While Peacock works on bringing Dungeon Crawler Carl to live action, the series is about to hit another medium first. Vault Comics is launching an ongoing monthly comic book series based on Matt Dinniman's bestselling books, beginning with a double-sized 48-page first issue in January 2027.
The news broke yesterday, and Dinniman shared his excitement about joining the comics world. "Entering the comic space is nothing short of amazing. The fact that I get to work with some of the greatest creators and artists working today feels like a dream."
The Creative Team
The comic adapts the existing Dungeon Crawler Carl webtoon for print. Writer Tevagah and Laurel Pursuit Studios are bringing their work over from the webtoon, while artist Kuzomari joins to scale the art up for full-size comic pages.
The cover lineup is where the series really flexes. Nathan Gooden, who drew Barbaric and Post Malone's Big Rig, is handling the main covers, and the variant artists include Ryan Ottley, Brett Bean, Frank Cho, Clayton Crain, Yoshi Yoshitani, Katie Cook, Riley Rossmo, Tyler Walpole, Doug Mahnke and Trish Forstner. Luciano Fleitas, who painted the covers for the novels, is contributing a variant as well, and more artists will be revealed down the line.
Comic book fans will recognize plenty of those names. Ryan Ottley spent years drawing Invincible with Robert Kirkman before moving on to The Amazing Spider-Man, Doug Mahnke is a longtime DC favorite known for Green Lantern and Superman, and Clayton Crain is known for his painted work on Carnage and Venom at Marvel.
Why Dungeon Crawler Carl Fits Comics
Dungeon Crawler Carl has always been a visual series at heart. The books are packed with system messages, loot boxes, achievement notifications and wild monster designs, and the webtoon has already shown how much fun those elements can be when they are drawn on the page. A monthly comic gives that version of the story a home in comic shops, where a whole new audience can discover it.
It also gives longtime fans something to collect while they wait for the show. With a double-sized first issue and a long list of variants, Vault is clearly treating the launch as a major event, and the series could end up being one of the bigger independent debuts of early 2027.
Carl, Donut And The World Dungeon
The story kicks off when an alien invasion wipes out every building on Earth. Carl, a Coast Guard veteran who was outside in his boxers chasing his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, survives and is forced into the World Dungeon, a deadly multi-level maze that is also the set of the most popular reality show in the galaxy.
Donut, a show cat with an ego to match her awards, gains the ability to speak and becomes Carl's partner in carnage. The pair battle monsters, survive sadistic traps and play to the audience to earn sponsors and loot, all while trying to figure out how to fight back against the system that put them there.
It is a premise that should work well in comics. The series is full of bizarre creatures, over-the-top bosses and flashy action, and the variant artists Vault has lined up are well suited to that kind of chaos.
Where The Peacock Series Stands
The live-action Dungeon Crawler Carl series is in development at Peacock from Universal International Studios and Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door. Chris Yost and Eric Heisserer are the co-showrunners, and Dinniman is involved as a co-executive producer.
Prep is expected to begin in the new year, with filming to follow in 2027. Audiobook narrator Jeff Hays is voicing Princess Donut, but Carl himself has not been cast yet, which remains the biggest open question surrounding the show.
In the meantime, fans will have the comic, plus the Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable card game and the official tabletop roleplaying game from Renegade Game Studios next month, to keep them busy in the World Dungeon.
Are you excited to see Dungeon Crawler Carl as a monthly comic, and which artist would you most like to see draw Princess Donut?
Sound off with your thoughts in the comments below.