Good morning!
I'm writing this review to "advertize" what I think is the best fantasy comic I have ever read.
It's "Dungeon", written and drawn by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim, two French authors several volumes by whom have been published in Italy too. Sfar has made, for instance, Troll (together with Morvan and Boiscommun), humour-fantasy comic with very good art published by Edizioni BD in three volumes.

From quite a while I'm spreading on the net info about "Dungeon", a real personal crusade I've been showily calling "Let's stand for Dungeon!" :-)
Not that I get paid by publishing houses :-), it's just that this comic is worth much more attention than Italian readers have given it until now.
(I think so too, though a bit less enthusiastically, but I seem to love lost battles anyway ^^^;;; NdParvati)

The question is this wonderful work, which in France counts lots of volumes, giving birth to parallel series and special initiatives (freeware videogames of which you can find URLs later on, an official roleplaying game), here in Italy its editorial life has definitely been more difficult, with a change of publishing house (the first 3 volumes were published by the now gone Daniele Brolli's Phoenix publishing house, in rather inexpensive paperback issues, while last two volumes have been "inherited" by Pasquale Ruggiero's Magic Press publishing house, and they chose deluxe and of course more expensive volumes) and with sale volumes not high above survival limits.
So, right as we're risking not to see the end to this monumental work of rare beauty, I decided to put some effort in it, spreading as much as I can, within my limited possibilities, word about the existence of this authentic jewel that is Dungeon - and the more as until now published volumes can each be read singularly.

In addition to the short following review, you can find a long article (in Italian) I posted here in which I tried to describe Dungeon as a bizarre kind of roleplaying game.

I'd also like to point out that "Il vulcano dei Vaucanson", volume #102 of the series (which is actually going on three parallel series, only two of which have been published in Italy until now) which was out a few months ago, probably is not the best starting point for this story. So, I'd rather recommend that you get the three volumes published by Phoenix first, or at least that you start from the first volume published by Magic Press (#101, Il cimitero dei draghi). (This is, of course, meant for Italian readers: but Dungeon is coming out in English language as well, you can find it on Previews, so, English-speaking people, keep your eyes open and be sure to get it!)

So, have a nice reading...
And let's support Dungeon! :-)

Dungeon, by J. Sfar and L. Trondheim is an absolutely "sui generis" fantasy series. There are races, there are quests, there are magic weapons, there's some sort of master too, and there obviously are, as title suggests, dungeons.
But Dungeon is not the usual fantasy series: it renders its genre in an innovative, original and fascinating way, still featuring a lot of the classic canons typical of "Tolkien fantasy" genre.

At a first look, Dungeon seems just a fantasy parody, yet we don't have just a mockery of fantasy stereotypes. Yes, some characters and situations are really brilliant, and characters themselves, the majority being antropomorphic animals, cannot not to be funny. Yet characters themselves are not just funny caricatures: the protagonist, Herbert the duck, is way more than a timid goofer: the authors do show up not only his shyness, but also sporadic boosts of intraprendence; his "stooge", Marvin, is not just an ugly big lizard, evil and merciless, but also a fine wisdom bestower, and in addition a self-control teacher; the Guardian is not just a rugged intraprendent despot, but also reveals an unexpected romantic and melancholy side.

Stories published until now, though they are true quests, undertake original connotations: alongside with Herbert's misadventures go Marvin's heroic undertakings, and the reaching of goals is constantly woven with under.plots and unexpected events.

Art is worth a side note. At first it may seem almost childish and a bit too stylized. In fact, both characters and backgrounds, within their apparent simplicity, are very detailed, and their expressivity cannot be denied. A skilled use of colour makes panels really interesting, and changes of stages have a good rythm from a visual point of view with the use of distinctive cromatic tones...

On the other hand, character themselves personally "stand for" apparently "rough" and "childish" artwork in the beginning of third volume in the series, emphasizing their practicality (then again "well, once you abolish perspective, what's the importance of formal representation?" ^_^).

In conclusion: intriguing artwork, original and intimistic characters, philosophy pills, funny situations and adventurous feats. Dungeon is all that. What are you waiting for instead of running to your comic shop and order all available issues? :-)

La Fortezza, di Joann Sfar e Lewis Trondheim:
1. Cuore d'Anatra
Phoenix, 21x29, 48pp col., brossura, 7,75e

2. Il Re del Casino
Phoenix, 21x29, 48pp col., brossura, 7,75e

3. La Principessa dei Barbari
Phoenix, 21x29, 48pp col., brossura, 7,75e

101. Il cimitero dei draghi
Magic Press, 21x29, 48 pp., col., cartonato, 12,39e
(nota: l'episodio porta il numero 101, in realta' si tratta del primo numero di una serie parallela a quella pubblicata da Phoenix).

102. Il vulcano dei Vaucanson
Magic Press, 21x29, 48 pp., col., cartonato, 12,50e

Dungeon authors personal web pages, Joann Sfar's and Lewis Trondheim's

The comic semi-official website, with good descriptions of characters, settings, and initiatives about Dungeon (like the official roleplaying game)

The webpage of French publisher of Dungeon

Two free videogames based on Dungeon characters; the first one is a simple arcade game based on old pocket games, the second one is a nice beat-em-up definitely well made both in graphics and in musics.