Critical Role: The Tales of Exandria – Artagan #3: The Sound And The Jury

This series is written for those who are fans of the popular Actual Play and media entertainment group, Critical Role. What’s exciting about this series is that it continues the stories that were left untold from the group’s first campaign, Vox Machina, and their second campaign, The Mighty Nein. Picking up from the previous issue, Artagan finishes his story and testament with how a play was made in his name (and the slander it entailed, according to him), which eventually led to a revolt during the trial that he may or may not have planned, to a surprise guest (or two) that leads him to the next step on his adventure.

Maggs has absolutely killed it by capturing the Archfey’s whimsical and nutty personality in this comic that was brought to life in the Critical Role campaigns and the Amazon Prime Series, The Legend Of Vox Machina. The larger-than-life personality has made it easy to capture but Maggs found such creative ways to embellish the flamboyant and mischievous personality of the character.

The drawings and coloring of Or & Peter elevate the story with the vivid imagery of chaos that seems to develop around Artagan, with wonderful juxtapositions and gorgeous colors, especially with the pastels and design of The Shademurk. Maher’s lettering never disappoints, and this is no exception. Being able to illustrate words to give a physical and emotional representation of what’s happening in the scene that matches the environment was extraordinary. All these three elements have brought the world of Exandria to life in this issue.