Dungeon Crawler Carl might just be the hottest thing in sci-fi right now and to be honest, we’re not mad about it. Matt Dinniman’s LitRPG book series about a Coast Guard veteran Carl who, along with his ex-girlfriend’s cat Princess Donut, end up not only being two of the few survivors of Earth’s destruction but also find themselves forced to compete in a dungeon crawl as part of an intergalactic reality game show is action-packed, full of humor and heart, and brings the RPG experience to the page in a truly exciting way. There’s another book coming out in May and a television series in the works meaning this phenomenon is showing no signs of slowing down.
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But if you’ve gotten yourself all caught up on the books, what next? We’ve already given you some suggestions for books and movies to check out as well as books to check out if you happen to simply be a Dungeons & Dragons fan, but now we’re taking you into the world of comics with five choices that might not be quite like Dungeon Crawler Carl, but they’re solid reads with similar vibes or themes.
5) I Hate Fairyland
You’re probably saying, “hold up, that’s not sci-fi” and you would be absolutely correct. However, sci-fi and fantasy tend to go hand in hand and when it comes to comics that make for perfect post-Dungeon Crawler Carl suggestions, this list would be missing something huge if we didn’t include I Hate Fairyland. In I Hate Fairyland, six-year-old Gert is transported to the mystical Fairyland but ends up trapped there for almost 30 years. Now rage-filled and unageing, Gert will aggressively do anything to get back home—and she has a giant battle-axe to help. It’s a series that features the same sort of concept of someone being unwillingly thrust into a strange world and having to fight their way out; it’s just a lot more brutal and, at times, darkly funnier.
4) Fear Agent
Written by Rick Remender with art by Tony Moore and Jerome Opena, Fear Agent is a series that follows Heath Huston, an alcoholic Texas space mercenary who is part of a task force that eradicates alien threats for its member planets. However, when he narrowly escapes from one planet, he ends up having to investigate an abandoned space outpost and finds terrifying aliens in the process. The series ran for six years across 32 issues and covered a number of arcs. Like Dungeon Crawler Carl, Fear Agent features a reluctant hero who is also a bit rough around the edges, but the series also is chaotic and full of action as well as dark humor. There’s also the survival element of it all—and don’t forget the aliens.
3) Lazarus
Lazarus and Dungeon Crawler Carl don’t appear to be terribly similar on the surface, but the series from Greg Rucka and Michael Lark is still a high quality sci-fi read and we think that even with the difference in the tone, you would like this one. The series follows Forever Carlyle, a genetically engineered protector (or “Lazarus”) of the Carlyle family. Set in a future dystopia with the world divided by feudal families, Forever comes to learn the truth of who she is as well as her family’s role in the state of the world. It’s a brutal dystopian setting, but it shares a few elements with Dungeon Crawler Carl, particularly the sharp social commentary and a violent competition that the protagonists are forced into.
2) Radiant Black
Published by Image Comics, Radiant Black is written by Kyle Higgins with art by Marcelo Costa and follows Nathan Burnett, a 30-year-old guy whose life isn’t exactly going well when he discovers the ethereal cosmic Radiant and ends up with the power to change his situation. However, the Cosmic Beings who created Radiant and thus the powers want them back and will go to great lengths to get them. Nathan and Carl share some similar traits in terms of their lives not going so well when things get turned upside down, but the book also has a lot of social commentary just like Dungeon Crawler Carl. It’s also just a great read and part of a larger “Massive-Verse”.
1) Dungeon Crawler Carl
What, did you really think we wouldn’t put the Dungeon Crawler Carl graphic novel on this list? Dungeon Crawler Carl got the Webtoon treatment in 2025 and it’s also being collected into a graphic novel with the first volume being published on May 19th. If you enjoyed the book, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll enjoy it in comics form. One of the great things about comics as a medium is that you can bring to life story elements in ways that are almost impossible to do just in words or in just about any other form of media. Also, the art of Princess Donut in the Webtoon series is just absolutely the best and we all know she’s the star.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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Forum Conversation: What comic books make for good reads if you loved Dungeon Crawler Carl?
Go to ForumDungeon Crawler Carl is the hottest thing right now and I for one am pumped for the new book coming out in just a few more days. However, I know that once I tear through it I’ll need something new to read — and comics seems like a good choice! What comics do you think would be good reads after Dungeon Crawler Carl? Should they all be sci-fi? I think there are a few fantasy titles that might actually be better fits to scratch that itch.