Dungeons & Dragons’ 1980s cartoon will return as a limited comics series

Most people who read this will find it difficult to believe that we are reaching back into the past. But for those old heads who were introduced to the Dungeons & Dragons RPG via the CBS cartoon on Saturday mornings — Take a deep breath, 40 years ago — the series is returning as a comic book this coming spring.

Pitched as a “lost episode” of the original cartoon, the four-issue miniseries from IDW reunites the gang — Bobby the Barbarian, Presto the Magician, Diana the Acrobat, and all the rest — for another go at their old foe Venger. Sam Maggs, the writer for IDW’s Marvel Action: Captain Marvel, He is the author of this series with David M. Booher on art and George Kambadais illustrating.

For those who don’t remember Saturday-morning cartoons (or worse, weren’t around yet during their era), Dungeons & Dragons The series aired between 1983 and 1985 and featured the adventures of one grade-schooler and a group teenagers who were left stranded after they rode a haunted rollercoaster. With the (limited) assistance of the impish and inscrutable Dungeon Master (aren’t they all?The adventuring party tries to return to the mundane reality of our world.

For players of the basic D&D set at that time (raises hand) — the Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon was our first introduction to the player classes Ranger (Hank), Cavalier, and Snotty Eric. We didn’t start playing those classes until 1985, when Unearthed Arcana hit Waldenbooks’ shelves at the mall 45 minutes away. Not surprisingly, this group did not include a cleric. The group defeated Venger the power-hungry, would-be Overlord. They also faced recurring foes like Tiamat the Hydra (voiced famously by Frank Welker).

Dungeons & Dragons It aired for 27 episodes. It was part of the 1984 two-hour block which included The Saturday SupercadeA collection of shorts that are based on classic arcade games such as Donkey Kong Q*Bert, Pitfall! Atari 2600), and an adaptation for half an hour. Position Pole, Namco’s hit racing game of the time.

It was, in other words, a wonderful time to be sixth-grade videogame geek. I know this from firsthand experience. Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures Launches March 20, 2023 with cover art from Kambadais & Brenda Hickey