The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, & Carey Pietsch

Content/Trigger Warnings: Death, violence, swearing

“It’s dangerous as hell out there. You three better cowboy up.”

Welcome to The Adventure Zone! Join Magnus the human fighter, Merle the dwarf cleric, and Taako on an adventure that they can barely handle and are poorly equipped for. Joined by the snarky and witty Dungeon Master, Griffn who will guide them and decide their fates. Prepare for an adventure that will leave you giggling and smirking, face-palming to know end, and tugging on every heart string you have!

I’ll be honest reader, my inner geeky nerd has been screeching at the top of her lungs since I picked up this graphic novel. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m a gamer, cosplayer, and LARPer so my excitement is at an all time high. And honestly, this comic was hilarious and everything I wanted and needed right now. These characters will have you laughing your pants off and choking on your soda. I’m so glad that I picked up a copy and I’m so glad I put it on my fall reading list!

The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins follows three lovable characters who end up with the worst luck. Set on an adventure to get a job done for Merle’s cousin, Bogard, everything slowly starts going wrong. Bogard is missing, his business partner is missing, and there’s a big ambush! Soon our adventurers will find themselves at the mercy of their Dungeon Master and caught up in something that’s a lot bigger than they are.

🎃 The Characters 🎃

🎃 Griffin McElroy – Dugeon Master; podcasting, karaoke, weaving a rich tapestry of drama

🎃 Magnus Burnsides – Human Fighter; battle, carpentry, everything else…apparently

🎃 Taako – Elf Wizard; spell-casting, transmutation, gastronomy

🎃 Merle Highchurch – Dwarf Cleric; healing…supposedly, religion stuff, bleeding

This graphic novel was like going to your parents home and smelling all the smells you’ve missed. Drinking that first cup of coffee in the morning. Plus, taking the first dive into an untouched pool. The feeling of goosebumps rising on your skin. Okay, okay! I’m getting a bit carried away there, but you get what I’m trying to say. This is a graphic novel that’s filled with content that I’m no stranger to. While I am very late to the McElroy game, discovering this graphic novel and reading it has been such a wonderful experience. This makes me want to go listen to their podcasts which this graphic novel series is based off of. And if I’m being honest, this is the first time I’ve seen a D&D podcast or campaign turned in a graphic novel series and I’m over the moon with excitement for upcoming volumes!

This graphic novel was absolutely hilarious! There’s so much snarky banter and witty remarks, I loved every moment! You also get funny moments with the DM (Dungeon Master) and our three heroes. Not to mention that it blends well with some of the serious tones within the comic. And can I just take this moment to say how whimsical the art design is?! Carey Pietsch did an amazing job illustrating this graphic novel and bringing these characters to life. Each page is a work of art and some of the battle scenes are so captivating. Seriously, the blessing for this masterpiece!

Also, the story telling for this entire graphic novel was absolutely outstanding! I was fully aware how invested I had become in the characters and how the story would start developing. When I say these characters are so easy to love, I truly mean it. I found it was so easy to sink into the story and find myself rooting for our heroes. And of course, we have a cleric in this volume, so you know I was extra soft and bias for Merle, but my elf playing self was all in the background squeaking, “Taako, you got this!” Not to mention it was really easy to follow the story plot and everything made sense.

The only thing I think some readers might have trouble with is how often curse words are used in this graphic novel. While I don’t have a problem with this and it doesn’t really impact my reading experience too harshly, I know this is something that can bother or impact other readers. If you do decide to pick this graphic novel up, just be aware that there is a lot of use of curse words.

Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel! I think this series could be for a wide variety of readers and I think it’s going to be a great way to introduce D&D to so many people. A great way to allow others to branch out of their comfort zone. I, for one, am very excited to read the next volume in this series and I can’t wait to see what will happen next to our heroes. Will someone die an get resurrected? Will a mountain nearly fall on them? How will they level up next? So many questions and I’m so ready to find out! If you haven’t picked up this graphic novel yet, just do it! It’s whitty, hilarious, and there’s so many characters in this graphic novel you’ll fall in love with!