I've been there - having a new adventurer join the party mid-campaign. It can indeed stretch ones nerves.
In this collection, 5 queer, BIPOC friends are finally finishing a campaign - THE campaign - that brought them together in high school. The DMs girlfriend is joining, and no one is accepting of her playing style. Through a perilous journey both within and out of the game, the group manages to come together at last.

4 stars

Can't wait to order this for school libraries!

This was absolutely phenomenal. I love that the author is using D&D and the (inevitable) table dynamics to give the reader an opportunity to explore challenging aspects of being a social human. The art was perfect and the similarities that were drawn in to connect player to player character was perfect. I loved that the character arcs in the story aligned with the character arcs of the humans. I can't wait for volume 2.

Wow, if ever I've read a comic that was relatable this was it. Being a fan of tabletop RPGs and having played a few Dungeons and Dragons campaigns myself, I had a feeling this would be right up my alley and it didn't disappoint! I really loved how the author made their own fictional Dungeons and Dragons style game for the sake of the comic but included so many original D&D elements (or elements that were very close to the original) which helped me have a deeper understanding the story, although I believe someone who has never played D&D could "get it" on a basic level too.

When it came to the story itself, at times I did find the dialogue a bit corny, for lack of a better term, but overall I thought the story had a good flow and was well organized. I loved that as I kept reading I (the reader) was given multiple POVs ranging from present day, to the realm of their fantasy characters, to the past, in high school when Lana, Drew, Jay, Walter, and Shen first met. In addition I found the storyline of adding Cass into their group and the drama/difficulties that came with that to be very relatable. It's something I've dealt with in a campaign and I know I am not alone in that.

Overall I thought it was a fun quick read with incredible graphics. It's definitely worth picking up, especially if you're a fan of tabletop RPG's, Fantasy, Comics, or graphic novels.

This was totally a cover request and I'm very happy to report that it did not disappoint in the least!!
First of all, the art style and the colors were amazing and so, so, beautiful!! I could stare at one single page for a day!!!! 😍
I liked the writing style and how each section/volume started with real life and then moved to the game. The past and present parallels were very well done too!!
And the queer representation of course has my heart :')
The themes of friendship and dealing with change were also well executed.
The only negative thing I can think of is that I would've liked to get to know the characters more, especially in regards to their identity and not have just scratched the surface.
I probably would've enjoyed it a lot more if I had played D&D which I unfortunately haven't got the chance to, as of yet.
But other than these two hiccups, it was a great book!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book for an honest review.

4.5/5

This graphic was so much fun. It follows a group of friends who became close through Dice & Deathtraps at a failed club meeting. They are picking up their high school campaign at the end of their college years. It is extremely diverse, it is queer-friendly, and it is very relatable for most people. I'm sure someone will be able to see themselves represented in this graphic in one way or another. The group dynamic between the friends was strong and their individual characters were well fleshed out.

If you enjoy D&D then you will enjoy all of the tropes and cliches during the campaign. I really enjoyed the writing style and thought this was well written. The transitions between the campaign and real-life were done very well and I loved the parallels. The only flaw is that this is a generic conflict, but as an introduction to these characters and the group, I thought it worked for the story.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants a quick read. The art style is cool, and the color palette is stunning. Definitely a new favorite, and I cannot wait to see more.

This was very fun! Having played a ton of tabletop games, I know how hard interpersonal relationships can be around the table. It was heartwarming to see this group of friends work things out in a loving and respectful way. I would have liked it to be longer! Really wanted to see a few more loose ends tied up. But that's not always how life works either :)

WOW! As a big fan of TAZ: Balance, the cover and description caught my attention and it did! not! disappoint! This was such a FUN story combining real life story with the character's D&D adventures and I gobbled it up in one sitting.

I found the real life characters to be dynamic, full of flaws, complicated wants & desires, and a lot of charm to make me root for them. They're a diverse and well rounded group that felt completely natural (I giggled at Jay's frustrations at being a barista chasing a dream because... same). I also LOOOOVED the D&D parts of the campaign. The D&D characters managed to be their own unique persona while clearly channeling their player so well. It was some *chef's kiss* character work paired with fabulous illustration. (The character design of the big bad? EXCELLENT)

A story of friendship, specifically queer friendship, this one was absolutely charming and I *SO* hope it continues on as a series.

