Die: Loaded vol. 1 — Zero Sessions

“Die,” written by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Stephanie Hans, has been the writer’s Least Good series.  For me, at least.  His titles are usually marked by clever plotting, strong characterization, imaginative twists, and a charming wittiness.  That series, about six teens who were brought to a fantasy role-playing game inspired realm, escaped and then were brought back when they were adults, had a gloomy seriousness to it.  Intentional, as Gillen pitched this series as “Goth Jumanji,” but it felt smothering in relation to the writer’s strengths rather than synergistic.

There was also the fact that the world of Die never felt like an organic fantasy creation to me.  It came off as a setting to interrogate the conventions of the genre, the history of role-playing games, and to assess its cast’s many personal issues.  That last part, along with some imaginative twists along the way, and Hans’ always enchanting art definitely kept the series readable over the course of its four volumes.  When it was all over, however, I was perfectly fine with the story that had been told and wasn’t really chomping at the bit for any kind of revival, sequel series, or expansion of its mythos.

That’s exactly what Gillen and Hans have delivered with “Die: Loaded,” which I picked up because, despite all my misgivings, the writer hasn’t truly disappointed me yet.  Maybe there was going to be something different to get me invested in this new series in a way that I wasn’t with the first.  Which isn’t an impression we get from the start as we pick back up with one of the former cast, Ash, who has been trying to settle back into life with his wife Sophie, who gave birth to their now one-year-old son during the time he returned to Die.

Ash came back with even more issues, but he and Sophie have been trying to work through them and things have made it to the point where they’re about to take their first night out together in ages.  Not for entirely pleasant reasons as they’re attending the COVID-delayed funeral service of Chuck who died in Die and was found dead in real life, accordingly.  This gives Ash a chance to catch up with some of the cast from the previous series, including Sol who he finds out is about to publish a game that served as the basis for their time in Die.  Ash is naturally furious at this, but he soon finds out that just because he’s done with that fantasy parasite world, it’s not done with him.

From the start of the first issue, we’re given the impression that Ash is being set up for a return to Die.  He’s once again narrating things in a way that’s familiar and his blow-up with Sol seems to make that plot point all but assured.  Clever readers may even be inclined to think or even shout, “Don’t open the box!” at a specific point.  This may seem like a bad thing, but I’m very pleased to report that Gillen has anticipated your expectations and has decided to do something completely different here.

I’m not going to tell you exactly what he’s done here, save that the new party members who have been brought to Die have been done so in a way that synergizes empathy with the previous cast.  It’s a very smart choice that avoids repeating the same kind of drama which drove the first series, and allows for the new cast to give a fresh perspective on those events as well.  While the new cast members are interesting, one of them is clearly set up above the rest as they pick up Ash’s narrative duties from the previous volume.  The good news there is that their own set of personal issues, as well as their abilities as the party’s new Godbinder, do make for some engaging drama throughout.

That, in addition with some clever twists that play on the reader’s knowledge and expectations from the previous series, makes this first volume of “Die:  Loaded” a much better read than I was expecting.  I wouldn’t say that it makes this new series a great one in the way that I’d want to read vol. 2 before we get the fourth volume of “The Power Fantasy,” though.  That’s because the gloominess that was a trademark of “Die’s” first run is still here and still feels more smothering than synergistic with the other storytelling elements on display.  Even the bits that are meant to be explicitly comedic in a very silly way – witness all of the Chosen Ones in the fourth issue – still feel somewhat restrained in that regard.  There are the darker moments in the story that do feel in line with this stylistic choice, but that still feels like an exception rather than the rule here.

Hans once again illustrates this series and she delivers some lovely and varied fantasy imagery.  We’re once again taken to many different fantasy settings in this world and the artist does an impressive job rendering them, their gods, and the characters’ different personas in distinct fashion.  Hans is also good at going big when the story demands it with a double-page splash, or showing a mighty god-bear bellowing over a campsite, or in doing something more clever like the maze structure that allows a daughter to work out her issues with another family member.  One issue is that the artist is definitely on Gillen’s wavelength about the general gloominess of the series, which speaks to a good synergy between them even if I don’t think it suits the story all that well.

All this means that vol. 1 of “Die:  Loaded” is a better version of the story that came before it.  The storytelling is more engaging with its clever twist from the first issue and I feel more engaged with seeing what happens to its new cast with their relations to the previous party.  While the overall tone is still subdued and depressive, by choice of the creators, enough is done right elsewhere to offset that issue.  I definitely wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who hasn’t already read the previous series, but the impression with this volume is that this return is going to be a more entertaining journey than what has come before.