The press release follows:
Media Release -- The Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group and IDW Publishing are thrilled to bring back Adult Swim's cult favorite Rick and Morty™: Dungeons & Dragons in an all-new hardcover deluxe edition, including a specially created Mr. Meeseeks story and featuring new cover art from Troy Little coming August 2021. Grab your dice, pencils, and spellbooks as Rick and Morty™ vs. Dungeons & Dragons returns in a complete collected adventure from the creative forces of writers Patrick Rothfuss and Jim Zub, illustrator Troy Little, colorist Leonardo Ito, with lettering by Crank! and Robbie Robbins, and a foreword from Jim Zub.
"I still can't believe they let me write what's in here: A clever Jerry. A Rick who absolutely fails to save the day," said Patrick Rothfuss. "Secrets. Mysteries. A lambast of facism. Even an-honest-to-god Shakespearean soliloquy delivered by an ogre mage. Even if you're not into D&D or Rick and Morty™, there's still lots for you to enjoy in my weird, wild brain baby."
The deluxe edition will feature a brand-new cover, as well as all eight issues of the hit series, include backmatter from the Oni Press and IDW single issues, and an all-new story from Jim Zub and Troy Little featuring Mr. Meeseeks conquering the Forgotten Realms! "Well, now there's a deluxe omnibus of our impossible crossover calamity, and we even added in a brand-new Meeseeks adventure story! It's beautiful and horrifying," said Jim Zub.
"Drawing Rick and Morty™ mired deep in the realm of D&D has been an absolute dream. Working with a brilliant creative team (who have assured me they are not, in fact, mind flayers) we've rolled a natural 20 on this series. Intrepid readers—your *burp* adventure awaits!," said Troy Little.
When Morty asks Rick for help learning how to play the classic role-playing game because he has a crush on a girl, it ends up drawing the entire family into a D&D world, where they inadvertently help the "bad guys" win but eventually make it right in the end.
And in the hit series Painscape, when magical D&D adventures come to Earth, no one will survive the Painscape! The world's greatest role-playing game returns to plague the world's most dysfunctional animated family, and this time Rick knows they can't just rest on brand-name recognition and curiosity. But even Rick Sanchez can't predict what will happen when long-abandoned characters come back for revenge.
"Working on Rick and Morty™ vs. Dungeons & Dragons has been a strange fever dream," said Zub. "There are days when I know it happened—the book was published and people liked it. Other times I think it's impossible that Troy, Pat, and I were allowed to unleash this strange-ass slice of entertainment out into the world."
The new, complete deluxe edition includes over 250 pages of monsters, mayhem, and a bag of holding-worth of bonus materials—including the all-new story from Jim Zub and Troy Little. Rick and Morty™ vs. Dungeons & Dragons: Deluxe Edition will be available online and in stores on August 4, 2021. IDW Publishing will simultaneously release a 750 copy limited run of Rick and Morty™ vs. Dungeons & Dragons: Deluxe Edition, featuring an exclusive cover by Max Dunbar and signed by Patrick Rothfuss and Jim Zub.
Copyright © 2021 Adult Swim. RICK AND MORTY and all related characters and elements © & TM Cartoon Network. WB SHIELD: © & TM WBEI. (s21)
Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, their respective logos, and D&D are trademark of Wizards of the Coast LLC. ©2021 Wizards. All Rights Reserved.
About the Creators
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Patrick Rothfuss always wanted to be a fantasy author when he grew up. Now that his first novel is published it's generally agreed that he has achieved his dream. However, there is some debate as to whether or not he has, in fact, grown up.
Jim Zub is a writer, artist, and art instructor based in Toronto, Canada. Over the past 20 years, he's worked for a diverse array of publishing, movie, and video game clients, including Marvel, DC Comics, Disney, Capcom, Hasbro, Cartoon Network, and Bandai-Namco. He juggles his time between being a freelance comic writer and a professor teaching drawing and storytelling courses in Seneca College's award-winning animation program. His current comic projects include Conan the Barbarian, the monthly adventures of Robert E. Howard's legendary sword & sorcery hero, Dungeons & Dragons™, the official comic series of the world's most popular tabletop role-playing game, and Stone Star, a space-fantasy adventure set inside a roving gladiatorial arena.
Troy Little, three-time Eisner, Ringo, and Harvey Award nominee, has worked with IDW, Oni Press, and Top Shelf on such books as the award-winning adaptation of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Rick and Morty™ vs. Dungeons & Dragons™, The Powerpuff Girls™, Radically Rearranged Ronin Ragdolls with Kevin Eastman, as well as his creator-owned books, Chiaroscuro and the Angora Napkin series. He lives in PEI, Canada.
For over 12 years, Leonardo Ito has brought worlds to life coloring properties such as Batman Animated, TMNT, Powerpuff Girls™, Rick and Morty™, and Sonic The Hedgehog™, among many others. Japan, technology, and racing games are some of the things he won't shut up about. If you don't believe him, just ask his wife.
Christopher Crank (crank!) has lettered a bunch of books put out by Image, Dark Horse, Oni Press, Dynamite, and elsewhere. He also has a podcast with comic artist Mike Norton and members of Four Star Studios in Chicago (crankcast.com) and makes music (sonomorti.bandcamp.com). Catch him on Twitter: @ccrank and Instagram: ccrank
Robbie Robbins is a graphic artist who has lettered thousands of pages of comics and designed hundreds of books over a career that started in the nineties working for Jim Lee's WildStorm Productions. With over 25 years in the industry of funny pages, he still has a passion for lettering comic books and continues to do so today. Robbie lives in San Diego with his two daughters and dog, Molly.
Please contact Tara@onipress.com with press inquiries
About Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group
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The Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group is a premier comic book and graphic novel publisher located in Portland, Oregon. Merged with Lion Forge Comics in 2019 but established in 1997, Oni Press publishes a thoughtfully curated line of award-winning original and licensed graphic novels and comic books for readers of all ages. Oni Press also publishes inclusive sex education, gender studies & erotica graphic novels under the Limerence Press imprint. Notable titles from the Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group include: The Tea Dragon Society, Sheets, Gender Queer, A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, Scott Pilgrim, Stumptown, Achewood, Sanrio's Gudetama, and Adult Swim's Rick and Morty™.
About IDW
IDW (OTCPINK: IDWM) is a leading media company providing uniquely compelling stories and characters in various genres for global audiences across all entertainment platforms. The award-winning IDW Publishing and IDW Entertainment divisions holistically evaluate and acquire IP for franchise development across comics and graphic novels, television, theatrical, games, merchandise, and other entertainment platforms, in addition to bringing world-renowned storytelling to life with our creative partners.
