Die (comics)

Die (stylized as DIE) is a horror/fantasy comic book about role-playing games, influenced by the portal fantasy and LitRPG literary genres, written by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Stephanie Hans. The series focuses on a group of British adults who are drawn back to an icosahedron-shaped world they originally visited as teenagers; the group left behind a friend upon their original escape and never discussed the experience. It was published by and ran for twenty issues, beginning in December 2018 and ending in September 2021. It won the British Fantasy Award for "Best Comic / Graphic Novel" in 2020 and 2021 and was a finalist for the Hugo Award in "Best Graphic Story or Comic" three times. Gillen and Hans also created a role-playing game adaptation of Die with British publisher Rowan, Rook and Deckard; the game was successively funded via Kickstarter in May 2022 and the digital edition was released in November 2022. Paragons Dominic Ash: In the real world, Ash is a middle-aged man working in marketing. He is married to a woman named Sophie. He was best friends with Sol before they were transported to Die. In the world of Die, Ash lives as a woman. She plays the game as a Dictator, a diplomat character archetype represented by a 4-sided die. She has the ability to manipulate people's emotions and convince them to do her bidding with her words. During her time in Die as a teenager, Ash had numerous relationships with men, including an affair with Isabelle's lover Zamorna that resulted in an unexpected pregnancy. Angela Ash: Ash's younger sister. In the real world, Angela is a coder who develops video games. She has two children and is in the process of divorcing her husband after having an affair with her co-worker Susan. In the world of Die, Angela plays as a Neo, a cyberpunk-inspired character archetype represented by a 10-sided die. She can gain control of machines and teleport herself, and she is able to manifest a robotic version of her childhood dog that acts as her companion.