Reviews with content warning for Death - The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom

The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom surprised me. Of the podcast arcs, it’s one of my least favourites – I’d hardly be the first to point out the railroading – but of the graphic novel adaptations, I think this might be the best so far.

It differs quite significantly from its podcast counterpart, with the pacing improved drastically and some plot points moved around or cut entirely. This thoughtful editing meant more attention could be given to the important details, like the Millers’ backstory, the Cosmoscope and the planar system it reveals, Kravitz (and his burgeoning relationship with Taako), etc.

That said, the pacing isn’t perfect. The Pocket Spa scene, for example, played out over a total of one (1) page. The joke was that Taako opted out of the action in favour of a leisurely respite, but because it was treated with the same urgency as combat it just didn’t work.

Pietsch’s artwork is great, though I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of sound effects. I did miss Griffin’s music but I know there’s not really any way it could have come across on the page – it’s just one of those things that doesn’t translate into this medium. Oh well.

As I said at the top of this review, I think The Crystal Kingdom is probably my favourite TAZ graphic novel so far. I’m looking forward to The Eleventh Hour (my favourite Balance arc)

Content Warnings

emmaward55's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I love my brothers and their silly fantasy boys.

Content Warnings

edly's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

ehmannky's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This was really fun! I don't think it had a lot of the additional scenes that the other book did that really made it significantly different than the original podcast, but it's fun. I liked that there's a lot of flirting between Taako and Kravitz. Good addition all around.

Content Warnings

rwalker101's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Kravitzzzzzzzzzzz

My son is here

Long live my son 😭

Content Warnings

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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