Critical Role’s beloved characters are entering the vertical-scroll world like never before in “The Mighty Nein Origins: Jester Lavorre,” told through a mobile-native format and launched exclusively on WEBTOON, an online webcomic platform that redefines its medium by presenting fan-favorite backstories of misfit heroes.
What the first look at Mighty Nein Origins reveals
The first preview focuses on the blue tiefling whirlwind Jester Lavorre, whose pranks and tender soul inspired some of Campaign 2’s most unforgettable moments. Readers are given a little inkling of her Nicodranas childhood, under the shadow of her mother, the celebrated courtesan and Ruby of the Sea, as well as early meetings with an infamous trickster patron that has always steered her havoc to mythic proportions. Its tone seems part caper, part coming-of-age, a combination that suits Jester’s blend of irreverence and empathy.
Beyond character beats, the adaptation smartly embraces those long panels from WEBTOON’s vertical format: tall images stretch comedic timing and then pull back into splashy reveals, a layout choice that mirrors how the original campaign used silence and surprise to land a joke or an emotional gut punch.
How the release schedule and Fast Pass work on WEBTOON
The rollout launches with several chapters to draw readers in, then continues on a weekly basis for fans who may want to make it their Sunday ritual. WEBTOON’s Fast Pass system allows early access to episodes for fans who can’t wait, a feature that has become a signature of its most popular series.
After Jester, the publication order also matches Dark Horse’s graphic novels, so all of that suggests Caleb Widogast and Yasha Nydoorin are next in line. That thread is what holds the character-by-character tapestry in place, successfully allowing each piece of backstory to breathe before the party really comes together.
From print graphic novels to mobile vertical scroll format
The Mighty Nein Origins began as a series of hardcover graphic novels published by Dark Horse Comics, working directly with the cast and crew of Critical Role throughout the development process to preserve canon and showcase familiar voices. The translations of those books to WEBTOON aren’t simply a copy-paste job; panels reflow for phones, beats stretch across negative space and page-turn reveals become screen-length descents. It’s that uncommon kind of adaptation that rewards readers already familiar with the graphic novels while also welcoming new ones who know the characters only from streamed episodes or animated versions.
This comes after the two companies have already been working together to bring Dark Horse properties such as The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077, Plants vs. Zombies and The Legend of Korra to WEBTOON. The Mighty Nein builds on this phenomenon: WEBTOON counted more than 89 million monthly active users worldwide in recent company filings, which means franchise tie-ins like The Mighty Nein have a built-in discovery mechanism far beyond the traditional comic shop audience.
Why this WEBTOON release matters for longtime Critters
For longtime viewers, Origins brings to light the choices and trauma that crafted the eventual heroes, giving added depth to moments they’ve already seen unfold at the table. For neophytes coming into the show through animation, it’s a sort of on-ramp to character histories without requiring hundreds of hours of catch-up. Its pacing in the vertical format — pausing portentously on a page of Chantal’s diary, swooping into a carnival tableau — rather captures the tonal range of the series itself, from slapstick to solemn, in a manner that feels native to phones.
It’s also strategic timing. With its animated slate on Prime Video and continued publishing victories at Dark Horse, Critical Role is also in an elite pack of tabletop-born universes that retain steadfast devotion through streaming, print, audio and live events. A WEBTOON presence also provides another way for a work to be discovered by an audience that is increasingly not finding their favorite comics on shelves, but on their feeds.
What’s next in The Mighty Nein Origins arc lineup
Expect the series to follow the Origins order as well. And after Jester’s zany, candy-colored backstory, Caleb’s chapter is set to swing into an academic horror show with political implications — (think Soltryce Academy drama and the initial cracks that defined his systematic resolve). Yasha’s story continues with darkly nomadic roots, and themes of found family that will come to define the party’s bond.
Whether you’re in this for mischief-making pranks, somber reckonings or just to watch some favorite characters reimagined for the digital age, The Mighty Nein’s transition to WEBTOON plays like a conscious remix — one that knows its source material as well as it does the scroll-happy behaviors of its next wave of readers.
