Fans are familiar with Keyleth, Vex, Pike, Grog and the rest of Vox Machina, the crew that launched the successful Critical Role property, but how familiar are they with what those characters did before the launch of the original podcast? Dark Horse Comics plans to help everyone get up to speed with their Critter pre-history with this fall’s release of the Critical Role: Vox Machine Origins Library Edition Vol. 1.
A 320-page hardcover, the Origins Library Edition Vol. 1 tells the backstories of the Vox Machina crew — the characters in the first campaign of the popular fantasy podcast — before the adventures fans are already familiar with, including the first time that they came together and the stories that made them into the beloved heroes (or something approaching that, at least) they are now.
The new oversized edition collects the first two Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins miniseries in their entirety, by writers Matt Mercer, Matthew Colville and Jody Houser; artist Olivia Samson; and colorists Chris Northrop and MSASSYK. The series were originally published in 2017-18 and 2019-20, respectively, with the first series serialized digitally.
Critical Role launched in 2015 as part of the Geek & Sundry network, before stepping out on its own three years later. Originally a video series in which a group of voice actors led by Matthew Mercer played Dungeons & Dragons, the brand has grown to encompass multiple projects across different media including animation, live performances and comic books with more than half a million viewers tuning into the core series each week.
Critical Role: Vox Machine Origins Library Edition Vol. 1 will be released in comic book stores Nov. 11, with a bookstore release Nov. 24.