This is amazing! I love how gender-affirming, body-affirming, and nerd-affirming this story is. It reminds me of my first campaign, and I love everything about this, especially that last panel.

A bunch of American schoolers use some group activity time to play a D&D-type game, the likes of which we see them play out, Jumanji style. And lo and behold, they're still at it years later, when they've gone through college or failed to write a book or whatever, and are starting to leave town and find their own way in real life. It's time for wrapping their first ever – and only incomplete – adventure. Only someone's brought their partner along to join, and completely kybosh the friendly balance years of togetherness had provided... All told, it's light-hearted, teen-friendly fare, with the parallels between the fantasy world's friendships and collaborations and those in ours done too broadly and cheesily for any other audience, but not offensively so. I certainly could have done without all the woke side of things, and gender neologisms splurted here, there and everywhere, but it is what it is, and probably all too lifelike.

Many thanks to Netgalley & Publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This comic was just what I needed to start my week: Fun, sweet and very heart-warming.
As a D&D player myself, I could relate to some of the scenarios being shown through the comic (being a newcomer in d&d, finding a group of players, trying to fit in, the excitement to finish a campaign and start a new one, etc). The representation is also so GOOD. I know it seems like a small thing to gush about, but it really made me feel happy. Also: special mention to the scene where Jay was talking about D&D with Cass and they're grandmother asked if they were playing that devil's game again. It was my favorite part, honestly.

All in all: a great, short read. I definitely recommend it for everyone - especially those who have a prior experience with D&D.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this - as a D&D player myself, I felt right at home in this story. I have friends I've played with for years and know how hard it is to hold on to hobbies as you grow and life becomes more complicated - school, jobs, kids....it all demands your attention. The art was pleasing to the eye, the story was relatable, and it was just truly enjoyable to read. I would absolutely love to continue reading about this group of friends.

"The Last Session" is a graphic novel about a group of friends who have been playing Dungeons & Drago.. .- I'm sorry, Dice & Deathtraps - together since high school.
As they move on to college, and soon, the adult world, they have decided to finally finish their first campaign. But the addition of a new player might throw the party into turmoil and chaos.

This cute comic is both fun and relatable. I too have been in such a party, whose campaign spanned years. And I too identify with the difficulty of accepting change as you grow older.
The characters are very relatable and diverse, they could be you or your friends when you were in college.

I found the illustrations and design very accessible, easy to follow the action as it developed, and the transition between real-world action and in-game world action was very smooth.

All in all, a very well done graphic novel for all players of tabletop RPGs (or maybe a good motivator to start playing?), fans of stories about friendship, the family you choose as you grow older, and the struggles of being an adult.
You should read this!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

A great read. Themes are friendship, dungeons and dragons, and self acceptance. It is a quick read with action and normal teen angst thrown in. Adults and kids alike can identify with the characters of this comic.

4.5 stars

This was such a cute little graphic novel!! I enjoyed reading it so much. It was such a quick and sweet read, I read it in one sitting and I immediately wanted more of the characters.

This is a story about Jay, Lana, Drew, Walter, and Shen who have been playing DnD since high school, and now 4 years later, they're graduating college and they're all building their lives as adults which will inevitably cause them to go different ways. They get together to play one last game - to finish their first-ever campaign. But now, things are different, as this is the first time they're meeting Jay's partner Cassandra, and the first time she'll be joining the game. The story is about a group of queer kids growing up, and having to deal with changes in their dynamic that this brings.

I loved everything about this story, the friend group we follow was so sweet and I loved their interactions. The story follows three timelines: present day, their high school days and their DnD characters' adventures. I love the switching timelines, it was such a clever way to show the characters' personalities and stories and to make them relatable. I enjoyed the characters, they were so fun and I was surprised how quickly I got attached to all of them especially considering how short this graphic novel is. I loved that it showed how growing up for real can be messy and how their friendship endured some bumps they faced along the way. I loved their relationships and this little book made me feel so warm inside. The found family trope in this book was just so well done.

