The Ultimate Guide To Critical Role Books & Comics

In 2015 a group of nerdy-ass voice actors decided to stream their Dungeons & Dragons game, and the rest is history. It has been SO fun watching their growth and success but keeping up with all of the various Critical Role books and comics can be a challenge! This handy guide covers it all. Including any future releases we have already have dates for. If you can’t keep track, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Also, a lot of their comics have unfortunately been delayed thanks to various pandemic and supply chain problems, so keep an eye on those release dates. Hopefully we’re reaching the end of those unforeseen circumstances and delays.
This guide is broken down into 5 categories: Non-Fiction, Fiction, Art Books, and Comics. If the Critical Role team stretches even further beyond those categories, we’ll happily add to this list! (I’ll happily run the Critical Role Land bookstore)
 

Critical Role Books

Non-Fiction

The World of Critical Role

by Liz Marsham
bookshop.org // Amazon // Audiobook (Narrated by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn)
From its unassuming beginnings as a casual home game between friends to the role-playing phenomenon it is today, Critical Role has become the stuff of legend. These pages chronicle how a circle of friends who all happen to be talented voice actors built the most-watched tabletop role-playing livestream of all time.
Discover dazzling new illustrations and richly written insights into the locations, characters, and adventures featured in the hundreds of episodes across Critical Role’s two campaigns, Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein. Go behind the scenes with archival photos and exclusive interviews with Dungeon Master Matt Mercer and the entire Critical Role cast as they explore their characters’ most triumphant moments and darkest hours. And celebrate the massive community of Critters who support and expand the show’s world through a highlighted tour of the crafts, cosplay, and art they create every day.
Release Date: October 20th, 2020
 

Fiction

Kith & Kin–Critical Role: Vox Machina

by Marieke Nijkamp
bookshop.org // Amazon // Audiobook (Narrated by Robbie Daymond, Laura Bailey, and Liam O’Brien)
Vex and Vax have always been outsiders. A harsh childhood in the elite elven city of Syngorn quickly taught them not to rely on others. Now, freed from the expectations of their exacting father and the scornful eyes of Syngorn’s elves, the cunning ranger and the conning rogue have made their own way in the world of Exandria.
The twins have traveled far and experienced great hardship. But with the help of Vex’s quick wit and Vax’s quicker dagger, they’ve always kept ahead of trouble. Now, unknown perils await them in the bustling city of Westruun, where the twins become entangled in a web spun by the thieves’ guild known to many as the Clasp. Trapped by a hasty deal, Vex and Vax (along with Vex’s faithful bear companion, Trinket) set out into the wilds to fulfill their debt to the infamous crime syndicate.
As the situation grows more complicated than they ever could have imagined, for the first time Vex and Vax find themselves on opposite sides of a conflict that threatens the home they have carried with each other for years.
Release Date: November 30th, 2021
 

The Nine Eyes of Lucien–Critical Role: The Mighty Nein

by Madeleine Roux
bookshop.org // Amazon // Audiobook
Lucien has always been able to spin a bad situation to his advantage. From his childhood on the dangerous streets of Shadycreek Run to his years living off the grid and learning blood magic from the Claret Orders, the charismatic blood hunter will find a way to get the upper hand.
When Lucien is on a job in the frozen wastelands of Eiselcross with his fellow mercenaries, a rough-and-tumble crew called the Tombtakers, fate leads him to a mysterious journal in the ruins of an ancient city. The book speaks of the Somnovem, nine beings who can grant Lucien power beyond imagining—if he is able to find them and free them from captivity.
Intrigued by this opportunity, Lucien pores over the journal—but the more he reads, the stranger things become. The nine whisper to him in dreams and waking visions. Time slips away, along with Lucien’s grasp on reality. And tattoos of red eyes begin appearing on his skin. . . .
With the ability to reshape the world within his grasp, Lucien ignores all warning signs. He has always bent fortune to his will, and nothing—not even death—will stop him now.
Release Date: November 1st, 2022. Pre-order available now.
 

