Dungeon Crawler Carl was lowkey more popular than anticipated at Comic-Con. The ballrooms for both panels for author Matt Dinniman felt too small; there were clearly a lot more fans that wanted in, and I felt lucky that I was able to attend both of the panels. And the cosplays! It felt like there was a Carl or a Princess Donut cosplay every 10 feet throughout the convention center and throughout the Gaslamp. Not to mention, cosplays of many other characters from the novels, some of which I have no clue about yet, since at the time I was close to done with the second book (and I can proudly say I’m on the third book now).
I’m quite the new fan, and the fanbase for DCC that I interacted with was very welcoming and friendly, and came off very supportive and excited for each other. The fans made me nostalgic for what Comic-Con was like for me when I was a teenager, back just before studios realized there is an audience for them. The DCC held that same energy of what Comic-Con was like.
I heard a lot of fans excitedly yelling at each other, “Hey, crawler!” and a Mongo cosplayer when asked, answered with, “I am appalled!”
As a new fan, my introduction to the author was hearing from the man himself, at his first panel — things I know the fans already know about him. Things like how he discovered a lot for writing as a child because of Dungeons & Dragons, his love for horror novels, and how he views his work on Dungeon Crawler Carl as a reflection on society and a care for people who are hurt by people in power. Dinniman also touched on enjoying how people on his Patreon like voting in ways to put him in a corner and him having to figure a way out of it. He then mentioned that he was writing for book 9 earlier that morning, and that it might split into two books. He also casually dropped that he once worked as a telephone psychic.
Oh yeah — then there was the little bit of news that Matt Dinniman very casually told us; by which I mean he was interrupted by the voice of Princess Donut, voiced by Jeff Hays himself, who then approached the stage, and they broke the news that Jeff Hays will voice Donut for the upcoming live action TV show, which the fans ate up. Obviously by “little” I mean great big news.
Later outside the convention center walking along Gaslamp, I spotted a group of cosplayers across the street. I pointed them out to my partner, saying, “That’s a lot of Carls”, to which she replied by yelling “Hey, crawlers!” at them, and that caused them to yell at us to follow them. They led us to a Princess Donut… donut food truck. We joined the line for free donuts and a free Princess Donut keychain, and then found out that Matt Dinniman and Jeff Hays were dropping by to hangout and say hi. My partner got to tell them how much she enjoys the books and how inclusive and welcoming the fandom is. The guys looked touched while they talked to my partner. Afterward, Dinniman then looked over at me, and I froze up not knowing what to say and just smiled at him. I think he clocked me as an introvert, since he mentioned hours ago at the panel that he’s naturally an introvert, and he gave me a warm smile in return. I noted to myself how he smiles with his eyes.
The interactions I saw Dinniman and Hays had with their fans made me think more about how Comic-Con was like when I was a teenager: how it was easy to bump into someone like them and interact and make a genuine connection. It made me happy seeing the fandom having that, and how those guys clearly enjoy surprising and talking with others. They foster a very inclusive fandom because they themselves are very welcoming.
If you haven’t read Dungeon Crawler Carl, this is your sign to read the books, listen to the audiobook, or/and do both. It’s funny, it’s ridiculous, and it has so much heart. It will surprise you and make you want to dive more into the story and the characters.
Welcome, crawler.
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