Dungeon (comics)

Dungeon
(Donjon)
Created byJoann Sfar
Lewis Trondheim
Publication information
PublisherDelcourt
Original languageFrench
Genre
Publication date1998 – Present
Creative team
Writer(s)Joann Sfar
Lewis Trondheim
Artist(s)Various

Dungeon (French title: Donjon) is a series of comic fantasy comic books created by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim, with contributions from numerous other artists. It is originally published in France since 1998 by Delcourt as a series of graphic albums; English editions of a large amount of stories have been released by NBM Publishing between 2002 and 2023 in translations by Joe Johnson, first in a black-and-white periodical version and then as several color graphic novels.

The series is a parody of sword and sorcery conventions in general, and specifically of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. All of the characters are either anthropomorphic animals or other strange creatures. The "dungeon" of the title is, in the original series, a business establishment run by a mild-mannered chicken, where heroes come in search of adventure and treasure and invariably die. The timeline in the main continuity is described as the stages of day; the series that lead up to the dungeon's creation are described in the Potron-Minet (Dawn) segment, the castle's glory days are described as its Zénith (Zenith), and its inevitable decay is described in the Crépuscule (Twilight) stories.

Sub-series

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Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim, creators and writers of Dungeon.

Dungeon is an extremely ambitious work consisting of several sub-series and various side projects. The Zenith books begin at number 1, while Early Years begins at -99 and Twilight at 101, implying that the authors intended to produce an unprecedented number of books.[citation needed]

Early Years

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Dungeon Early Years (Donjon Potron-Minet, literally Dawn) describes the events leading up to the creation of the titular dungeon, with art by Christophe Blain, Christophe Gaultier and Stéphane Oiry.

Zenith

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Dungeon Zenith (Donjon Zénith) portrays the golden age of the world of Terra Amata . The first four books are drawn by Lewis Trondheim, and from book five onwards by Boulet.

Twilight

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Dungeon Twilight (Donjon Crépuscule) is a darker series where Herbert the Duck has become the dark overlord of the Dungeon, known as The Great Khan. Marvin the dragon, old and blind, teams with Marvin the Red, a brash rabbit warrior. The first three volumes are drawn by Joann Sfar, the others by various artists.

Parade

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Dungeon Parade takes place between volumes 1 and 2 of Dungeon Zenith, starring its protagonists Marvin and Herbert. The artists are Manu Larcenet then Alexis Nesme.

Monstres

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Dungeon Monstres (Donjon Monsters) features secondary characters from throughout the story. Stories can be set anywhere in the timeline, and feature occasional appearances by the major characters. There is a wide variety of artists in the numerous volumes of this sub-series.

Antipodes

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Two additional series (Donjon Antipodes − and Donjon Antipodes +) explore the distant past and the far future of the other series.

Bonus

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A last sub-series called Donjon Bonus hosts works outside the comics, like the tabletop role-playing game Clefs en Mains

Bibliography

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Since the series start, it has grown into quite a large collection of volumes. The place of each book in an orderly timeline is worked out using “levels”. The volume number of books in the main series (Early Years, Zenith, Twilight, Antipodes) is also their level. The Monstres and Parade level numbers are written down in the original books on the first page below the page number.

The following table shows all the French volumes by Delcourt (published since 1998) and information about English-language releases by NBM Publishing (published since 2002 and stopped in 2023[1]). The table can be sorted by series, or by chronological order using “levels”. Unless otherwise noted, all the books are written by Lewis Trondheim and Joann Sfar, with various artists.

