Dark Horse Comics Launches Dungeons & Dragons Miniseries in July 2026

A lycanthrope, a gelatinous cube, a mind flayer, a death knight, and a baby beholder walk into a dungeon — not as the boss fights, but as the protagonists. Dark Horse Comics and Wizards of the Coast revealed Dungeons & Dragons: Total Party Killers, a four-issue miniseries written by Christopher Hastings with art by Denis Medri, colors by Dan Jackson, and letters by Lucas Gattoni. Issue #1 goes on sale July 22, 2026, and is currently available for preorder at local comic shops for $4.99.

The premise inverts the standard D&D adventure. When the wizard Custos dies and treasure-hungry adventurers descend on his lair, the monsters he bound in life find themselves stuck protecting a domain they never chose. The Dark Horse solicit puts it plainly: "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!" The setup essentially asks what happens when the encounter table decides to unionize.

Hastings is well-suited to that kind of off-kilter energy. He co-created Gwenpool for Marvel, wrote the long-running webcomic The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, and most recently served as gamemaster on the narrative role-playing podcast Rude Tales of Magic, specifically its newly concluded campaign Nethermurk. Total Party Killers is his first monthly comic since 2022's Hell Sonja for Dynamite. Medri brings superhero-side credentials from Red Hood/Arsenal and Spider-Verse; Jackson previously colored Stranger Things and Star Wars; and Gattoni lettered Harley Quinn and Absolute Green Lantern.

Issue #1 will ship with four cover options: art by Elizabeth Beals, a 1:20 incentive variant by Matías Bergara, plus covers by Michael Walsh and Lukas Ketner. A blank character sheet cover is also available, designed for players who want to sketch their own characters onto the debut issue, a detail that makes it one of the more D&D-specific collectibles to come out of the licensed comics line.

This is Dark Horse's second D&D series since the publisher acquired the comics license from Wizards of the Coast, taking over from the previous license holder IDW. The first, The Fallbacks, is set to wrap with issue #4 on May 20, 2026, meaning Total Party Killers steps in almost immediately after its predecessor concludes. Jess Lanzillo, vice president of franchise and product for Dungeons & Dragons, framed the broader partnership in characteristically D&D terms: "This collaboration is akin to forging a legendary magical item! Dark Horse is just so awesome at bringing fantastical worlds to life on the page. With D&D's vast, imaginative realms and 50 years of thrilling adventure as their canvas, I'm excited to see what will unfold."

Over on the Enworld forums, one commenter summarized the gelatinous cube's role with admirable pragmatism: "Some sort of magic-item pack-mule? I'm into it!