CRITICAL ROLE: VOX MACHINA ORIGINS Volume 1 Is a Great Read Even If You've Never Watched CRITICAL ROLE

Most everyone interested in Dungeons & Dragons has heard of Critical Role. If you tune in to listen to their adventures, you’ll be able to hear some geeky voice actors play D&D in their current campaign called “The Mighty Nein.” Many fans have been listening since their first campaign, which was dubbed “Vox Machina.” If you haven’t heard of any of this, don’t worry. All you have to know is that last month, Critical Role released a volume that collected the first six issues of their Vox Machina Origins comics from Dark Horse Comics, and as the name suggests, it’s about the characters from the show’s first campaign.

Critical Role was kind enough to send me a copy of the paperback version of Vox Machina Origins Volume 1, and I devoured it. It didn’t take long for me to get through all 160 pages of story. The best part? I had never listened to “Vox Machina.” However, because this is how the characters all met, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. I was a little thrown that Percy and Pike (two characters mentioned in the beginning who I knew about before reading) weren’t in the bunch, but I found out that they come in later in the story. The writing by Matthew Mercer and Matthew Colville is incredible. Because I knew who voiced whom, it was a lot of fun to imagine them playing this out at the table, and I could totally see the actors’ personalities come through the characters (although it is weird to read Keyleth after watching Marisha Ray play Beau). In addition, Olivia Samson’s art and Chris Northrop’s colors are absolutely beautiful and bring the world and characters to life.

All this is to say that if you enjoy fantasy-themed comics, Vox Machina Origins is a fantastic read. If you’re a fan of Critical Role, you’ll get even more enjoyment out of the collection.

Also, an additional benefit is that at the ned, stats are provided for some of the bad guys so that you can incorporate them into your own game of D&D.

You can purchase Vox Machina Origins Volume 1 from Amazon, comiXology, Dark Horse Comics, a hardcover copy from Critical Role, or anywhere else that sells comics.