I remember the day I met Scott Kurtz. My buddies and I drove out to a local comic book store in Dallas, Texas to meet the webcomic creator. He was there to promote the newest book he had been working on called Truth, Justin, and the American Way – a story about a rather unheroic super hero who stumbles onto great power. It was a fun book, and I couldn’t help but hum The Greatest American Hero’s theme in my head as I read through it.
Really, though, we were there to hear about PvP, the story of a group of video game journalists trying to make ends meet at a struggling magazine. While that series would eventually earn him his place in the greater nerd pantheon, back then he was only starting to gain his audience. I remember him to be a light-hearted, down to earth, and naturally funny guy. With my signed copy of Justin and a sketch of Skull the Troll tucked under my arm, I remember saying to my friend “Man, I hope more people start reading PvP. That guy’s awesome.”
It was not long before a lot more people most definitely started reading PvP. Art styles may change and websites might get more polish, but it seems that Kurtz has maintained that same attitude that attracted my friends and I back in that comic book shop. He has made friends that have only continued to strengthen the work that he does, allowing him to branch out and do other recurring projects besides PvP. One of them being to record the journey’s of a fearless band of adventurers in their pursuit of D&D glory and the elusive Winotaur! This story is known as Table Titans.
The Titans first appeared in a PvP strip as side characters, but they certainly made a grand entrance. Whether it was due to the popularity of the D&D game he started playing with the now infamous Acquisitions Incorporated or just a love of the group of misfit gamers he had created, I can’t say. But Kurtz made the announcement on his site that the Titans would be getting their own series. Flash forward to today, and the Titans were just featured in a recent kickstarter campaign to get volume one of their recorded quests collected into a tome. They have come a long way from skulking through the Mines of Madness, and the reason for that is because the strips do more than make the audience laugh. They remind us what it means to be a tabletop RPG player.
The collection of fan submitted stories called Tales from the Table contain the highs and lows of the gaming experience. They recount great monsters beaten by the skin of the heroes’ teeth, the weird and wonderful workings of Dungeon Masters at their craft, and misguided adventurers who mistake common adventurer’s pack fodder for a magical artifact! But it is the feeling of comradery built around the stories more than the gory details that keep us coming back. There have been many tales where, upon reading, I’ve sat back and thought “Oh man! That reminds me of that time when ….” And isn’t that what it’s all about anyway?
It’s that resonance that makes Table Titans stand out in my mind. They aren’t just telling the stories that the artist has cooked up. They are reminding us of those hours we’ve spent with friends playing our game of choice. We’ve all been the new guy like Darby, and shouted for joy when the NEW new guy arrived later to take the burden off our shoulders. We’ve all done stupid things in the name of power and bragging rights like Alan. Sometimes we’ve wanted to be related to the great dwarven kings of legend because we knew we were destined for more than the life we were living.
We might laugh when Val was made to play a bard and started whacking guys in the head with her lute. We may find ourselves pondering the mysterious subplot surrounding the Winotaur. But while the writing is sharp, the characters are interesting and the art keeps getting better with every new frame — I think what keeps readers coming back to the Titans is that they are telling our stories.
I leave you with a moment from an early page of Table Titans. Alan did not appreciate what happened after the earlier encounter, so he suggests that the Titans start a new homebrew instead. Val is the one who brings up the fact that not only will their GM wonder where his players are, but they told Darby – their pick-up player from the earlier session – that they’d be back. Alan attempts to brush her off by saying he was just some dork who showed up to play, and Val says a line that to this day causes me to tear up a little.
She says “I was just some dork who showed up to play! Then you guys made me a Titan.”
No matter what is going on before you get to the table, there is a place for you when you get there. We don’t always know the rules. We don’t always get it right. But we are Titans, and Titans never say die!