REGINA -- A Regina artist debuted a graphic novel on Saturday that took him 10 years to create.

Allan Dotson’s Critters Underdark is a 150-page humourous, fantasy themed book that he wrote and illustrated.

"After years of doing smaller comics stories, just taking on a full length epic fantasy novel seemed like the next challenge that I would learn from,” said Dotson.

This is his first novel and is also the first volume in his Critters Saga, which he expects to add to in three years.

Critters: Under Dark

Dotson has helped create comic books in the past and teaches courses on comic creation. He hopes this book will help inspire other artists to work on their own original creations.

"A lot of the work that I do is raising another generation of comic’s creators. I'm excited about Regina, in the future, being some kind of a comics mecca, is my dream," said Dotson.

Dotson says he is already working on a second book.

Pages from the first novel are on display at the Monstrous Creations Exhibit at the Art Gallery of Regina.

Anyone wanting to buy a copy of Critters: Underdark can pick it up at Comic Readers in Regina or contact Dotson directly.