Dungeon (comics)

Dungeon (Donjon)
Created by	Joann Sfar Lewis Trondheim
Publication information
Publisher	Delcourt
Formats	Original material for the series has been published as a set of graphic novels.
Original language	French
Genre	Comic fantasy
Publication date	1998 – present
Creative team
Writer(s)	Joann Sfar Lewis Trondheim
Artist(s)	Various
Reprints
The series has been reprinted, at least in part, in English.

Dungeon (French title: Donjon) is a series of satirical 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 translations of the first several stories have been released by NBM Publishing, 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 and 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, and its inevitable decay is described in the Crépuscule (Twilight) stories.

Though only a small part is available in English, the French Donjon is an extremely ambitious work consisting of three sub-series and various side projects.

Sub-series

Dungeon The Early Years (Donjon Potron-Minet)

With art by Christophe Blain, this side takes place in an earlier era, describing events leading up to the creation of the titular dungeon. In English translation, the Dawn series is called Early Years.

Dungeon Zenith (Donjon Zénith)

DZ portrays the "golden age" of the world of Terra Amata . Albums 1 to 4 are drawn by Trondheim.

Dungeon Twilight (Donjon Crépuscule)

In this darker series, 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.

Dungeon Parade (Donjon Parade)

Dungeon Parade takes place between volumes 1 and 2 of Dungeon Zenith, starring its protagonists Marvin and Herbert.

Dungeon Monstres (Donjon Monsters)

Donjon Monstres features secondary characters from throughout the story. "Monstres" stories can be set anywhere in the timeline, and feature occasional appearances by the major characters.

Others

The Zenith books begin at number 1, while Potron-Minet begins at -99 and Crepuscule at 101, implying that the authors intend to produce an unprecedented number of books, though as of March 2008 there are only 15 books in this main continuity, with two more to appear in 2008, and an additional 17 books in Parade and Monsters.

Trondheim originally stated in interviews that the authors "weren't crazy" and wouldn't release 300 books, trusting the reader to fill in the blanks of the missing numbers. However, in later interviews, he hinted that he had changed his mind and was seduced by the idea of creating a long-running and complex series of 300 books, which seemed possible with the collaboration of several different authors.

A third sub-series called Donjon Bonus exists of different editions (black and white or smaller format omnibuses) and work outside the comics, like the role-playing game Clefs en Mains.

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.

Bibliography

The following tables show all French paperback collections released so far, with information about English releases. Please note that in the Main Series table the Volume also corresponds to the level of the book.

Main Series

Series	Volume	Title	Available in English as:	Writer/s	Art
Potron-Minet	-99	La chemise de la nuit	Early Years vol. 1: The Night Shirt	Sfar, Trondheim	Christophe Blain
Potron-Minet	-98	Un justicier dans l'ennui	Early Years vol. 1: The Night Shirt	Sfar, Trondheim	Christophe Blain
Potron-Minet	-97	Une jeunesse qui s'enfuit	Early Years vol. 2: Innocence lost	Sfar, Trondheim	Christophe Blain
Potron-Minet	-84	Après la pluie	Early Years vol. 2: Innocence lost	Sfar, Trondheim	Christophe Blain
Potron-Minet	-83	Sans un bruit	N/A	Sfar, Trondheim	Christophe Gaultier
Zénith	1	Coeur de canard	Zenith vol. 1: Duck Heart	Sfar, Trondheim	Trondheim
Zénith	2	Le Roi de la bagarre	Zenith vol. 1: Duck Heart	Sfar, Trondheim	Trondheim
Zénith	3	La Princesse des barbares	Zenith vol. 2: The Barbarian Princess	Sfar, Trondheim	Trondheim
Zénith	4	Sortilèges et avatars	Zenith vol. 2: The Barbarian Princess	Sfar, Trondheim	Trondheim
Zénith	5	Un mariage à part	Zenith vol. 3: Back in Style	Sfar, Trondheim	Boulet
Zénith	6	Retour en fanfare	Zenith vol. 3: Back in Style	Sfar, Trondheim	Boulet
Crépuscule	101	Le Cimetière des dragons	Twilight, vol. 1: Dragon Cemetery	Sfar, Trondheim	Sfar
Crépuscule	102	Le Volcan des Vaucanson	Twilight, vol. 1: Dragon Cemetery	Sfar, Trondheim	Sfar
Crépuscule	103	Armaggedon	Twilight, vol. 2: Armageddon	Sfar, Trondheim	Sfar
Crépuscule	104	Le Dojo du lagon	Twilight, vol. 2: Armageddon	Sfar, Trondheim	Kerascoët
Crépuscule	105	Les Nouveaux Centurions	Twilight, vol. 3: The New Centurions	Sfar, Trondheim	Kerascoët
Crépuscule	106	Révolutions	Twilight, vol. 3: The New Centurions	Sfar, Trondheim	Obion
Crépuscule	110	Haut Septentrion	N/A	Sfar, Trondheim	Alfred
Crépuscule	111	La Fin du Donjon	N/A	Sfar, Trondheim	Mazan