Level Series French editions American editions Artist Original release date
−99 Early Years −99 La Chemise de la nuit 1 The Night Shirt
Omnibus: The Night Shirt
Christophe Blain November 1999
−98 Early Years −98 Un justicier dans l'ennui Christophe Blain April 2001
−97 Early Years −97 Une jeunesse qui s'enfuit 2 Innocence lost
Omnibus: The Night Shirt
Christophe Blain May 2003
−84 Early Years −84 Après la pluie Christophe Blain May 2006
−83 Early Years −83 Sans un bruit 3 Without a Sound Christophe Gaultier September 2008
−82 Early Years −82 Survivre aujourd'hui Stéphane Oiry March 2022
1 Zenith 1 Cœur de canard 1 Duck Heart
Omnibus: The Barbarian Princess
Lewis Trondheim March 1998
2 Zenith 2 Le Roi de la bagarre Lewis Trondheim October 1998
3 Zenith 3 La Princesse des barbares 2 The Barbarian Princess
Omnibus: The Barbarian Princess
Lewis Trondheim February 2000
4 Zenith 4 Sortilège et Avatar Lewis Trondheim February 2002
5 Zenith 5 Un mariage à part 3 Back in Style Boulet June 2006
6 Zenith 6 Retour en fanfare Boulet November 2007
7 Zenith 7 Hors des remparts 4 Outside the Ramparts Boulet January 2020
8 Zenith 8 En sa mémoire Boulet November 2020
9 Zenith 9 Larmes et brouillard 5 Fog & Tears Boulet November 2022
10 Zenith 10 Formule incantatoire Boulet April 2023
101 Twilight 101 Le Cimetière des dragons 1 Dragon Cemetery
Omnibus: Cemetery of the Dragon
Joann Sfar April 1999
102 Twilight 102 Le Volcan des Vaucanson Joann Sfar March 2001
103[2] Twilight 103 Armaggedon 2 Armageddon
Omnibus: Cemetery of the Dragon
Joann Sfar August 2002
104 Twilight 104 Le Dojo du lagon Kerascoët June 2005
105 Twilight 105 Les Nouveaux Centurions 3 The New Centurions Kerascoët October 2006
106 Twilight 106 Révolutions Obion June 2009
110[3] Twilight 110 Haut Septentrion 4 The End of Dungeon Alfred March 2014
111[3] Twilight 111 La Fin du donjon Mazan March 2014
112 Twilight 112 Pourfendeurs de démons Obion June 2021
113 Twilight 113 Passation Obion September 2024
(to be published)
1.5 Parade 1 Un donjon de trop 1 A Dungeon Too Many Manu Larcenet September 2000
1.5 Parade 2 Le Sage du ghetto Manu Larcenet September 2001
1.5 Parade 3 Le Jour des crapauds 2 Day of the Toads Manu Larcenet April 2002
1.5 Parade 4 Des fleurs et des marmots Manu Larcenet November 2004
1.5 Parade 5 Technique Grogro Manu Larcenet June 2007
1.5 Parade 6 Garderie pour petiots Alexis Nesme January 2021
−4 Monstres 1 Jean-Jean la terreur 1 The Crying Giant Mazan May 2001
3.5 Monstres 2 Le Géant qui pleure Jean-Christophe Menu October 2001
103[2] Monstres 3 La Carte majeure 2 The Dark Lord Andreas November 2002
103[2] Monstres 4 Le Noir Seigneur Blanquet May 2003
−97.5 Monstres 5 La Nuit du tombeur 4 Night of the Ladykiller Jean-Emmanuel Vermot-Desroches February 2003
40 Monstres 6 Du ramdam chez les brasseurs Yoann April 2003
−90 Monstres 7 Mon fils le tueur 5 My Son the Killer Blutch September 2003
−85 Monstres 8 Crève-cœur 3 Heartbreaker Carlos Nine January 2004
75 Monstres 9 Les Profondeurs Patrice Killoffer August 2004
95 Monstres 10 Des soldats d'honneur 5 My Son the Killer Bézian January 2006
−400 Monstres 11 Le Grand Animateur 6 The Great Animator Stanislas September 2007
6 Monstres 12 Le Grimoire de l'inventeur Nicolas Keramidas January 2008
79 Monstres 13 Réveille-toi et meurs David B. November 2020
7 Monstres 14 La Bière supérieure Bastien Quignon October 2021
−24 Monstres 15 Les Poupoutpapillonneurs Juanungo May 2022
−79 Monstres 16 Quelque part ailleurs Guy Delisle October 2022
114 Monstres 17 Un héritage trompeur Bertrand Gatignol April 2023
115 Monstres 18 Noces de fleurs Aude Picault March 2024
−10,000 Antipodes − −10000 L'Armée du crâne Grégory Panaccione January 2020
−9,999 Antipodes − −9999 L'Inquisiteur mégalomane Grégory Panaccione March 2021
10,000 Antipodes + 10000 Rubéus Khan Vince September 2020
10,001 Antipodes + 10001 Le Coffre aux âmes Vince January 2022
10,002 Antipodes + 10002 Changement de programme Vince October 2023
10,003 Antipodes + 10003 Retour de flamme Vince October 2024
(to be published)
Bonus 1 Clefs en main Lewis Trondheim
Joann Sfar
Writing:
Arnaud Moragues
October 2001
Bonus 2 Création et parchemins Lewis Trondheim
Joann Sfar
November 2023
Bonus 3 Dynastie et magiciens Lewis Trondheim
Joann Sfar
Writing:
Arnaud Moragues
Pierre Chabosy
June 2024

Main characters

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  • Herbert the Duck is the "hero" of the story, and appears in at least Donjon Zenith and Crepuscule series. As his name suggests, he is a duck, although he has a humanoid body, and is covered in feathers. He is the possessor of the Sword of Destiny (a parody of other mystical weapons in adventure books). This sword is unique in that it can talk, and that has many mystical powers, such as being able to glow in the dark, being able to summon former bearers when someone other than its legitimate user tries to hold it, and not allowing the use of any other weapon by its owner. Also, one side of its blade has the enigmatic property of being able to cut -and even behead- living beings without killing them.
  • Marvin the Dragon serves as the reluctant instructor and protector of Herbert the Duck. Marvin is a fierce warrior who loves a good fight, but at the same time he is bound by the principles of his religion. He is a strict vegetarian, refuses to eat "human" or animal flesh and will not attack anyone who has insulted him. Like other dragons, he can breathe fire, but will do so only when strictly necessary. Initially caused by indigestion due to eating little blue mushrooms, Marvin is capable of producing a "Tong Deum", a large blast of fire-breath. He looks vaguely humanoid, with huge muscles and scarlet skin. Marvin is loyal to his boss, the Keeper - though not entirely averse to keeping him in the dark about certain matters.
  • Hyacinthe de Cavallere (aka the Dungeon Master or "the Keeper") is a greedy, yet lovable, capitalist who only cares about enriching himself by attracting adventurers and treasure-seekers to his Dungeon, where they will leave their corpses and possessions. In his youth, Hyacinthe was actually quite idealistic, and disguised himself as the nocturnal crime fighter "the Night Shirt". The Dungeon's core is the ancestral keep of the de Cavellere family, though greatly enlarged during Hyacinthe's lifetime.
  • Marvin the Red, the hero of the Crepuscule/Twilight series. He is a tall, thin rabbit, colored bright red. He is a young warrior and very impetuous.

Notes

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  1. ^ "About Dungeon". NBM Graphic Novels. 2024-02-06. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  2. ^ a b c The three books taking place in level 103 retell the same events from three different points of view.
  3. ^ a b Haut Septentrion et La Fin du donjon can be read in parallel.
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