saying that. Dont get me wrong, the book is good. And if you like fantasy? Def buy this book. I really liked the references to other classic fantasy epics. There is a huge nod to Tolkien. That was just cool. I will def be picking up the next volume. I think this series has potential, and that it will only get better with time. And I am sure the characters will be more fleshed out as time goes by. This volume, is all about setting up the world. All in all? It's a decent start for what is hopefully a truly epic story.

I was already a fan of Kieron's earlier work on Star Wars comics and Wicked+Divine, so when I heard that he'll be writing a comic about a group of people trapped inside a fantasy role-playing game I was excited. But nothing could prepare me for just how GOOD DIE turned out to be! The characters are instantly familiar and interesting, the setting is amazing and mysterious, and the art. Oh my God the art! Hans and Cowles raise the bar with DIE - the art is just that good! The story is great, it moves at a brisk pace from a flashback to the past, to the present where the kids who were trapped inside a fantasy game (same premise as Jumanji basically) are now grown-up adults with kids of their own, divorces, dead parents, sexual hangups, and unresolved issues from childhood, and then finally to when they are trapped inside DIE once again, this time as adults. I cannot wait for the second volume, this might turn out to be one of my favourite series ever!

Lectura sumamente divertida , empiezo a darme cuenta de que Kieron Gillen hace todo bien, ya es el 3er.trabajo que leo de el ( Once and future y The wicked + The divine fueron los otros dos ) y sorprende como maneja la cultura pop. La edición llegó impecable sin un solo rasguño , es un echo que pediré el volumen 2.👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

I heard about this through Kinda Funny's We Have Cool Friends where Greg talks to the author about this and his other projects. I don't normally read comics, but the pitch in the episode was great and I knew I had to see how they blended a more darker and mature Jumanji with Dungeons and Dragons. I'll definitely will be purchasing future volumes to see where this adventure takes us.

Ordered for my boyfriend and came in good condition. He likes the series and enjoys reading these.

I'm a big fan of indie comics and I enjoyed the start of this story. It has a few tropes but the artwork makes up for it, IMHO.

Uma história não desconhecida para nós que nascemos na década de oitenta, ou mesmo os mais novos que encontram um paralelo desse tipo de aventura em filmes como Jumanji. Die é uma história que prima emoções conflitantes e faz um excelente trabalho em dar vida a cada um de seus protagonistas de forma única.

Great comic for anyone even remotely interested in role playing.