First, the art style. It's a mix between absurd -- with elongated bodies, hooked noses, bulging bellies, and all the cartoon shorthand of good vs. evil -- and nuanced. The backgrounds are lovely and full of small moments, the main character's facial expressions and body language are almost as much, if not in some scenes more evocative, than the dialogue. I don't often comment on art in graphic novels, because it is subjective, and what I find visually appealing might not work for everyone ... but here the art is just so strong I felt like it needed to be mentioned.

It's clear the author has a very clear path in mind for D'Orc, and it's one I'm wholeheartedly on board for. Born the son of a "good" dwarf and "evil" orc, he's destined to change the world, and the people in power don't want it changed. They're happy with the constant violence and power grabs, with killing anyone they want in the name of fighting off the other side, and getting away with it. So of course they have to kill D'Orc to stop him from changing everything ... which creates a self-fulfilling prophesy as he, hunted by everyone with no friends save his shield and a bodiless ghost chicken/headless chicken body, is determined to change the world for the better.

Propaganda, the stupidity of blind hatred, how following the status quo prevents you from growing, fearing an outsider for no reason other than because you're told to ... it's all here in its absurd and gloriously stupid fantasy armor. This is brilliant fun, and I cannot wait for the next volume to come out.

Please read this book!

"This author is a genius! DWARF-ORC = D'ORC!"

I turned this new title over to my mature 9-year old and he LOVED it.

D'Orc is definitely a Teen level read, with plenty of cartoony violence & some mild profanity.

I loved the characters, art style & pacing. I would definitely purchase a Hardcover omnibus of these comics.

Publication Date: August 25 2026
#D'ORCVolume1TheBookofCertainDoom by #Brett Bean is a winning combination of non stop sword & sorcery mixed with dark humor, great art & writing. Thank you #ImageComics & #NetGalley for the opportunity to review the ARC. #BookSky

Really enjoyed this one! Brett Bean kills it on the art (feels a lot like I Hate Fairyland) which I’m a fan of, and you can tell this is HIS story, not Scottie Young’s. Now being caught up, I might start picking up the single issues as they release! Thank you so much Image for the early copy!

Hi, Cousin Barry!
D’ORC is an absolute powerhouse! Brett Bean, of I Hate Fairyland and Dungeon Crawler Carl fame, spins a tale about a prophecy foretold that will bring about the destruction of this fantastical world. Rapid world-building (including a full map), intriguing plot (see aforementioned prophecy), and action-packed hilarious adventures. Bean’s art is just as fun to look at as it is detailed. There’s always something happening and not a single inch of his panels feels wasted. The story progresses incredibly and keeps itself from feeling stagnant. Brett Bean’s art and Jean-Francois Beaulieu’s coloring work together like a pair of hobbits, that is to say, perfectly. Nate Piekos’s lettering is also of worthy note. The entire piece comes together wonderfully and leaves one wanting more. If Saga, DCC, LotR, and Bone fell into a blender, the result would be named D’ORC.

Thank you to NetGalley & Image Comics for the free, pre-publication copy (ARC or Digital Review Copy) of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Welcome to the land of The Scar, home to our beloved main character D’orc! A cross between a Dwarf & an Orc! I knew I was in for a good time when on the first page a group of goblins are sitting around a campfire cooking a meal singing “Our farts smell sweet, eating unicorn meat”. I mean, the audacity, I would NEVER! What a hilarious setting to start out the fun story of D’orc! I’ve been following the artist/author Brett Bean on Instagram for some time, so I was THRILLED to be able to read an advance copy of this comic...and I have now pre-ordered a copy because I MUST have a permanent copy in my collection!
While this comic appears to be a cute kind of comic, make no mistake D’orc unleashes his fury in many ways, and it does get bloody while he is running around on adventures like a chicken with his head cut off (IYKYK)! While medieval mayhem abounds, D’orc does manage to do a lot of good while trying to find his way to a peaceful life! There is a lot of comic relief with his sidekicks, I don’t want to give too much away, but they are great!
The detailed artwork, witty writing and excellent banter between characters make this a VERY enjoyable read, I highly recommend taking a journey with D’orc!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and this review is voluntary

Fantasy tale with copious amounts of humor, violence and some self awareness to boot. Thoroughly enjoyed the story and artwork. Reminded me of the old days playing Fable or Skyrim. All around a great read.

Thank you to the publisher for this opportunity, and as always to the author for creating this material.

Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for providing an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a blast.