Art Books

The Chronicles of Exandria the Mighty Nein

by Matthew Mercer, Critical Role
bookshop.org // Amazon
Journey through Wildemount alongside the motley group known as the Mighty Nein! Encompassing the first half of Critical Role’s second campaign, this tome illustrates the adventures of our unlikely heroes as they meet in Trostenwald, struggle through a heartbreaking encounter with the Iron Shepherds, and more. Featuring stunning works by fan-favorite artists from the Critter community.
Release Date: June 2nd, 2020
 

Critical Role Books

Comics

Vox Machina Origins

Volume I: 6 Issues

Creative Team: Matthew Colville, Matthew Mercer (writers), Olivia Samson (illustrator), Chris Northrop (colors & letters)
Amazon
The band of adventurers known as Vox Machina will save the world. Eventually. But even they have to start somewhere.
Six would-be heroes on seemingly different jobs find their paths intertwined as they investigate shady business in the swamp town of Stilben. They’ll need to put their heads– and weapons–together to figure out what’s going on…and keep from being killed in the process. Even then, whether or not they can overcome what truly lurks at the bottom of the town’s travails remains to be seen!
Release Date: September 20th, 2017-April 18th, 2018. Collection published October 15th, 2019.
 

Volume II: 6 Issues

Creative Team: Jody Houser, Matthew Mercer (writers), Olivia Samson (illustrator), MSASSYK (colors), Ariana Maher (letters)
Amazon
Join familiar faces from Critical Role’s smash-hit first campaign as their escapades in Stilben lead them toward new adventure–and a dire threat to Grog when he goes missing in the night. Tracking him down will see the party lose one member, gain another, and reveal parts of Grog’s secret past. But first, his friends have to actually find him.
Release Date: July 10th, 2019- June 3rd, 2020. Collection published August 12th, 2020.
 

Vox Machina Origins Library Edition: Series I & II Collection

bookshop.org // Amazon
If you want Volume I & II together!
What do a flirtatious bard, a clueless barbarian, a naïve druid, and a pair of stealthy twins all have in common? They’re not sure either, but one day they’ll become the heroes known as Vox Machina! Follow the main characters from the smash-hit series Critical Role as they team up for the first time, facing cults and curses in the revelation of their origins and the path that will lead them to glory…eventually.
Release Date: November 24th, 2020
 

Volume III: 6 Issues

Creative Team: Jody Houser, Matthew Mercer (writers), Olivia Samson (illustrator), MSASSYK (colors), Ariana Maher (letters)
bookshop.org // Amazon
Vox Machina enjoy a week in Westruun’s lap of luxury leading up to the Winter’s Crest Festival. But that costs coin, which has a bad habit of running out, so they join an underground fighting ring and bash their way to cash. Unfortunately, their ring-fighting turns out to be just a warm-up for a cold reality when a mysterious attack on Winter’s Crest festivities leaves the whole town magically frozen–including one of their own. Vox Machina will have to save the day again, against a much bigger foe than they first realized!
Release Date: February 10th, 2021-May 18th, 2022. Collection publishing November 1st, 2022. Pre-order available now.
 

Mighty Nein Origins

Jester Lavorre

Creative Team: Sam Maggs (writer), Matthew Mercer, Laura Bailey (contributors), Hunter Severn Bonyun (line art), Cathy Le (colors)
bookshop.org // Amazon
Jester Lavorre had an unconventional upbringing, even for one born in cosmopolitan Nicodranas. Daughter of the famed Ruby of the Sea, she had many opportunities for mischief as a small child, of which she took full advantage! Dive into the mystery of Jester’s early years, her first meeting with the Traveler, and the fateful events that set her on a path to eventually join the Mighty Nein.
Release Date: December 7th, 2021.
 

Caleb Widogast

Creative Team: Jody Houser (Writer), Liam O’Brien (Writer), Matthew Mercer (Writer), Selina Espiritu (Artist), Diana Sousa (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer)
bookshop.org // Amazon
Bren Aldric Ermendrud is chosen to attend the exclusive Soltryce Academy, preparing for an important future in service to the Empire. But nobody — least of all Bren himself — can foresee the cruelty he will endure, and the ways in which it will break and remake him. Witness the events that transform Bren into the Mighty Nein’s Caleb Widogast, and how they inform the path he’ll take in the future.
Release Date: February 8th, 2022.
 

