I’ve been a fan of Dungeon Crawler Carl for years now. I’ve read all of the books and listened to the audio versions, so the obvious next step for me was to pick up a copy of the first graphic novel. Having experienced Matt Dinniman’s story multiple times already, my biggest concern going into the graphic novel adaptation is that it wouldn’t feel additive. But despite a few minor issues, I can honestly say it is an awesome way to experience Carl and Princess Donut’s chaotic integration into Dungeon Crawler Carl World.
The first thing you’ll notice, from the cover alone, is the art style. Carl and Princess Donut are drawn to look like manga versions of themselves with big eyes and exaggerated expressions. For the most part, I really liked how Laurel Pursuit Studios decided to portray this universe. There are a lot of crazy creatures down in the dungeon, and each and every one of them looks like they belong in anime. With the Dungeon Crawler Carl TV series making the decision to go live-action, this graphic novel is a neat look into what it would look like if they’d decided to go in an animated direction instead.
All of the things that make the art style great are also what hold the story back at times, however. Carl has a generally grumpy or angry expression throughout (which makes sense), but occasionally the illustrator will show pops of gleeful madness that I don’t think belong in the story just yet. It felt a bit like they were trying to showcase too wide of a range of emotions than were strictly necessary for book one Carl.
With that being said, I think the studio did an excellent job of adapting the parts of the books you wouldn’t actually see. You don’t get nearly as much of Carl’s inner monologue in this format, so all of that has to show up in how he’s drawn and interacts with the world instead. This translates beautifully into how combat and dialogue are portrayed, only stumbling when I felt my mental image of the characters differed slightly from what I was seeing. In most instances, though, I felt like the graphic novel was able to add a depth to the story I’d never been able to get with the books themselves. Questions like “What does a Bopca actually look like?” are answered here and it just feels right.
Seeing as this is an adaptation of a LitRPG series, I was also thoroughly impressed at how well system messages were incorporated into the story. Pop-ups about achievements, rewards, and AI nonsense are initially shown as a completely overwhelming experience before getting neatly integrated in between panels. The AI is such an integral part of the story, but I could see how some of the lengthier messages it sends throughout the story could feel bloated on the page. The way it was done here felt totally seamless.
The first volume of the series collects the first 13 chapters of the ongoing Webtoon series, which equates to about a third of the first book. Without spoiling anything for anyone who hasn’t read the book, I can tell you that the ending of volume 1 doesn’t feel abrupt. The story hits its first major high note and you get just the right amount of cool-down time before setting up a part 2. You can already read more of the story for free on Webtoon, or wait for Volume 2 to arrive on October 6 for that paperback experience.
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