Dungeon Fun Book 4 - Ending the series with an emotional punch

Colin Bell and Neil Slorance's self-published series Dungeon Fun has been a favourite of ours and the way it swept the Scottish Independent Comic Book Alliance Awards this time last year makes it clear that we're not alone.

Its fourth and final issue launches at Glasgow Comic Con this weekend, and settling down to finish off the series, we pretty much thought we knew exactly what we would be getting.

We were wrong. Dungeon Fun Book Four surprised us, which just goes to show just how talented Bell and Slorance are.

In this final issue, our hero Fun Mudlifter comes face to face with the threat that has plunged the fantasy kingdom into darkness. She also discovers the secrets of her past and, most importantly, confronts her own fears and uncertainties.

(Now seems an appropriate time to admit that it took us the entire series to realise that the main characters are called Fun and Games, resulting in a well-deserved facepalm.)

At 40+ pages an issue, the Dungeon Fun comics have always felt like a satisfyingly meaty read compared to your average floppy. The words and pictures can feel a little crowded at times, but on the whole it provides much more of an experience than your usual decompressed 20 pages.

The series finale delivers what we've come to expect in terms of fun, punchy and silly comedy that is perfect for readers of all ages, with the usual video game references and daft puns. Not every joke lands, but if they did we would be ready to crown Bell and Slorance the new gods of comedy. The humour is consistent and light-hearted, as we expected.

What we weren't prepared for was the emotional depth and complexity of this comic. The creators succeed beautifully in rounding off the emotional arc of Fun's journey, forcing her to confront her fears and her faults and coming out the other side.

If asked to describe the earlier issues we probably wouldn't have said "emotional", and the climax - at times both subtle and epic - took us most pleasantly by surprise. Props to Slorance for both his action and his character work, giving us a thrilling final fight (essential) and affecting farewells that really push the limits of his cartoony style.

That we would enjoy Dungeon Fun wasn't really in doubt, but the quality and beauty of its conclusion still managed to take us by surprise in the best way imaginable.

Dungeon Fun Book Four is out today from Dogooder Comics. It is available from Neil Slorance's Etsy store, or you can buy it from the creators at Glasgow Comic Con, MCM Scotland and Thought Bubble.

Hugh Armitage

Hugh Armitage is Movies Editor at Digital Spy.