Book seven of my 2019 Reading Challenge.
The Adventure Zone: Here There be Gerblins
So I decided to read a graphic novel to change things up and try something new. And let me tell you…this one was a great first pick. It was absolutely hilarious and a great read.
As Goodreads.com puts it, “with endearingly off-kilter storytelling from master goofballs Clint McElroy and the McElroy brothers, and vivid, adorable art by Carey Pietsch, The Adventure Zone: Here There be Gerblins is the comics equivalent of role-playing in your friend’s basement at 2am, eating Cheetos and laughing your ass off as she rolls critical failure after critical failure,” this graphic novel is the perfect story for someone looking to get into graphic novels or simply try something new.
Now I’m not a fantasy role-player or someone who plays any sort of video game (really I can’t play video games, I’m awful) but I know enough about the realm of comics to understand the satire and overall cleverness of having a narrator of sorts pop into the story line as a character themselves. This narrator interjects on the adventures of three individuals brought together for one sole purpose.
The characters themselves were individually hilarious in their own ways. The character development was more than what you get from a typical novel because the character is already draw out for you (literally). The caricature of the adventure crew shows body language and the reader gets to see a character’s mannerisms that are reflected in their dialogue. There isn’t a ton of room for self-drawn character ideas, but that’s okay cause your mind then has the ability to focus more on the story itself.
It’s definitely a different type of read than what I’m used to, but it was fun to dive into a new medium.
I highly recommend picking up a graphic novel just to get a different style of writing and storytelling in your repertoire. I recommend even more that your pick is The Adventure Zone.
Stay tuned for my next book, a recommendation from a fellow bookworm: More Than This by Patrick Ness.
Kelsey (KJ) Fagan 
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