Following the premiere of Critical Role: The Mighty Nein animated series on Prime Video, the prequel comic Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins has officially debuted on Webtoon.
Based on Critical Role‘s second actual-play campaign (2018-2021), The Mighty Nein follows a ragtag group of unlikely heroes who come together in search of an arcane relic known as “The Beacon” that’s fallen into dangerous hands. To save the realm, they have to learn the power of teamwork and retrieve the relic before everything falls apart (literally).
The prequel comic, The Mighty Nein Origins, explores the group’s early adventures and provides tons of backstory and character moments for fans old and new. Its debut on Webtoon is part of the platform’s partnership with Dark Horse Comics, which currently holds the rights to publish Critical Role comics.
Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins made its print debut in 2021 with a double-sized one-shot about Jester Lavorre (written by Sam Maggs, Laura Bailey, and Matthew Mercer; illustrated by Hunter Severn Bonyun; colored by Cathy Le; and lettered by Ariana Maher), played by Laura Bailey. The series has since released seven additional titles, with each one focusing on a different member of the group. A hardcover collector set containing all eight comics was released on November 4.
Webtoon’s vertical-scroll, free-to-read version of The Mighty Nein Origins similarly collects the entire series in a new format that’s optimized for web. Thus, the first five episodes available on Webtoon are about Jester Lavorre, and episodes 6-8 are about Caleb Widogast (written by Jody Houser, Liam O’Brien, and Matthew Mercer; illustrated by Selina Espiritu; colored by Diana Sousa; and lettered by Ariana Maher), played by Liam O’Brien.
See preview panels from the first two episodes below. Note: Only three episodes are available via web browser; to read all eight, you will need to have the Webtoon mobile app.
Five Webtoon episodes correlate to a print one-shot from The Mighty Nein Origins. If the vertical-scroll comic follows publication order of the print comic, then character stories will release in the following order after Caleb:
- Yasha Nydoorin (written by Cecil Castellucci, Ashley Johnson, and Matthew Mercer; illustrated by William Kirkby; colored by Diana Sousa; and lettered by Ariana Maher), played by Ashley Johnson
- Fjord Stone (written by Chris “Doc” Wyatt, Kevin Burke, Travis Willingham, and Matthew Mercer; illustrated by Selina Espiritu; colored by Diana Sousa; and lettered by Ariana Maher), played by Travis Willingham
- Nott the Brave (written by Sam Maggs, Sam Riegel, and Matthew Mercer; illustrated by William Kirkby; colored by Eren Angiolini; and lettered by Ariana Maher), played by Sam Riegel
- Mollymauk Tealeaf (written by Jody Houser, Taliesin Jaffe, and Matthew Mercer; illustrated by Hunter Severn Bonyun; colored by Cathy Le; and lettered by Ariana Maher), played by Taliesin Jaffe
- Beauregard Lionett (written by Mae Catt, Marisha Ray, and Matthew Mercer; illustrated by Guilherme Balbi; colored by Diana Sousa; and lettered by Ariana Maher), played by Marisha Ray)
- Caduceus Clay (written by Kendra Wells, Taliesin Jaffe, and Matthew Mercer; illustrated by Selina Espiritu; colored by Eren Angiolini; and lettered by Ariana Maher), played by Taliesin Jaffe
Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins will update every Monday on Webtoon. The series is rated Mature.
