Die: Loaded Vol. 01: Zero Sessions
Who’s ready for a new campaign?
Die is back with a new party of players and whole new corners of the world left to explore. Penned by the original creative team of Gillen and Hans, Die: Loaded picks up a year after the original series. After having fallen into the world of a sentient role-playing game twice already, and with one of their number dead from the last time it happened, the remaining members of the friend group are doing their best to pick up the pieces and find something resembling normalcy in the real world. But living so much time in a fantasy land changes a person, and unable to explain to their loved ones the truth of what happened, to say things are uncomfortable would be putting it mildly. The kicker, Sol—who remains tangled in the game’s ambitions—has plans to release Die the game to the public. All is not well for our heroes who barely managed to find their way home the last time—but they are not the ones setting out on this next adventure.
The dice come as gifts, delivered discreetly to loved ones of the original adventuring party. Unaware of the danger, each unwitting hero touches their token and falls into a world of magic and monsters, proud gods and devastating prophecies. The first is Ash’s wife Sophie. Ignorant about Die and the rules of role-playing games in general, it now falls to her to navigate these strange landscapes, find the other players, and escape back home—but to do that, she’ll have to learn the rules, and quickly. Because death is all too real in Die, and nothing can be trusted. Especially not the game itself.
For anyone who read the original story arc, there’s plenty to settle back into here. Familiar faces fill the opening before tossing Sophie and the others into Die’s fantastic realms. Familiar character classes take on new flavors in response to the griefs and traumas of the players—because the game certainly does love to play off people’s darkest secrets. There’s a whole pantheon of gods looking to trade for favors. One entire realm is made of art while another is full of chosen one characters, all seeking to fulfill their destinies. With its meta-textual awareness, complex themes, and inside jokes aimed at gamers, Die has lost none of its edge.
In some ways, this series offers a landing pad for new readers. With a cast of characters not familiar with the rules of the game, there’s some explanation naturally woven into the reintroduction of the world. And being a new campaign, it’s not necessary to know every detail that transpired previously. At the same time, the shadow of the previous campaign looms over everything, with references to characters and events that will mean little to anyone who missed the previous story.
For new and familiar readers alike, Die: Loaded is full of the darkness and complexity the series showcased on the last outing. Lore and character conflicts unfold over time, but it’s the baggage that the players bring with them that sits at the core of the story. Grief, identity, betrayal—the nature of Die forces the characters to confront themselves and each other if they want to make it home alive. With volume 1, this new arc feels tighter and more intimate than before but remains a remarkable feat of storytelling to bring all these elements together, balancing humor and horror with an ensemble cast and a world that just keeps getting bigger.
While the writing remains on point, the art from Hans is also as gorgeous as ever. Shifting styles and palates across the story, the bold colors and sharp detail float in the watercolor landscapes and stranger spaces of the fantasy world. It’s dreamy, it’s horrifying, and it brings each character to life with vivid emotion. Even for readers who may be hesitant to dive into this world, it’s worth it to wander these realms for a while and discover what might be hiding around the next corner, with artwork that helps shape Die into such a unique title.
Image hands Die: Loaded a Mature rating. With graphic violence, strong language, mature themes, sexual references, and some heavy content in general, it’s definitely a title aimed at adults. For those more mature readers though, there’s so much here to love. Obviously, many readers of the original series will be interested to see what unfolds in this new chapter, and the series will have the most appeal for fans of fantasy stories and role-playing games. However, for anyone open to a fantasy comic with a lot of layers, complex characters, and a good bit of darkness, Die is one of those titles that may challenge the boxes people sometimes try to stick graphic novels into. I found it delightful to return to this world, and with the adventure only getting started, I eagerly await the opportunity to see where things go next. Things are already looking pretty dire, and if we’ve learned anything from Die—it’s that the situation can always get worse.
Die: Loaded Vol. 01: Zero Sessions
By Kieron Gillen
Art by Stephanie Hans
Image, 2026
ISBN: 9781534335356
Company Age Rating:Â M
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
Character Representation:Â Genderqueer,
