Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins

Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins is a prequel saga for one of the most beloved campaigns in tabletop history — eight hardcover graphic novels from Dark Horse Comics that reveal how the misfits of Critical Role’s second Dungeons & Dragons campaign became the Mighty Nein, one broken past at a time. Where the actual-play show introduced these adventurers already running toward danger, this series rewinds to the moments that shattered and remade them: a wizard’s academy training turned nightmare, a goblin mother’s family torn away by raiders, a tiefling showman reborn without his memories. Perfect for fans of found-family fantasy like The Legend of Vox Machina, Stan Sakai’s four-decade epic Usagi Yojimbo, and the clockwork quest of Canto.

The Party Before the Party

Announced in November 2020 and published between 2021 and 2024, the series devotes one 56-page hardcover to each member of the party: the chaos cleric Jester Lavorre, the tormented wizard Caleb Widogast, the storm-scarred barbarian Yasha Nydoorin, the half-orc sailor Fjord Stone, the goblin rogue Nott the Brave, the flamboyant tiefling Mollymauk Tealeaf, the monk Beauregard Lionett, and the gentle grave cleric Caduceus Clay. Critical Role and Dark Horse assembled a rotating cast of acclaimed comics talent — writers Sam Maggs, Jody Houser, Cecil Castellucci, Mae Catt, Kendra Wells, and the team of Kevin Burke and Chris “Doc” Wyatt; artists Selina Espiritu, Hunter Severn Bonyun, William Kirkby, and Guilherme Balbi; colorists Cathy Le, Diana Sousa, and Eren Angiolini; with Ariana Maher lettering every volume. Each book was developed in direct consultation with game master Matthew Mercer and the cast member who plays the character, a collaboration announced to the world back in 2020 — so every page reads like canon smuggled straight out of the livestream.

A Publishing Phenomenon

The books found an audience as fast as a nat-20 persuasion roll: Caleb Widogast landed on Publishers Weekly’s hardcover fiction bestseller chart and ranked as Dark Horse’s fourth best-selling title of 2022 with roughly 15,000 copies sold per The Beat’s annual sales analysis, while Nott the Brave repeated the trick in early 2023. Colorist Diana Sousa earned a 2023 Eisner Award nomination for Best Coloring for her work across the series. The line has since been gathered into two oversized Library Edition omnibuses — announced by Dark Horse — and a slipcased boxed set collecting all eight hardcovers.

A New Life in Vertical Scroll

In November 2025, alongside the premiere of the Mighty Nein animated series on Prime Video, Dark Horse and Critical Role relaunched the entire saga as a free-to-read, mobile-first vertical comic on Webtoon, with The Beat covering the launch. However you meet them — on the printed page, on your phone, or on screen — this is where the Mighty Nein’s story truly begins.