Dungeons That Surely Slaughter Adventurers

The non-player characters in a role-playing world strike back against the heroes in this clever, raunchy, and self-aware send-up of isekai portal fantasy from Sayman (The Voynich Hotel). Two sardonic young women, Aine and Nacht, are unceremoniously crushed by a falling satellite and reborn as custodial staff in a labyrinthine fantasy dungeon world. They befriend the resident monsters and grow to hate the adventuring parties that barge in and create messes for them to clean up. To discourage such incursions, they attempt everything in their power to make dungeon-crawling an unpleasant experience. Soon, heroes warn one another against the destination and its “certain malevolence, like it’s driven to kill.” The story revels in the tropes of RPGs: Aine and Nacht die over and over but always come back to life in their staff quarters, meet ridiculous versions of seemingly every creature in the D&D Monster Manual (the kobolds that look like pugs are particularly appealing), and endure a socially awkward run-in with a hero from their original world. The humor pushes the envelope into adult territory, with cartoon gore and jokes about the girls snorting powdered mandrake (“Yeah, that’s primo shit”) and fishing for a shark-man with used menstrual pads. Sayman’s simple, angular artwork stands out, particularly the leads’ hilariously deadpan expressions. Rife with nerdy pop-culture references, this is catnip for otaku and fantasy devotees. (Feb.)