Rick and Morty fans patiently waiting for the return of the series this summer now have one more thing to look forward to. Oni-Lion Forge and IDW have announced a deluxe hardcover edition for Rick and Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons, a collection of the two four-issue series written by Patrick Rothfuss and Jim Zub, illustrated by Troy Little and Leonardo Ito, and lettered by Crank!. The new hardcover collection of the pair of series will include all of the original backmatter from the single issues of each series, plus never-before-seen behind-the-scenes material. Also included will be a new story by Zub and Little starring fan-favorite character Mr. Meeseeks.
Here’s how Oni and IDW describe the two Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons series:
When Morty asks Rick for help learning how to play the classic role-playing game because he has a crush on a girl, it ends up drawing the entire family into a D&D world, where they inadvertently help the “bad guys” win but eventually make it right in the end.
And in the hit series Painscape, when magical D&D adventures come to Earth, no one will survive the Painscape! The world’s greatest role-playing game returns to plague the world’s most dysfunctional animated family, and this time Rick knows they can’t just rest on brand-name recognition and curiosity. But even Rick Sanchez can’t predict what will happen when long-abandoned characters come back for revenge.
Along with the standard, widely-available version of the deluxe edition of Rick and Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons, a limited edition version of the book will also be released by IDW. Limited to 750 copies, this version will be signed by Zub and Rothfuss, and feature an alternate cover by Max Dunbar.
On the announcement of the new edition, Zub expressed a mixture of delight and disbelief:
“Well, now there’s a deluxe omnibus of our impossible crossover calamity, and we even added in a brand-new Meeseeks adventure story! It’s beautiful and horrifying,” said Jim Zub.
Rothfuss, Zub, and Little also all reflected on their work on the two miniseries:
“I still can’t believe they let me write what’s in here: A clever Jerry. A Rick who absolutely fails to save the day,” said Patrick Rothfuss. “Secrets. Mysteries. A lambast of facism. Even an-honest-to-god Shakespearean soliloquy delivered by an ogre mage. Even if you’re not into D&D or Rick and MortyTM, there’s still lots for you to enjoy in my weird, wild brain baby.”
“Working on Rick and MortyTM vs. Dungeons & Dragons has been a strange fever dream,” said Zub. “There are days when I know it happened—the book was published and people liked it. Other times I think it’s impossible that Troy, Pat, and I were allowed to unleash this strange-ass slice of entertainment out into the world.”
“Drawing Rick and MortyTM mired deep in the realm of D&D has been an absolute dream. Working with a brilliant creative team (who have assured me they are not, in fact, mind flayers) we’ve rolled a natural 20 on this series. Intrepid readers—your *burp* adventure awaits!,” said Troy Little.
Rick and Morty and Dungeons and Dragons have both been very successful licensed properties for Oni Press and IDW, respectively, and the union of the two turned out to be a total blast. Check out a preview of the new Mr. Meeseeks story from Rick and Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons deluxe edition hardcover below. The book arrives in stores from Oni-Lion Forge and IDW on August 4th, 2021.
