Today I'm
going to be reviewing one of my favorite series ever, Dungeon by JoannSfar and LewisTrondheim. This dungeon is not actually a
prison as one might think. It’s more like a big obstacle
course which adventurers flock to with dreams of wealth and glory. There are
piles and piles of treasure which entice the poor fools to try to brave the
dangers that lie within the dungeon walls. They come to steal some of the
treasure, but instead get massacred by the monsters of the dungeon. Their
weapons and jewelry are added to the treasury.
The
dungeon is run by the Dungeon Keeper, a short white bird with a top hat and a
pipe that releases smoke in a skull shape, reflecting his mood. He started the
dungeon when he was young. His most trusted employes include Marvin, a man
sized, very religious dragon who serves as the Dungeon Keeper’s body guard, Herbert, a light hearted duck who has a
long descent into evil, and Alcibiades and Horus, the two alchemists of the
dungeon.
Over the
course of over a dozen books, the dungeon becomes a major political power, and
therefore gains all the problems brought by its position. It’s attacked constantly and the system becomes more and more corrupt. They create
their own secret police, participate in underhanded dealings, and accept bribes
from neighbors who fear invasion.
Dungeon is set during three major time
periods in the dungeon’s universe. The Early
Years follows its rise, Zenith takes place during the height of the
dungeon's power, and Twilight is the story of the dungeon’s downfall into madness. Each one of these time
periods has several books devoted to them. Even if you only get the books in
one time period, you will have a very full experience. Each is like it’s own little series.
The art
in this book is unforgettable. It looks very French, which makes sense
considering that Joann Sfar is French (Joann Sfar is not the only illustrator,
other artists draw short stories for the bonus books). There are a lot of very
broad, flat colors in Dungeon. One of my favorite characters, Marvin the
Red, a skinny little rabbit who thinks he’s a
brave warrior, who was exiled from his rabbit town because he was born with red
fur, is a shade of red that never changes. All of the characters are designed
to pop off the page. The world of dungeon look goofily cartoony, but It makes
sense considering that all of the characters are anthropomorphized animals,
monsters and magical creatures.
You will
never find anything even remotely similar to Dungeon. It is its own
thing which makes it all the more amazing. I warn you younger readers, there
are some quite bloody and sexual scenes. The violence is never scary.
Characters get their heads lopped off all the time, but it’s humorous because these awful acts are being carried
out by these almost cute little animals. While detailed, the art isn’t very realistic which makes the gore completely
un-terrifying. With the holidays almost here, I think the complete
set of Dungeon is a perfect gift
for anyone 14 to 65. I'm sure you'll all get hooked. I find myself rereading
these books at least once every two months. I would give Dungeon 10
vicious red rabbits 10.
