If you’ve been around for a while or delve deep into the history of Dungeons & Dragons then you may know the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons cartoon from Saturday mornings. Haven’t heard of it? Read on for the tale straight out of most D&D fans’ dreams and how the cartoon is coming back. Look forward to the D&D cartoon comic!
D&D Cartoon
First and foremost, the original 1983 D&D cartoon ran for three seasons, totaling 27 episodes by its end. The animated series followed six unsuspecting youths as they fought to get back home after being magically transported to the Forgotten Realms by a Dungeons & Dragons roller coaster ride. The party consists of Hank, a ranger with an energy-arrow bow, Diana, a magical bo staff wielding acrobat, Sheila, a thief with an invisibility cloak, Bobby, the barbarian with an earthquake creating club, Eric, a cavalier with trusty magic shield, and Presto, the magician with his less trusty magic hat. Then characters like the unicorn, Uni, the dragon queen, Tiamat, and the enigmatic Dungeon Master appear alongside the pack of kids as their only goals are staying alive and getting back home. The ever-looming threat of their arch-nemesis, Venger, kept both goals in constant peril.
D&D Comic
IDW publishing has made an announcement that has excited many, as they have planned to bring these misfits back for one last story. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the original release of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon, IDW is producing a four-part comic book miniseries titled, Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures. The story will cover an exciting “lost episode” of the original cartoon and will be bringing back the intrepid party against the force of evil and longtime foe, Venger. The entire team that’s working on the new comic series has all sorts of glowing remarks about the original cartoon series and fond memories throughout the announcement.
It’s all D&D!
As you can read in the little author blurb about me, I wasn’t lucky enough to have the awe-inspiring wonder of Dungeons & Dragons enter my life until a few years ago, so I’m currently making my way through the full cartoon series on YouTube. You can also find the complete series with remastered original score and the collector’s edition chalked full of special features online, if you want to secure a permanent physical copy of the show.
An exclusive from CBR indicates that the new Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures miniseries “will hit shelves in March of 2023.” Whether you saw the original as it aired on TV or this is the first you’ve ever heard of a D&D cartoon, be sure to give it a (re)watch before this coming March! So are you excited to see Hank, Presto, Diana, and the rest of the gang returning? Let us know in the comments and check back here at GTN for roleplay game news!
Til Next Time!
