Dungeons & Dragons is officially getting a new four-part series this summer, and based on the teasers released so far, it looks poised to revolutionize the typical dungeon-crawling experience. This bold reinvention could even inspire some brave dungeon masters to shake things up in their next campaign.
Dungeons & Dragons has always been uberly popular. However, there is no denying that the franchise has seen a surge in popularity thanks to hit adaptations such as Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Prime Video’s The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein (both based on the popular live-streamed tabletop RPG show Critical Role), and even the anticipatory hype surrounding Netflix’s upcoming The Forgotten Realms.
This Dungeons and Dragons mania has also expanded to the realm of comics with the highly acclaimed ongoing DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: The Fallbacks series. Now, this summer, fans are getting another D&D comic series: Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers. However, this new title stands out among the rest, as it promises to be revolutionary in its premise, completely reinventing the dungeon-crawling experience.
Total Party Killers Abandons D&D’s Standard Party Mechanics
Cover D Lukas Ketner Variant for Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers #1 (2026)
Those who have played Dungeons & Dragons know that the standard adventuring party is usually made up of specific player character races and classes. Playable classes range from ranger, paladin, fighter, bard, warlock, and many more, while the most common playable races include humans, elves, dwarves, dragonborn, tieflings, and halflings.
Dungeons & Dragons’ New 4-Part Series Is the Perfect Follow-Up to 2023’s 92% Fantasy Hit
The Dungeons and Dragons’ franchise returns with a brand-new series, and it’s already living up to the movie’s 92% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
To grossly simplify the D&D experience, a party is essentially heroic characters joining forces to kill monsters while dungeon-crawling. That said, Dark Horse Comics’ upcoming June 22, 2026, release of Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers by Christopher Hastings, Denis Medri, and Dan Jackson flips the ‘standard adventuring party’ premise on its head by making the partiers classic D&D monsters.
Yes, you read that correctly. Instead of an adventuring party of humanoids killing monsters, the monsters WILL BE the party. This is a complete upheaval of the status quo for the D&D franchise, making this new comic series all the more exciting. And thanks to the synopsis for issue #1, we already know which classic monsters to expect.
What Is Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers About? (Details Here)
Cover C Michael Walsh Variant for Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers #1 (2026)
As per Dark Horse’s solicitation, fans can expect this unconventional party to consist of “a lycanthrope, gelatinous cube, mind flayer, death knight, and baby beholder.” These are some of the most iconic monsters in the franchise, with the gelatinous cube even making its live-action debut in 2023’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Readers can expect this to be a four-part series and can find the official synopsis below:
“The wizard Custos has died, and his lair lies ripe for the taking! As adventurers raid the lair for treasure, the monsters enthralled by Custos in life must protect his domain even after his death. That is, unless the creatures can trick someone into releasing them! Thus, a lycanthrope, gelatinous cube, mind flayer, death knight, and baby beholder form their own adventuring party to win their freedom in a hostile world!”
Will Total Party Killers Influence Your Next Campaign?
Main Cover by Elizabeth Beals for Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers #1 (2026)
While it would definitely take some elbow grease when it comes to planning a campaign where the monsters are the campaigners, this series may very well inspire some dungeon masters to do exactly that. Even if it’s not a full campaign, a one-shot where the monsters are the partiers may be exactly what some groups need to spice things up.
However, even if you don’t decide to incorporate this epic reinvention of the dungeon-crawling experience into your own campaign, this series is a must-read for all D&D fans. It’s bold reinventions such as these that truly infuse the franchise with new life and keep things exciting for fans. And soon, Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers will join the ever-growing list of adaptations that are truly making the 2020s the decade of Dungeons and Dragons.
Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers #1 from Dark Horse Comics is available June 22, 2026!
- Created by
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E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
- First Film
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Dungeons & Dragons