Review:
This graphic novel, based on the author's 2008 Wired profile of Gary Gygax and interviews with Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, outlines the creation, history, and influence of Dungeons & Dragons. Although the title also makes it sound like an autobiography of Gary Gygax, it felt far more focused on D&D than on Gygax himself. Plus, it had enough about Dave Arneson and his contributions and connection to the game that it seemed a little unfair that the title only mentioned Gygax.
I haven't read Kushner's Wired article and didn't actually know much about the history of D&D going in, so there was some interesting info here. I didn't, for example, know that it was partly born from Gygax's love of war games. Also, while I knew about D&D getting drawn into the whole "satanic panic" thing, I didn't know the story of James Dallas Egbert III.
There were times when I wish this had been a little more detailed. For example, the period of time when Brian and Kevin Blume got Tactical Studies Rules into $1.5 million worth of debt was glossed over in just a few panels.
The grayscale artwork was clear and easy to follow. The text was mostly written in second person, as though Gygax and Arnson were characters in their own game, with occasional text boxes written in the first person (I assume they were direct quotes from one of Kushner's interviews, although they weren't in quotation marks or otherwise visibly differentiated from any of the other text). The format took a little getting used to but wasn't terrible.
Overall, this was an interesting read.
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