Comic Review: The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins

The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins

First Second Books

Writers: Clint McElroy and Carey Pietsch

Artist: Carey Pietsch

Based on the podcast by Griffin McElroy, Clint McElroy, Travis McElroy, and Justin McElroy

The Adventure Zone started off as a podcast made by three brothers and their dad – the McElroy family – playing Dungeons & Dragons and recording it, which I think is a really unconventional thing to adapt into a graphic novel, and precisely why I think it’s such a cool idea. Because The Adventure Zone isn’t a brand new thing, however, I feel like I have to admit right off the bat that I have a strange relationship already with the graphic novel version. Being a moderate-to-long-time fan of the podcast, I know all the major beats, which is at once a bane and a boon to my enjoyment of the adaptation. On the one hand, the goofs, though still great, lose something in translation because I either already know where they’re going or because so much of verbal humor relies on the timing of it, something which is difficult to convey through this different medium. On the other hand, the anticipation of certain fan-favorite characters (such as Killian, Magic Brian, or The Director) and moments was enough to keep me reading, and the payout is worth it. In a way this balances out; the bigger, and especially the more dramatic, parts translate well, while the moment-to-moment stuff comes across just a little weaker for it.

That said, I don’t think newcomers to The Adventure Zone should have as much of an issue with these things. For these people, I think this is a perfectly fine jumping-in point to what is a wonderful story with a wide cast of charming, lovable characters. The goofs are indeed still great, and the rapid-fire pace with which they occur should hold the attention of those who don’t already know why they should be fans of this series. Furthermore, though there are points where I felt the visual presentation lacked something, there were other points where the story was able to be presented with a greater gravitas than the first time around, ramping up the impact of major beats and really driving home how good the storytelling is. As far as the art goes, Carey Pietsch is good at what she does, and I think her style was the right choice for helping set the tone of the series – just the right mix of silly and cartoonish while also being capable of being serious and dramatic.

I would also like to note that The Adventure Zone can be a little impenetrable at points to people who aren’t already familiar with any of the material on which it is based, be that the original podcast or Dungeons & Dragons in the broader sense. I’ll admit that I knew next to nothing about D&D when I first started listening, but because of the way things are presented in the podcast I was able to quickly pick up on the more basic rules and mechanics of the game. That isn’t really possible in the graphic novel, so some of the references to said mechanics may not make much sense if you don’t understand how D&D works. Additionally, some of the gags are referential to things that hadn’t really been established yet – most notably Merle’s incompetence as a cleric – which is both a strange choice and one that is totally understandable from a standpoint of wanting to establish these running things as quickly as possible.

One final note that isn’t really a complaint or praise: there are references to other things the McElroys have done scattered throughout the background. They’re easy to miss, so people unfamiliar with other McElroy podcasts such as My Brother, My Brother, and Me won’t even notice or understand that they are in fact missing something, but I had a good chuckle when I noticed one of the gerblins in a scene wearing a bib that read “Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy”.

Despite the attention I pay to my gripes, they’re very minor, and overall I really did enjoy The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins. Even knowing how it’s all going to turn out, I was still excited to have it in my hands and be reading it, and I definitely recommend picking it up to anyone who either already loves the podcast or is curious why the internet is in love with a wizard named Taako.