Thank you to Netgallet and the publisher for giving me this eARC to review.

I love DND and that is why I was drawn to this book. This book follows a group of friends who have played DND since they were 16 and they are coming up to their last few sessions with a new player. It shows how people need to adapt and bring people into their life even if it means changes. One of the characters isn't the nicest (for reasons) but I did end up liking all of the characters, especially Cass.

I can't wait to buy a physical copy of this because honestly, I loved it so much. Great art, great lettering and a great adventure/also slice of life (in a way) story.

Roll for initiative! Jay, Lana, Drew, Walter, and Shen have played Dice & Deathtraps together since high school. Now, on the verge of graduating college and scattering, they've decided to finally complete their unfinished first campaign. But when Jay's partner Cassandra joins as a new player, Lana's afraid the party won't ever finish their quest...- Goodreads

I love DnD. Haven't played it in a few years but I love the whole storytelling aspect of it and the creativity each character brings and builds.

This comic is short, which annoyed the mess out of me because it is a super good introduction to the crew. I love the balance of their IRL lives and their DnD characters. This volume is an introduction in every sense of the word but it also feels like you just jumped right in the middle of things. By the end of the comic, you know that there is a bunch of stuff left unsaid. There is tense IRL and it is reflected in the game, so this book has me curious.

I look forward to the second volume.

Overall,

3 Pickles

Thanks to NetGalley &Mad Cave for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

A great D&D session tied in with real-life problems! The art style is gorgeous and the characters feel alive with the bright colors. I especially love the reactions from the lizard bard character, they're priceless.

will say the only drawback are the characters feeling a bit flat and same-y (writing-wise), but I think it works well for this story and its message about accepting change. It wouldn't be a fun D&D session if there were only 2 characters participating in it--so I'm glad there's a large ensemble cast. They're all relatable characters struggling to adapt to changes in the world and expectations...it's very bittersweet in some ways. I hope there's more in this series!

The Last Session Vol. 1: Roll for Initiative is a graphic novel collection of the first five issues of The Last Session by Jasmine Walls and Dozerdraws. Released 12th July 2022 by Mad Cave Studios through Diamond Distribution, it's 136 pages and available in paper graphic novel and ebook formats.

This is a graphically appealing and sweetly written slice-of-life story about a group of real life friends from their geeky high school days through their young adulthood, as they're finding themselves, forging relationships, and interacting with one another and the wider world. They're nerdy and sweet and utterly charming.

The characters are so relatable and real that most readers will have no trouble seeing themselves in one or more of them. I love it so much that they're individuals, with believable reactions and motivations, but that they also have this (mostly) stable network of support. It's a small part of the overarching storyline, but I also really liked seeing the support and acceptance from a secondary character (mother) of one of the main group. They're diverse, and their ethnicities and gender presentations are not emphasized in a preachy manner. They're just allowed to be themselves and it's so refreshing and fun to read.

The art is quirky, simple, and engaging and manages to convey movement and action very well. It's told in 5 panel comic format on double page spreads. Lettering is easy to read and clear.

Five stars. This would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition as well as for comics and gaming fans who enjoy non-superhero comics too.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this graphic novel through NetGalley to provide a review.

As a long-time DnD player, I am always looking for novels and comics that scratch that itch when I'm not playing. I loved the cover of this novel and thought the summary would make for a great story of friendship and changes.

What I Liked
-The art style was very consistent and very cute! I love the colours used by the illustrator and the emotions of the characters really came out in their movement and expressions.
-The friends are diverse and tackle different personal issues, from jealousy to discovering their own identities, but the way they come together to support each other was lovely to see. It was also great to see that sometimes, even after high school, old habits die hard and to see those brief moments of their progression from teenagers to struggling young adults struck way too close to home.
-The comic itself is brief and well-written in it's brevity! It still managed to pack emotional punches while being short, although I wouldn't mind reading more illustrated sessions of this DnD party!
-Speaking of which, the DnD portions were pretty light on the technical aspects but I thought the writers and illustrators did a great job of capturing the essence of a session, as well as the protectiveness players have for their characters and campaign.

What I Didn't Like
-I thought there could have been more communication from both "sides" of the conflict. I thought the resolution seemed too quick at the end and one-sided.

Conclusion
This was a great graphic novel, with relatable characters tackling familiar problems and a fun little glimpse into all a DnD campaign could ne!

