Dungeon (comics)

*Dungeon*
(*Donjon*)
Dungeon; (Donjon)
Created by	Joann Sfar; Lewis Trondheim
Publication information
Publisher	Delcourt
Original language	French
Genre	Comic fantasy; Anthropomorphic;
Publication date	1998 – 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 was originally published in France by Delcourt as a series of graphic albums; English editions of a large amount of stories have been released by NBM Publishing in translations by Joe Johnson, first in a black-and-white periodical version and now 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

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.

Early Years

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bonus

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

Bibliography

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

Main characters

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

1 2 3 The three books taking place in level 103 retell the same events from three different points of view.
1 2 Haut Septentrion et La Fin du donjon can be read in parallel.

References

Dungeon at the Grand Comics Database

External links

Dungeon at NBM Publishing

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[niv103-1] 1 2 3 The three books taking place in level 103 retell the same events from three different points of view.

[niv110111-2] 1 2 Haut Septentrion et La Fin du donjon can be read in parallel.

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