I would highly recommend this novel, even if you do not love DnD (but especially if you do), this book brings so much in such a short novel - if you love reading about friendship, found family and overall the mess of being an adult, you found your book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Such a nice and heartwarming story about friendship with pleasant graphics. But i felt like the story was jumping from scene to scene so it was quite hard to grasped. Overall it's enjoyable but didn't left too much impression for me.

Didn't have too many expectations going in, but this was adorable and the art was lovely - really vibrant and lively! I always enjoy reading about DnD stories and having this switch between the players and the campaign was a nice touch.

As a DND player it was great to see it a book. It definiately drew my eye. The characters are diverse and cute. It was a good start and introduction to a series, I was wanting to know more about so characters, which I'm hoping to see in future volumes. Overall all a solid start to a new series ~~ 3.25 Stars - I liked it.

4.5/5 stars

Rep : Lots of Queer rep (Nonbinary, Ace, Gay, more), Plus sized, & POC

I received a Free E-Arc in exchange for an honest review through Netgalley. Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley.

This graphic novel was an adorable story about how friendships change over time and with the new edition of people throughout the years. It has an incredible amount of diversity from different genders, sexualities, races, and body types being shown and mentioned. The story has 3 points of view, the starting point of view each section is the group in high school, followed by a mix of them a couple years later and them in the game (D&D).

I enjoyed the real world problems and relationships and seeing how they had changed from high school when they first met and started up their game and then college years when the relationships changed and grew. I thought the structure of the story seeing them before they had truly become open in their identities and then when they had better accepted their identities was amazing as well as the incorporation of the D&D game in the actual plot. The characters all felt relatable and real and had their flaws and personalities that were different and noticeable whether it was high school, college, or in game.

I loved the art style of the graphic novel which I find very important for my enjoyment and it was colorful and fit the realistic and whimsical parts of the story very well. I can’t wait to see more of the style if it gets a volume 2 in the future.

I overall really enjoyed this story, the real world storyline felt well developed and the campaign world was very interesting and even though the audience starts part of the way into the campaign I didn’t feel like I was missing information because the relationships felt similar to the real world.

If you love graphic novels and or D&D or fantasy, this is a great read that I highly recommend picking up.

**Disclaimer: I recieved a free eARC of The Last Session by Jasmine Wells through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity.

The Last Session by Jasmine Walls is a graphic novel about a group of friends who were members of a GSA group but then became what is essentially a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, though it's called Dice & Deathtraps in the book.  The novel is set to publish on March 31st, 2022.  I rated it four stars on Goodreads.

Here's the summary from Goodreads:

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…

Thanks to my fiance, I've had a reasonable interest in Dungeons & Dragons.  He's a dungeon master and has run a campaign that I've been involved with, and although the campaign fizzled out, I still had a lot of fun and it's left me with interest to play and interest in media around it.  That's why I requested to read this book.

This was a super cute story.  I liked the characters and how they all had their strengths and flaws and how they interacted with each other.  It was interesting to see the development of their characters from high school to where they are at as young adults in college/university.  I enjoyed seeing them navigate the more complicated dynamics of adult relationships.

I also really enjoyed the structure of this story.  We got to spend some time with the characters in the past when they were in highschool, but we also got to see them as young adults.  I also really enjoyed that we got to see snippets of the campaign that they were playing.  It really made me want to play D&D again.

The art style of this book was really well done.  I liked the design for each of the characters, including the D&D characters they were playing.   It allowed me to get swept away in the story.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this story and I highly recommend that you check it out!

Thanks for the opportunity to read this galley!

What I liked:
This was a cute story with a diverse cast. The art especially is wonderful, detailed, and expressive - I'd read anything this artist does in the future. The story is relatable and is a unique look at the complicated dynamics of doing creative pursuits/playing games with friends - sometimes feelings are hurt, and real-life feelings affect the game (or vice versa).

What I disliked:
Overall, the story is pretty predictable - you can see where tension is going to spring up between the characters and the resolutions are neat and tidy. The book is also pretty jam-packed between high school flashbacks, real life present day, and in-game adventures. A longer graphic novel or more volumes might have allowed for more time with each character or for the introduction of some more unexpected plot developments. Readers with little familiarity of dungeons & dragons might find the game talk confusing.

Overall, I'd recommend to fans of The Adventure Zone graphic novel adaptations, for fans of tabletop games, or to fans of comics in general who want to admire some very charming art.