Magnus, Taako, and Merle thought they were sent on a simple delivery mission. But everything quickly changes when they discover that they not only have a Dungeon Master narrating their story, but they’ve also been thrown into the adventure of a lifetime!
The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins is based on the podcast by Clint, Griffin, Justin, and Travis McElroy, and it has been adapted into a graphic novel by Clint McElroy and Carey Pietch. The podcast is called The Adventure Zone, and I heartily heartily recommend it. It is absolutely amazing, and I listen to it faithfully. It’s a Dungeons and Dragons podcast, so we get to listen to the McElroy family as they play the game. And they’re funny and quippy and silly, so this graphic novel had a lot to live up to.
I have to admit, while I’m a big fan of the McElroys, I’m not an expert on graphic novels by any means. While I read a whole lot, I almost never read graphic novels (mainly because I don’t know which ones I should read).
But, what I can say is, inexperience with graphic novels aside, I loved this particular book. The experience of reading this novel was both of wanting to rush through it as quickly as possible and wanting to stretch every minute out. It was a struggle, since I’d read a chapter, get very excited, but then realize that I wanted to make sure I could really savor the next part.
It was hard to slow it down; the novel was just so damn entertaining. By page 10, I was laughing out loud. And then again a few pages later. And when I say “laughing out loud,” I mean actually laughing so loudly that I was glad I chose to read it on the weekend, when I could sit at home and laugh to my heart’s content while reading.
This was an absolutely hilarious and brilliant read, and I can definitely recommend this graphic novel. I’ve been fond of this story since I first heard it on the podcast, and this was a great adaptation of the story the McElroys put together. The art, the dialogue, the way that they integrated Griffin into the story, everything came together to make this a brilliant graphic novel that will soon have a sequel later this year! I am honestly hoping that they manage to do the whole story, and I’m especially curious to see how it’s going to work in the later arcs.
So, I can heartily recommend this graphic novel, even if you haven’t listened to the podcast. Listening to the podcast first would be a good idea, though, just so you can really hear the making of this amazing story (the podcast is BRILLIANT, so please listen to it, guys). Also, I will say that you’ll probably enjoy both a lot more if you’re familiar with Dungeons and Dragons, but you don’t have to, because there is awesome story telling in this narrative.
Have you read Here There Be Gerblins? Do you listen to TAZ? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
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