D’Orc takes a familiar fantasy setup—a prophesied hero caught between warring forces of Light and Dark—and gleefully turns it into a chaotic, funny, surprisingly heartfelt adventure. The title character, a half-dwarf, half-orc orphan burdened with a world-ending prophecy, is instantly likable, while his sentient shield steals more than a few scenes with its violent enthusiasm and constant wisecracks.

Brett Bean’s cartoon-infused artwork is packed with energy, expressive characters, visual gags, and over-the-top action. The world feels like a fantasy playground where anything can happen, and the humor lands far more often than it misses. Beneath the jokes, there’s also a clever satire of endless war and rigid good-versus-evil storytelling that gives the book more substance than its goofy premise initially suggests.

What impressed me most is how well this reads as a collected edition. The pacing feels tailor-made for the trade format. Story threads flow naturally from chapter to chapter, the world-building never bogs things down, and the cliffhangers keep the pages turning. Reading the entire first arc in one sitting made the humor, character development, and escalating stakes land even better than they did for me in the month-to-month.

If you’re a fan of fantasy comedy, I Hate Fairyland, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Babs, or stories that lovingly poke fun at genre tropes while still delivering adventure and heart, D’Orc is an easy recommendation.

A really fun read that knows exactly what it wants to be and reads exceptionally well as a trade. Looking forward to Volume 2.

Excellent art and story. A classic outsider destined for something larger than expected, who then tries to buck fate and do their own thing. Lots of fun!

This was recommended by Matt Dinniman, so obviously, I had to read it.

D'Orc really said "what if Lord of the Rings had a stroke and it was funny." And listen, I'm into it.

The premise: half dwarf, half orc, all bad decisions. Man is literally cursed with a doomsday prophecy through no fault of his own (relatable, my student loans said the same thing to me) and now every faction in Sunderaine wants him dead — elves, wizards, dragons, and presumably HR. Meanwhile his shield is basically that one friend who's always DTF (down to fight) and has zero chill about it.

The MVP of this book is 100% the shield. D'Orc is out here trying to have a peaceful little orphan era and his own weapon is like "actually let's just kill everyone, I have notes." Iconic dynamic. I would die for this shield's chaotic little arc.

Also there's a chicken. I don't know what the chicken's deal is yet. I don't need to know. The chicken is just fueling the vibes at this point and I respect that for it.

The art is doing SO much heavy lifting — very "I Hate Fairyland raised on Animaniacs and let it go feral," which tracks since it's the same artist. The Light vs Dark war stuff could've been paint-by-numbers fantasy, but they're clearly setting up "both sides are unhinged," which, yes, thank you, give me moral nuance in my orc chicken comic.

My only gripe: it's a first issue, so it's doing a LOT of table-setting. World, prophecy, factions, chicken lore (TBD) — it's a lot to cram in before we even get to the good violence.

TLDR: half-orc, evil shield, mystery chicken, war between good and evil that's actually just "everyone sucks equally." Fun, fast, violent-but-cute. Some amazing one-liners sprinkled throughout. Give me issue 2 immediately.

Such a fun comic!!

A classic concept of light v.s dark with fun humor, and a bit gorey situations. I had fun reading this, and especially enjoyed the sentient shield lol.

I can’t wait to pick up the next volume!!

Quick Blurb: What if the prophesied "destroyer of worlds" was in fact a half dwarf, half orc (D'orc!) wielding an enchanted, sentient, murderous shield who sets off with his headless ghost chicken bestie?

This was a delightfully campy, vibrantly gory, tongue-in-cheek absurd comedic adventure. I loved it. There were a couple scenes I cackled at and then had to immediately read out loud to my husband just to share in the humor. This was fast paced, almost break-neck speed, with not a single panel used superfluously. It's a true gem by not only being full color (gasp!) but also in a vivid color palette that gives me early 90's video games and comic book vibrancy nostalgia. If you're not a fan of gore or violence, this isn't going to be for you. When I say everything in here is over the top, I also mean the blood & guts.

I ended up reading this in a single sitting, and will absolutely be keeping my eye out for volume 2.

Some notes: I know this is 5 separate volumes that have been put together for this anthology, but I don't think we needed the map at the beginning of each of the five stories. The individual covers being included work well as chapter covers but if we wanted to save space (and money) when it comes to printing, I'm sure a singular map at the beginning of the book would work just fine and the duplicates could be removed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the eArc in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

D'ORC hooked me from the title and art style, as a certified goblinoid myself. I really enjoyed the story, and It had this 80s vibe I can't really explain, other than it was colorful, fun, and bloody. I felt it was very tongue-in-cheek in many areas, which is wonderful. Fantasy needs more camp!