My Rating: 4/5

I recently got back into playing D&D, so finding a TTRPG based graphic novel was an absolute delight! The cover art looked crisp and bright, and I was immediately hooked.

This is the story of a group of friends coming together to finish off a quest of Dice & Deathtraps from high school. It’s also the story of growing up, moving on, and changing.

There’s enough info given that you don’t actually need to know much about Dungeons and Dragons or TTRPGs to understand what’s going on, although it does help.

The characters are diverse and with unique designs and going through some very relatable experiences, graduating, moving out, and relationships. The story shows how the different stressors in real life bleed into their friendships and the gameplay, a situation only made more stressful when the game master brings in their girlfriend as a new character who has little experience with the game.

I loved the art style of this graphic novel. The colors were bright and engaging, and the style gave me strong Lumberjanes or She Ra vibes, both of which I loved. The designs for each character were divers in coloring, shape, and style, making sure that no two characters looked too similar.

I highly enjoyed this and would happily recommend this to anybody who enjoys The Adventure Zone or stories about the friendships you can make through table top role playing games. I look forward to adding this to my own library.

Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for this advance reader’s copy!

I loved this and I will keep an eye out and keep reading the other volumes. I don't do role games because I don't have anyone to do them with but this made me want to actively go out and look for new friends so I can give this a try. It was very interesting and the art was beautiful.

This was a fun book! This great art and a cute-if-predictable story, this would be perfect for high school libraries and classroom libraries. The book works hard to be inclusive, reminding the RPG community that there is room for more perspectives than the traditional geek-boy angle.

I loved the artwork! I loved the diversity! I loved the writing style! However I couldn’t stand a few of the characters, some were not relatable in the sense of being childish and immature, annoying and hard to connect with. While I had problems with characters it was still a pretty good graphic novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors, Mad Cave for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a delightful take on DnD & role playing in general. I absolutely adored the art style and I loved trying to associate the players with their characters throughout.
The different POVs gave this book a lovely quirky feeling and I enjoyed how it handled the players lives with their game lives.

Cute and relatable story of a friend group bonding and growing over d&d. Similar vibes to The Adventure Zone's graphic novels, but more heartwarming.

Really well done graphic novel about the way that groups grow and change as people do. Seeing the way that the character lives and their tabletop lives weave together and apart is really interesting.

I really enjoyed this art style but found the storyline itself lacklustre- perhaps this was because I'm not the biggest DND fan or maybe it was more due to the fact that this felt like a younger audiences version of Vox Machina which I enjoyed more so than this one.

From a standalone perspective to someone who only went in for pretty are and good characters, this book will be perfect! It just wasn't that way for me and usually I love graphic novels like this :/ Disappointed but hopefully, there'll be a redemption in the future.

It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't for me.

*2.75/5

A group of students of different ethnical/racial backgrounds, sexualities and gender identities, form a D&D group during their high school years and once every week, they organise meetings where they play out Dungeons and Dragons.
Things change up a bit where they grow a little older and some of them decide to move away, a decision that is going to make their games a bit more of a rare phenomenon. So, before that happens, they decide to meet for one last time and one last epic game of D&D.

I am going to be honest.

I love reading illustrated books. I love children's books, comics, mangas, graphic novels etc. So, I thought I'd like this one too. And the gorgeous artwork on the cover, practically sold this book to me. But, there are a number of things that contributed to me not really enjoying this one, which pains me a little, because I went in to this with hope.

Before going on with the things I did and didn't like, let me say that I have no experience in D&D. What I know of that game, comes from recollections of friends who are fans of it and tv shows such as The Big Bang Theory and Community. And although I am not 100% sure about that, I am inclined to think that I actually should not be a D&D expert in order to enjoy a story that involves it. It's supposed to be a funny story about adventure and friends coming together, right?

Now, moving on from that to the things I liked:

Well, first of all, I loved the artwork. Honestly, this graphic novel is so pretty to look at. And yeah, I am not going to lie, seeing such a diverse cast of characters was refreshing. The world isn't made just of white, cis, straight people, so, why would that be the case in the media we consume?

But here we have a case where something that I originally liked, turned into a flaw...

