Gobbledygeek episode 476, “FCF: Die (feat. Eric Sipple),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

For this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo roll the Die to discuss Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans’ dark tale of a group of one-time RPG nerds getting sucked into the world of the game. Gillen has described the book as “goth Jumanji,” and there’s some truth to that–these characters feel everything, hard. Luckily, so do we, and so does special guest Eric Sipple, author of Mimesis and co-creator of The Deli Counter of Justice. The gang discusses how Die takes apart and rebuilds typical D&D classes, its commentary on the entire history of gaming, why Ash is so important to Eric, and much more.

NEXT: by the hoary hosts of Hoggoth, it’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!

BREAKDOWN

• 00:00:32  –  Intro / Guest
• 00:05:46  –  Our histories with RPGs
• 00:14:56  –  Die
• 02:44:20  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

• “Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans On Bringing Their Acclaimed Image Comics Epic ‘DIE’ to an End” by Matthew Jackson, SyFy Wire
• “Die is the Darker Side of D&D Fans Didn’t Know They Needed” by Evan Mullicane, ScreenRant
• “We Roll A Nat 20 For Interviewing And Talk To The Creative Team Behind DIE” by Mark Turetsky and Corey Smith, ComicsXF
• Kieron Gillen’s DIE RPG Beta

MUSIC

• “Tumbling Dice” by The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St. (1972)
• “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” by Kate Bush, Hounds of Love (1985)

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