In a land that is split in two between the forces of light and darkness, Dorc is half dwarf and half Orc, belonging to neither and despising both. Doomed to bring about the end of the world he quests across the land with his band of misfits to try and avert the inevitable. This humorous fantasy is story is very well written with great characters. A fast moving story that is full of action and not overly indulgent in world building.

D'ORC has a humor similar to what I have found in the I Hate Fairyland comics, though the story is uniquely Brett Bean's own. I enjoyed the idea of the prophecy causing everyone to believe D'orc is the one meant to bring upon the end of the world and seeing what their blame causes.

The sentient/possessed shield and the ghost of the head of a chicken were clever ideas for companions who brought a lot of humorous scenes. I like how the shield is a play on the talking sword trope and how it is blood thirsty. The ghost chicken head was an interesting take on the animal sidekick. Some of it's scenes were so funny.

There are many powerful messages throughout this volume such as don't blindly judge someone you don't know just because you are told to. It was interesting to see how Brett Bean used these messages in this oftentimes absurd and funny fantasy story.

I have loved Brett Bean's artwork for years in the I Hate Fairyland series and I was looking forward to what he would bring in his own adventure. His illustrations are great as always. I loved the map. D'orc's story is a fun one that I look forward to getting more of it in future volumes.

D’Orc was one of those books I wanted to read the second I saw the cover and the title. A half dwarf, half orc fantasy adventure from Brett Bean, who worked on I Hate Fairyland? That already sounded like my kind of chaos. Add in the promise of a weird fantasy world, comic violence, strange creatures, and a prophecy that basically screams “this poor guy is going to have problems,” and yes, I was in. So let’s talk about whether D’Orc Vol. 1: The Book of Certain Doom delivers.

What Is D’Orc About?
D’Orc follows a half dwarf, half orc who is caught in the middle of a prophecy that says he will bring doom to both sides of the world. The world itself is Sunderaine, a place divided by the Scar, with Light and Dark on opposite sides. There are elves, orcs, dwarves, humans, witches, goblins, dragons, magical creatures, and enough fantasy tension for everyone to be immediately suspicious of everyone else.

And caught in the middle is D’Orc.

Because of the prophecy, people do not really see him for who he is. They see him as a threat. A future disaster. A walking “someone should probably stop him before this gets worse” situation.

The problem is that the D’Orc we actually follow does not want to destroy anything. He wants to help. He wants to avoid becoming the reason the world ends. And because this is fantasy, that means going on a journey to find the Silver Witch, who might be able to help him and his very strange companions.

D’Orc wants to escape his doom. The shield wants to understand who it used to be. The chicken wants its body back.

Fantasy quests are better when everyone has a deeply specific problem.

D’Orc Has a Good Heart, But the Prophecy Is Not Random
The best thing about D’Orc as a character is that he is not simply “misunderstood nice guy.”

He is good-hearted, yes. He helps creatures no matter what side they belong to. Light, Dark, whatever. If someone needs help, his instinct is usually to step in. That makes him easy to root for, because he is not trying to prove some grand heroic point. He is just trying to do the right thing in a world that keeps making that difficult.

But the book also does not pretend the prophecy is completely ridiculous.

There are moments where you see why people might be afraid. D’Orc does not want to hurt people, but bad things still happen around him. That violent burst with the shield and the chicken is funny because this book knows exactly how absurd it is, but it also matters. It shows that the danger around D’Orc is not just something other people made up because they needed a villain.

That is the nuance that makes the story work. D’Orc is not interesting because he is secretly harmless. He is interesting because he might be dangerous, but he keeps choosing kindness anyway.

And apparently, some people are just haters.

The World and Characters Are the Fun
The journey to find the Silver Witch gives the book a simple fantasy engine, but the fun is really in the world around that journey.

Brett Bean clearly put care into making D’Orc feel like more than a joke machine with swords. The Scar dividing Light and Dark gives the setting a strong foundation, but the book keeps building around it with creatures, grudges, strange rules, weird side characters, and little pieces of history that make the world feel bigger than D’Orc’s immediate problem.

That makes sense coming from Bean. He worked on I Hate Fairyland, so he knows how to create a fantasy world that is funny, violent, colorful, and completely unhinged without making it feel empty. D’Orc has that same kind of “this is ridiculous, but everyone in the world is taking it very seriously” energy, which is exactly why the comedy works.

