Patrick Kindlon has written a bunch of comics – most notably We Can Never Go Home with co-writer Matthew Rosenberg, from Black Mask Studios – and now he’s joined with artist Goran Gligovic for Run The Dungeon, a tale of an endless dungeon crawl over at Z2 Comics.

Run The Dungeon

The story of Run The Dungeon will follow Relst, a guy who is stuck in a labyrinthine dungeon, and his misadventures while seeking escape.

Since Run The Dungeon will be a Z2 deal, it will also be paired with some associated music, as Kindlon’s indie band Self Defense Family will be providing an original soundtrack to the piece. And in case you weren’t impressed enough, the story will also be its own old-school pen-and-paper roleplaying campaign.

A comic, a soundtrack and an RPG – kind of makes sense when the publisher’s press release described it as “one of Z2’s most immersive experiences yet, blending comic book storytelling, music, and an original and completely playable RPG.”

The 140-page comic will come in two versions: a standard $19.99 softcover with a Band Camp code for the soundtrack, available in comics and book stores; and a $99.99 deluxe hardcover with a slipcase, and the soundtrack on Vinyl LP. The deluxe edition will be limited to 500 copies, and exclusive to the Z2 Comics website.

Patrick Kindlon describes how this entire multimedia project came about:

“Being trapped in a scary stone labyrinth got entirely too dark and serious for me the past decade. I found myself wanting to read a proper 2nd Edition D&D style dungeon crawl. Where death is looming, but your job is to laugh in its face. Goran’s work inspired me to actually write what I’d been imagining, because he perfectly captures the energy of good-natured adventure. His art makes me feel like I’m in a basement with friends, arguing the effectiveness of the magic missile spell. Building [my band] Self Defense Family into the project came naturally as these were ideas we’d been talking about for some time while Chris [Tenerowicz] expanded into composing music for TV. Run The Dungeon is the result of these two things colliding into a complete storytelling experience for me, and I think for readers as well.”

Z2 Publisher Josh Frankel adds:

“Run the Dungeon is something that has been in the works for quite some time, dating back to a time when we could all still catch up in Artist’s Alley or at a nearby hotel bar, talking comics and music, and how to create something totally new for fans of both. This project feels every bit as fun, fresh and unique today as it did the first time we spoke about it. I am thrilled to see this one finally making its way into the hands of fans of his band as well as comic book readers and gamers alike.”

Goran Gligovic appears to make his living in illustration. His last identifiable comics work was the 2018 Kickstarter project The Bawdy Tales of Lazlo Cale, with writer Andrew Maxwell. On the page it describes Gligovic as “a Serbian comic book artist and illustrator. He spent several years teaching elementary and high school English but has recently switched to a career in the visual arts. He enjoys fantasy, rock n roll and mountain hikes.”