It's the good good boys, but in visual form! It makes me want to relisten to the podcast as I haven't done that yet, but if you have friends who aren't podcast people (I commute 45 minutes each way so I'm all about some pods but I understand some people don't want to or can't commit the time), this is an excellent way to introduce Tres Horny Boys to them.

I do miss the asides and goofs, though some of that comes from format (here, Griffin addresses the characters from his DM position- there's no banter between brothers, though). Continuity errors and retcons are cleaned up, however (Merle is an acolyte of Pan from the start now, instead of whatever short-lived faith he had with another god).

I do feel like Wizards of the Coast would've been ok with using the names Phandalin and other named proper nouns from the Lost Mines of Phandelver (the Rockseeker dwarves, Klarg), but perhaps they wanted to avoid any potential copyright snafus in the future? oh well.

The other caveat I should probably mention is that as something that started as a podcast, there aren't really canon depictions, and the McElroys intend for there to not be- this came up earlier during production because fans felt a green-skinned Taako erases the possibility of representation in a Latinx Taako. Their statement, I feel, is pretty nuanced.

Recommended for: fans of TAZ, friends of fans of TAZ who don't want to commit to podcasts, fans of fantasy & tabletop ( )

A faithful (almost without violating WotC copyright) rendition of the first balance arc. I like how rendered Griffin vs the players. ( )

I’m probably missing something in not having listened to the podcast, but the great news is, for other readers who haven’t listened either, this graphic novel stands on it’s own! There are certainly things that I wish I knew, that I’m sure a quick Google search would tell me, such as who plays which character, but that’s honestly not essential information for enjoying the graphic novel(s).

The story starts off with an introduction to the characters, Taako, Merle and Magnus, as they set off on an adventure that quickly turns into a rescue mission. Throughout the first book, they throw their dungeon master (DM) some curveballs and do things that might otherwise be unexpected if D&D followed traditional narrative structure. For those unfamiliar, D&D is a table-top role-playing game. The players have all created characters, which they portray, and they are gently guided on an adventure by the DM. There are many different styles of play – the DM can be running a preset campaign created by D&D or can be running their own campaign that they created.

When I play, my husband is the DM and runs the campaign set in a world that he created himself, a world that has hosted most of our campaigns and adventures in the last few years. I play a sprite druid named Leelou (who is inspired by Betty from Rat Queens) and we have all sorts of crazy adventures as heroes trying to save the world. The McElroys campaign is also self-created and has a fun mix of traditional fantasy and contemporary elements to it. The characters are entertaining and a little derpy and the art style of the book is spot on as well. Overall, it’s a great adventure series and I can’t wait to read the second and anxiously await the third! And maybe in the meantime, I’ll have to start the podcast. ( )

3.5 star

This was fun!
BUuuut it should be experienced in its original medium. Sound is definitely required for full effect. The elevator is an Experience.
(looking forward to listening to the podcast, gotta be a wild ride)

Will give podcast a try. Not sure about continuing with graphic novels.
Also - this was kind of short?

VERDICT : BORROW TO TRY ( )

First up, I'm a fan of the original podcast. Second, 2 stars to me means 'it was okay' as the Goodreads scale says. This is a beautifully illustrated adaptation of the the first TAZ adventure but it just didn't do anything for me. Taking what was improvisational role play storytelling and presenting it in a tightly scripted form sucks any feeling of spontaneity out of it from my point of view. Obviously the high average rating means I'm in the minority so your mileage may vary. I personally won't be bothering with any more of these, though. ( )