The companions help a lot too. The shield is mysterious, extremely violent, and clearly has a past it does not understand. It is not just a magical item D’Orc carries around. It has personality, opinions, and apparently a very aggressive approach to conflict resolution.

Then there is the chicken ghost, followed around by its own body, which is exactly the kind of fantasy nonsense I love. But again, it is not just random. The chicken wants to be whole again.

So yes, the group is funny, but they also have real reasons to be on this journey. Everyone is chasing some version of themselves they do not fully have yet. That is a lot more emotional than I expected from a comic where a decapitated chicken is part of the main cast.

The side characters also keep the journey moving. Gloinspear stood out because he is so relentlessly angry and committed to chasing D’Orc. Every time he showed up, all I could think was: dude, chill. The goblin family gang was another highlight. They are funny, chaotic, and exactly the kind of side characters that make this world feel alive beyond the main quest.

Some characters are after D’Orc. Some need help. Some are just causing problems because apparently that is their spiritual calling. And somehow, through all of that, D’Orc keeps trying to do the right thing.

The Art Feels Like a Violent Fairytale
The art is a big reason the book works for me.

It has this fairytale feeling, full of fantastic creatures, strange designs, and a world that feels magical without being delicate. But it is also violent, exaggerated, and very funny. It is not a soft storybook fantasy. It is more like a fairytale that might bite you.

The expressions are one of my favorite parts. Characters react in big, dramatic, exaggerated ways that give the story a comic tone without making the stakes feel fake. Everyone has so much personality on their face, whether they are angry, confused, scared, smug, or about to make a terrible decision.

The colors by Jean-François Beaulieu are beautiful too. They help make the world feel rich and alive, especially with the contrast between fantasy wonder and constant danger. The book always has energy on the page, and that matters for a story this strange.

A world like this needs art that can handle monsters, magic, comedy, emotion, and a violent shield without making any of it feel out of place.

This art absolutely does.

The Coven’s Verdict
D’Orc Vol. 1: The Book of Certain Doom is funny, violent, strange, and surprisingly full of heart.

What I loved most is that D’Orc is not just “the chosen one, but doomed.” He is someone trying to be good in a world that has already decided he is going to be terrible. The prophecy gives the story tension, but his choices give it meaning.

I also loved how much worldbuilding is packed around the Scar, the divide between Light and Dark, the Silver Witch, and all the different creatures D’Orc meets along the way. It feels like a full fantasy world, not just fantasy wallpaper behind the jokes.

And the art brings it all together with a violent fairytale style, exaggerated expressions, colorful fantasy energy, and enough personality to make every page feel alive.

If you like fantasy comics with weird companions, prophecy nonsense, big heart, funny side characters, and a main character who may be destined to destroy the world but would really rather help people instead, D’Orc is absolutely worth reading.

D’Orc is an absolute riot of a story, and well worth a read if given the chance. Set in a Middle-Earth style fantasy world, but paired with a very funny and slapstick plot. It’s a refreshing and funny change to see the forces of light and dark both separately decide that this one guy is a harbinger of the end of the world and must be destroyed. I feel for D’Orc and his predicament, in between bouts of laughing. There is a little character growth outside of the goofiness in the first 5 volumes, but this is a world with many of its secrets clearly held back for future additions. This comic has an amazing art style, with fun, quirky and recognisable characters that allow the colour palette to be played around with. I flew through D’Orc in an afternoon, and now can’t wait for volume 2!

Thank you to NetGalley, Image Comics, and Brett Bean for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

D’Orc is an absolutely chaotic fantasy adventure in the best possible way. This comic doesn’t take the traditional fantasy genre too seriously, instead throwing its hero into a ridiculous world of elves, orcs, wizards, dragons, monsters, and seemingly everyone else who wants a piece of him. The humour is wonderfully absurd and self aware, but underneath all the ridiculousness there’s enough heart and genuine adventure to keep the story from feeling like one long joke.

D’Orc himself is an incredibly likeable protagonist, and his misfit energy makes it easy to root for him even as everything around him descends into complete mayhem. The artwork perfectly matches the tone. It is expressive, colourful, exaggerated, and packed with personality.

A refreshing, light humoured fantasy with loveable characters and in depth world building.

It's not often an artist can pull off a great story, but Brett Bean knocks both the storyline & art out of the park!

Story follows a half-dwarf & half-orc as he is constantly dragged into an endless war between light & dark. D'orc accompanied by a magic shield with a blood-lust and a pea brained half alive/half ghost chicken companion along the way.

Recommended for fans of: The Lord of the Rings, Dungeon Crawler Carl & Vox Machina