Dungeons of Doom #1: A Collection of Prologues

Dungeons of Doom #1 is a collection of prologues. As such, there isn’t much of a fleshed out story. There is a barebones plot, though. Latveria has fallen and several factions are involved in a free-for-all to get a hold of all of Doom’s secrets. This has the side effect of realistically depicting a failed, post-war Latveria. With its strongman leader gone, everyone wants a piece of it. Though an in-depth examination of this idea isn’t an actual concern of Dungeons of Doom #1, that it’s depicted in any way is welcome. The global street-level impact of One World Under Doom deserves some kind of serious postscript addressing its aftermath. Johnson and Percy provide some of that here.

The issue is broken up into chapters within which Johnson and Percy set up several new storylines, the basis for each is the discovery of some kind of creature or relic formerly in Doom’s possession. Each chapter within Dungeons of Doom #1 is largely the same: Group X finds a thing. There isn’t enough space to flesh out any characters, nor is much revealed about the individual discoveries. Each chapter lives and dies by the potential it has for the future and the curiosity that it generates. In this way they are all successful to varying degrees.

General Ross in all his Red Hulk glory appears briefly in Dungeons of Doom #1. Though the character has little to do, it’s a nice bit of continuity from the Red Hulk series. This aspect of the issue clashes with what seemed to be The Will of Doom #1’s intention (that of a hands-off, non-interventionist policy), but it feels more believable as a part of One World Under Doom’s aftermath.

Art duties are split in Dungeons of Doom #1, with a different artist taking each chapter. The styles are different enough to give each chapter its own identity but not so extremely different that the transition from one to another is jarring.

Chapter one has by far the most detailed art, and as such is the perfect visual entrypoint into the titular dungeons. The characters are set against a background of crumbling walls and staircases. The dungeon doors themselves are a variety of designs. Fields of black create the impression of shadows throughout. Coloring reinforces the shadowed nature of the environment. Walls are dark green and turquoise, for instance. The visuals create an oppressive mood, one that foreshadows the dangers yet to be revealed.

Subsequent chapters are softer by comparison, the result of both more conservative linework and brighter coloring. On their own they don’t carry the same kind of menace that the first chapter does. But because the mood has been established so successfully, they all still feel as part of a fully connected whole.

The same detailed artwork that creates the dangerous mood within chapter one also results in the greatest sense of menace when the chapter concludes. The story is extremely vague on what this group has discovered–just that it is a mutant that should never have lived. But the detailed art gives the discovery a body horror quality, an envelope push that none of the other chapters deliver.

Lanham chooses a font made up of tall, thin letters that results in larger dialogue bubbles. Unfortunately these larger bubbles and ample white space detract from the art, especially in the moodier first chapter.