3 out of 5

Some much needed context for this collection is provided here, which accounts for a pretty drastic change in tone and pacing evident between the two Christophe Gaultier and Stephane Oiry illustrated volumes: namely that they were completed years apart, the former closer to when Dungeon was more consistently being written (late 00s), the latter… 2022. I’m more familiar with Trondheim’s solo work versus Sfar, but just as Dungeon has gone along – in terms of the external chronology, not internal – we’ve seen the writing style shift: the randomness of the humor feels a bit more forced, and it’s more clearly targeted towards an older demographic. (Not that it wasn’t previously, but there was a sort of “classic” cartoon feel to it, in which very adult things happened – lots of sexual content, for example – but presented with an occasionally ambiguous naivety.) That change is clear as ever here, with the first story a great continuance of the Dungeon Early Years narrative, and the second one… kind of a mess, and really just doing a lot of rushed setup for Zenith.

The opener – the titular tale – is Gaultier’s, illustrated in their scratchily inked stiffness, has Cavallere’s father, Arakoo, visiting the crumbling kingdoms of his old friends, only to be held hostage in another bid for Dungeon ownership. The themes of cycles – the old usurped by the new; the repetition therein – are strongly presented in that classic Trondheim / Sfar way that effortlessly mixes comedy and tragedy; slapstick and violence. A funny ongoing bit with an invisible wife and a dumb bridge troll provide consistent laughs, building to a very bleak, affecting ending.

Surviving Today is the second story, drawn by Oiry. Oiry’s style, in 2022, is interesting – a bold inkline, reminiscent of something like Johnny Ryan’s style of cartooning, but with the somewhat more traditional Dungeon looseness evident in the backgrounds. It’s a pared down look, but has good energy and acting. The story, as mentioned, is sort of all over the place, and the jokes just don’t land the way they used to. It’s still funny, but moreso from afar, versus how earlier Dungeon efforts really make you laugh out of nowhere, and at the oddest things. Surviving has more value for gathering up various Zenith-related pieces and characters and putting them into place. I don’t mean to pitch the thing as a bad read, as it’s definitely still entertaining and worth it for those playing along, but it is the kind of story that’s mostly rewarding in context, and rather underwhelming without it.