The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins (The Adventure Zone, 1)

I pre-ordered the paperback, but haven't had time to binge-read straight through it until the last two days! I should probably be able to come up with a witty McElroy reference as I started listening to the Balance Arch of the Adventure Zone podcast in April 2018...and finished all episodes in just a few months' time (for anyone reading and aware, yes, I believe I averaged an hour and 15 minutes of TAZ every day), but I'll just leave it at this: it left me happy, and feeling creative, and patiently(??) waiting for next summer's second installment!Clint and other contributing editors did a wonderful job adapting the hours and hours of audio content into extremely concise print format while really maintaining the best lines and exchanges from the podcast...yet remaking the tale into its very own thing–no easy task!In the same vein, Carey Pietsch's illustration work is PERFECT. It is sooo difficult to take an audio medium with such a massive fandom built around it and craft a definitive appearance for the characters and the environments created in TAZ, but it think Pietsch has done a tremendous job! The visual style chosen for the graphic novel suits the TAZ canon well. This could have come out looking so many different ways and it would have been awesome regardless, but the aesthetic choices made are something to be really proud of–and to sleep easy at night knowing great decisions have been made.I was initially unsure why some of the character and place names had been changed from the original podcast material, and then I figured it was some sensible revisionism to tweak the early days of the podcast to be more in-line with what it would become. I convinced my younger cousin to purchase a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition starter kit on Black Friday so we could unbox it and play with family members (all with no D&D playing experience) with myself as DM–starter kits come with remade characters. I was a little worried about running a fun adventure for first time players with an unknown, pre-written, mystery adventure with only seconds or prep time. *Closes eyes and pinches bridge of nose.* Of course, I realized immediately...that I know this pre-made adventure VERY WELL! And it became immediately clear why the revisions are in the graphic novel. All of this came together in a confluence of good, good joy. Many thanks, All!!

I can't find the words to express how much I love The Adventure Zone (but that's not going to stop me from trying). While I was visiting my sister, I saw this graphic novel in her room and a quick "thumb through" was all I needed. I started listening to the podcast as soon as I left her house (which brought the # of podcasts I listen to up to '1') and ordered this graphic novel the same night. Now, having binge-listened(?) to 40 TAZ podcast episodes so far, I am thoroughly addicted and just can't get enough. The McElroys (in descending order: Clint, Justin, Travis, & Griffin) are so much fun to listen to! So much fun in fact, I couldn't keep all the fun to myself; I've already introduced The Adventure Zone to two other friends of mine who are now just as hooked as I am.Okay, I think we've established that I have a somewhat favorable disposition towards the original subject material this graphic novel is based on, so let's get back to the novel itself. I LOVE THE ARTWORK! Carey Pietsch has done a masterful job bringing these audibly-based McElroy character creations to life in the beautifully colored pages of this graphic novel. The cover art is gorgeous and the novel is very well made. I am ABSOLUTELY going to purchase all of the graphic novels in this series (yes, I am aware that, as of the writing of this review, this graphic novel is the only one available for immediate purchase with "The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited!" available in preorder; but I pray to Pan [that's for you Merle] that the McElroy/Pietsch dream team keeps 'em coming!)#thezonecast

A spoof of Dungeons and Dragons based on a the adventure zone podcast which I've never seen nor played Dungeons and Dragons but I have heard there other well known podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me. You don't have to be a fan of D&D or there podcast though to enjoy because both the humor and art have fantastic synergy to create a hilarious romp of an adventure that keep the jokes coming smart and witty throughout. Whether it's an old priest that casts a holy fire spell with an extreme teen bible or just bringing light to an old D & D setting like adding elevators and green goblins that want you to kill there new boss to get a promotion as if there horde is a professional work place. A fresh approach that is silly and fresh. An Almost AAA graphic novel, would of like to see a bit more detail in the environments although character work is fantastic and loved the art style. They used matte finish instead of glossy that looks nice and glad this novel had quite a premium level of quality that I was pleasantly surprised. I felt there could of been a bit more characterization to add an extra level of depth but i'm just nitpicking. An amazing debut quite unexpected and something I would recommend to anyone to read not just there established niche, a true labor of love and potential to be a cult classic.

Love the podcast and was so happy to finally have the book!