Yasha Nydoorin

Creative Team: Cecil Castellucci (Writer), Matthew Mercer (Writer), Ashley Johnson (Writer), William Kirkby (Artist), Diana Sousa (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer)
bookshop.org // Amazon
For Yasha, there has always been a storm on the horizon. Maybe it formed with her adoption by the Dolorov people in the harsh lands of Xhorhas. Or perhaps when she fell for her first love, Zuala. Or still later, when grief and madness drove her from her village and out into––somewhere else. Maybe, on the other hand, Yasha IS the storm.
Release Date: August 23rd, 2022. Pre-order available now.
 

Fjord Stone

Creative Team: Chris Wyatt, Kevin Burke (Writer), Travis Willingham (Writer), Matthew Mercer (Writer), Selina Espiritu (Illustrator), Diana Sousa (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer)
bookshop.org // Amazon
Growing up in an orphanage on the Menagerie Coast, Fjord Stone has never been comfortable with the assumptions people draw from his half-orc heritage. But his sweet, sensitive nature will do him no favors in Port Damali. Luckily, a chance encounter on the docks lands Fjord with a job, a mentor, and more adventure than he could ever dream of on the path that will eventually lead him to the rest of the Mighty Nein!
Release Date: Possibly September 2022. Pre-order available now.
 

Nott the Brave

Creative Team: Sam Maggs (Writer), William Kirkby (Illustrator), Sam Riegel (Draft Writer), Matthew Mercer (Writer), Mildred Louis (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer)
bookshop.org // Amazon
Veth Brenatto doesn’t have an exciting life, but she likes it that way. Unlike her childhood, it’s safe. Predictable. And her husband and son love her almost as fiercely as she loves them. But Veth’s cozy existence is turned on its head when she and her family are captured by raiders. In order to save them, Veth will commit an atrocity that will sever her from all that she loves–maybe forever–and lead her to become Nott the Brave of the Mighty Nein.
Release Date: Possibly December 2022 Pre-order available now.
 

Mollymauk Tealeaf

Creative Team: Jody Houser (Writer), Hunter Severn Bonyun (Illustrations), Taliesin Jaffe (Idea), Matthew Mercer (Writer), Cathy Le (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer)
bookshop.org // Amazon
Entertainer, fighter, and performer, “Molly” has a knack for hiding his true self behind the shifting color and shape of a personality he seems to wear like his singular coat. But as with every member of the Mighty Nein, his past will eventually catch up with him…and it’s a strange one indeed.
Release Date: Possibly December 2022. Pre-order available now.
 

The Tales of Exandria

The Bright Queen: 4 Issues

Creative Team: Darcy Van Poelgeest, Matthew Mercer (Creator), Coupelofkooks (Illustrations), Cris Peter (Illustrations), Ariana Maher (Illustrations)
bookshop.org // Amazon
Leylas Kryn, the Bright Queen, has spent multiple lives in pursuit of assembling the otherworldly Luxon. So when another piece appears nearby, Leylas sends her eternal lover Quana to collect it…with consequences that may threaten the entire Dynasty! Hope for the future clashes with darkness from the past in a stellar new story from the world of Critical Role!
Release Date: October 20th, 2021-March 9th, 2022. Collection publishing October 11th, 2022. Pre-order available now.
 

Happy Reading!!
~Alison

The Ultimate Guide To Critical Role Books & Comics

 
Hi there! I’m Alison in Libraryland, and I’ll be here for all your book related needs. Many of you know me as the girl with the book recommendations. Don’t be shy! Ask me! If you’re looking for a good book or movie adaptation, let me help you find it. I’ll be here for all your literary needs. This is a book blog run on an obsession for shiny new books, worn-through old classics, and all attempts at moving those stories to the screen. Even the nerdiest things, like these Critical Role books and comics!