Secondary Series

Series	Volume	Level	Title	Available in English as:	Writer/s	Art
Bonus	N/A		Clefs en main - Jeu de rôles	N/A	Arnaud Moragues	Sfar, Trondheim, Moragues
Parade	1	1.5	Un donjon de trop	Parade vol. 1: A dungeon too many	Sfar, Trondheim	Manu Larcenet
Parade	2	1.5	Le Sage du ghetto	Parade vol. 1: A dungeon too many	Sfar, Trondheim	Manu Larcenet
Parade	3	1.5	Le Jour des crapauds	Parade vol. 2: Day of the Toads	Sfar, Trondheim	Manu Larcenet
Parade	4	1.5	Des fleurs et des marmots	Parade vol. 2: Day of the Toads	Sfar, Trondheim	Manu Larcenet
Parade	5	1.5	Technique Grogro	N/A	Sfar, Trondheim	Manu Larcenet
Monsters	1	-4	Jean-Jean la Terreur	Monsters Vol. 1: The Crying Giant	Sfar, Trondheim	Mazan
Monsters	2	3.5	Le Géant qui pleure	Monsters Vol. 1: The Crying Giant	Sfar, Trondheim	Jean-Christophe Menu
Monsters	3	103	La Carte majeure	Monsters Vol. 2: The Dark Lord	Sfar, Trondheim	Andreas
Monsters	4	103	Le Noir Seigneur	Monsters Vol. 2: The Dark Lord	Sfar, Trondheim	Stéphane Blanquet
Monsters	5	-97	La Nuit du tombeur	Monsters Vol. 4: Night of the Ladykiller	Sfar, Trondheim	Jean-Emmanuel Vermont-Desroches
Monsters	6	40	Du ramdam chez les brasseurs	Monsters Vol. 4: Night of the Ladykiller	Sfar, Trondheim	Yoann
Monsters	7	-90	Mon fils le tueur	N/A	Sfar, Trondheim	Blutch
Monsters	8	-85	Crève-coeur	Monsters Vol. 3: Heartbreaker	Sfar, Trondheim	Sfar, Trondheim, Blutch, Carlos Nine
Monsters	9	75	Les Profondeurs	Monsters Vol. 3: Heartbreaker	Sfar, Trondheim	Sfar, Trondheim, Blutch, Patrice Killoffer
Monsters	10	95	Des soldats d'honneur	N/A	Sfar, Trondheim	Bézian
Monsters	11	-400	Le Grand Animateur	N/A	Sfar, Trondheim	Stanislas
Monsters	12	5	Le Grimoire de l'inventeur	N/A	Sfar, Trondheim	Nicolas Keramidas

Chronology

Since the series start, it has grown into quite a large of collection of volumes. The place of each book in an orderly timeline is worked out using levels (French: Niveau). The volume number of books in the main series (Dawn, Zenith and Twilight) is also their level. The Monsters and Parade level numbers are written down in the original books on the first page below the page number.

References

• Dungeon at the Grand Comics Database

External links

• NBM Publishing - Trondheim/Dungeon page
• DonjonLand - Ex-official French-language website
• Les Murmures du Donjon - Official French-language website and fansite