Fans of Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl are about to crawl through a brand-new layer of chaos, this time in full color. Publisher Vault Comics, in collaboration with Dinniman and a powerhouse creative team, has launched Dungeon Crawler Carl: CROCODILE on BackerKit, marking the first official graphic novel side story in the cult-favorite series.
The campaign went live just days ago and has already crushed its funding goal, raking in more than $1.6 million from over 16,000 backers, more than 25 times its initial $50,000 target. The project is set to close on November 3, 2025, and is already shaping up to be one of the most successful comic campaigns of the year.
From Page to Panel: Dungeon Crawler Carl’s Cult Rise
For the uninitiated, Dungeon Crawler Carl began life as a web-serial turned best-selling LitRPG novel series. Think “post-apocalyptic reality TV meets Dungeons & Dragons with a dark sense of humor.” The books follow Carl, an everyman thrown into an intergalactic dungeon-crawling game show where humanity’s survival depends on player performance. Alongside his talking cat companion, Princess Donut, Carl fights his way through absurd monsters, traps, and cosmic bureaucracies while lampooning genre tropes and corporate greed alike.
Since debuting in 2020, the DCC novels have become one of the most beloved LitRPG series on Kindle and Audible, with millions of downloads and a rabid online following. The book’s balance of brutality with biting comedy makes it perfect fodder for adaptation. CROCODILE marks the first major expansion of that world beyond prose.
Enter CROCODILE: A Standalone Side Quest
The new graphic novel dives into the story of Florin DuPont, a mercenary fighting for survival in the televised nightmare of the Dungeon Crawler world. It’s a side story, not a direct continuation of Carl’s journey. CROCODILE is set firmly within the same universe, promising the same absurd energy and grotesque humor that made the novels a hit.
Written by Michael Moreci (Barbaric, Wasted Space), illustrated by Brett Bean, and developed under Dinniman’s supervision, the book blends sharp writing with frenetic art. It’s designed as both a love letter to long-time fans and an accessible entry point for new readers. The campaign page teases that CROCODILE explores humanity, morality, and survival, all while splattering monsters across the page in spectacular fashion. Sounds about right for this series.
What Backers Get
Backers can choose from multiple pledge levels, each packed with exclusives:
- The Basic Edition includes the standard print and digital versions.
- The Collector’s Edition offers a BackerKit-exclusive hardcover, plus stretch-goal “Fan Box” upgrades that add extra art, pages, or inserts as funding grows.
- Higher tiers include loot boxes, prints, signed editions, and other collectibles designed to feel like in-game rewards, a clever nod to the series’ gamified structure.
As of now, Vault and Dinniman are planning early 2027 shipping, with fulfillment managed through Vault’s established distribution network.
Why This Campaign Matters
Vault Comics has built a reputation for quality storytelling and slick design, but CROCODILE’s success is also a testament to how direct-to-fan publishing has changed the game. This isn’t a major studio adaptation; it’s a creator-driven expansion, funded by the very fans who built the series’ reputation.
The overwhelming response shows the strength of the Dungeon Crawler Carl fandom, and possibly hints at more adaptations to come. If CROCODILE proves successful beyond crowdfunding, it could pave the way for future comics, animated shorts, or even a game adaptation. Whether you’ve read every Dungeon Crawler Carl book or just love offbeat sci-fi fantasy with heart, CROCODILE looks like it’ll deliver the series’ trademark chaos in a fresh new medium.
The campaign is live through November 3rd, and judging by its momentum, this dungeon crawl is going to hit some serious stretch goals before it wraps.
