I love dogs. I love Dungeons & Dragons. I've been reading the webcomic DnDoggos since year one. It is now in its seventh year. The author, Scout Underhill, has created something special with their weekly(ish) comics, and now they have released a graphic novel, DnDoggos: Get the Party Started, sharing the dogs' very first adventure as a party.
The party is based on Underhill's real dogs: Magnus the DM, Tonka the bard, Pickles the fighter, and Zoey the cleric. The art style cleverly and subtly changes when switching from the view of the dogs seated at the table to the view of their characters mid-adventure. The dogs are adorable. The facial expressions on the dogs are particularly good, especially when things go awry, which often happens because it's D&D.
One of my favorite details is that the DM screen is also a character. The dragon on the screen regularly reacts to events, good and bad, when they happen. I think I had been reading the strip for months before I noticed and had to go back and reread them all from the beginning.
In the graphic novel, the doggos head out on a mission to rescue Squish, a runaway pup, and solve the mystery of a town's missing squeaky toys… Since the book tells the story of the first time they played, it also shows a lot of explanations of the rules of D&D. It would be an excellent way to introduce anyone, but especially kids, to the world of Dungeons & Dragons.
One final, important note. Tonka, as the bard, plays a one-holed ocarina, otherwise known as a kazoo.