Because, the characters are pretty much limited to what diverse group they come from. I remember their races, sexualities and gender identities, but I cannot remember anything past that. Like, I don't remember their names, what characters they were playing as and so on.
Although, I do kinda remember how those who are not blunt, are actually kind of unlikeable...
And maybe that goes on to show that besides their diversity, they're pretty much forgettable (which kinda enforces my theory that the author might have included them, not only as a way to be more inclusive and true to real life, but as a way to draw attention to the story as well...)

I also disliked the conflict.
[The whole conflict involves the newest entry to the friend group, who happens to not be as much of an experienced D&D player, as the rest of the group. So, during their meetings, she messes up and that has consequences in real life as well, because she is slowly getting excluded from the group, especially from one certain person -whose name of course I cannot recall, but I believe she was playing as a dwarf?-
Finally, the conflict is resolved when the group realised that the new girl's character, was crucial to them achieving their mission, based on the dungeonmaster's notes. So she suddenly gets both good at D&D and accepted by the friend group. (hide spoiler)]

And I get how not being good at certain activities can exclude someone from a friend group, but not so much when they are in their damn 20s? Because we're talking about a friend group that has been close with each other for years! Would they in real life, stop talking to their friend because she wasn't good at D&D?
(But then again, I remember how I was blocked by a girl who I was friends with for around 7 years, because she hated Game of Thrones, and would go out of her way to call GOT fans, sheep, and I replied with "You're being quite harsh, I am sure some of the things you enjoy, other people hate." And she was in her damn 30s. So, I don't know, maybe in a certain context, the conflict of the book may be realistic.)

I also wasn't a fan of the story's pace and the way it handled the way time was passing. Because in the first half, I couldn't really distinguish between them being in high school and the present.
I will also admit that, even though I usually tend to fly through graphic novels/comics/etc, this took me some time to read because I couldn't really focus and dozed off a couple of times...

It is kinda sad that I wasn't a fan of this one. Because I can see the love that was put in it. And as I said, I did love the main idea behind it. But this just wasn't for me.

Really fun, cozy read for any fan of D&D. This has similar vibes to NADDpod, a personal favorite actual-play podcast of mine. The queer representation was also really appreciated, as I play in a dnd friend group that is very queer and this felt all the more like home to me.
The art is really nice and the flow of the story and panels between real life and in game was done so well, I was never confused. Highly recommend!

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this! Diverse cast, fun DnD stuff, and also exploring them as individuals and the group / friendship dynamics? Loved it! Would love to see more of these characters!

This was such a cozy read, just what I needed after a week of studying! I loved the art style, characters, story, everything!

The Last Session follows a group of friends who have been playing D&D together since high school and are about to graduate from college. They decide to meet for the last time and finish the first campaign but a new player appears!

Diverse and queer characters, the cutest art style, and a wonderful story! What else do you need?

A huge recommendation!

Five friends have been playing Dice & Deathtraps since high school. On the verge of finishing college, they are getting back together to finally finish their first campaign, but the DM now has a girl friend who will be part of the party as well. How does that change the dynamics of their relationships with each other and influence their game? If you have been involved in gaming, you know that group dynamics are fragile and subject to weird twists. The Last Session does a very nice job of playing with those dynamics in regard to the character interactions and inter-personal relationships that occur in real life. It will be interesting to see what might happen in the next volume.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title.

The Last Session Vol 1 was a super cute comic about a group of nerdy friends playing d&d. I absolutely loved it and related to a doing a campaign which has stretched out for years longer than expected. The characters were wonderful and endearing and I loved the art and queer rep. The switching between the real world and the fantasy world of the game was playful and seamlessly done. The way the story developed, both in game and of the characters was exciting and captivating to read!
I highly recommend it and I think it will be especially fun for readers who are into d&d and other ttrpgs

I love books based on roll playing games and DND. This book was no exception! Drawn in by the art and pulled in by the plot I knew when I opened the pages that I was here to stay. Books like this are good for teens and middle grade readers to see the games that they love mixed with real life problems and situations.

The characters are fun, relatable, and unique. The representation was a nice touch as well. Lately I have been seeing more and more books that are taking DnD and table top games into consideration and I honestly am here for it. Though it seems like the new popular form, it is not yet overdone. The various artists and authors involved bring their own tastes and takes into the genre and form and make it better and better with each publication.

I loved this story and I am excited to see where future volumes go!