Review of The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal Graphic Novel

First, a little backstory.

I discovered The Adventure Zone (TAZ) as it was maybe 3/4 of the way through the Balance campaign. I caught up just in time for Stolen Century and the Finale and by then I was hooked. For those of you that have never listened to The Adventure Zone, this probably sounds like a lot of nonsense words so let me explain.

The Adventure Zone is a podcast of three brothers and their dad playing Dungeons & Dragon and is broken into various arcs for one large campaign, think of them like seasons to a TV shows entire series. The story follows three playable characters, Taako (played by Justin McElroy), Magnus (played by Travis McElroy) and Merle (played by Clint McElroy), and the Dungeon Master, Griffin McElroy. The podcast gained an insane internet following because of its inclusive characters, intense story lines, and gut-busting humor.

Anyway, the backstory.

I started listening to The Adventure Zone when I was working a job I absolutely hated with a commute that I hated even more. The drive took me a little over an hour each way, and given that each TAZ episode is around an hour, I was able to get through two in a day, usually. I sped through. They were the only thing that made my commute any semblance of bearable, listening to those three goofy dudes and their dad have fun, create insane stories together, and just enjoy each other’s company.

The second half of the Balance campaign had such a profound impact on me that I have something tattooed from the campaign on my body, the symbol for the Bureau of Balance. Pictured below.

When the graphic novel series was announced around three years ago I was so beyond excited, not just to see all of the amazing exploits in a visual form, but also because I was just so damn proud of these three brothers and their dad for creating a story so poignant and uplifting and funny that it transcended mediums.

As anyone who loves TAZ will tell you, the third arc, Petals to the Metal, is when shit started to get “serious”. For Here There Be Gerblins (Arc 1) and Murder on the Rockport Limited (Arc 2), everyone was still trying to find their footing and get involved with the story. Petals the Metal is where you FIRST start to see little tid bits of plot that don’t have pay off for (in podcast time) a good few years. So to see them visually represented finally really did an emotional number on me.

Petals to the Metal follows the three main characters, Taako, Magnus, and Merle as they travel to the city of Goldcliffe to try and reclaim an insanely magical artifact called the Gaia Sash. It’s been claimed by a woman named Sloane who used to be a Battle Racer (essentially a Mad Max version of pod racing from Star Wars). She’s using its powers but, as the characters know, anyone who tries to use one of those magical artifacts falls under its “Thrall” and loses control of their magic. To try and get the Gaia Sash away from her they enlist the help of Hurley, a halfling Monk in the Goldcliffe militia. Except, Hurley and Sloane have a fair bit of history. Hilarity and antics ensue, but the ending was still perfect and visually represented everything I could have ever asked for.

**SPOILERS UNDERNEATH, CONTINUE IF YOU DARE**

I cried a total of six times and I can tell you exactly when…

1. Sloane and Hurley kissing for the first time
2. Sloane and Hurley saving Hurley from the Silverpoint poison
3. BARRY FUCKING BLUE JEANS
4. HE HAD A POLAROID OF LUP Y’ALL
5. Lucretia and Merle talking about the Gaia Sash
6. Sloane and Hurley reawakening as their badass cherry blossom forest nymph selves
7. The appearance of The Hunger/John

I am not ashamed to say I cried a good few times, and this story deserves it. It deserves all the tears. The next few installments of the graphic novel are going to absolutely murder me and I cannot wait. Because, guess what, THE NEXT ONE IS KRAVITZ Y’ALL.