Engaging, informative, and comprehensive.
In this conversationally narrated graphic novel, Sattin and Steenz (starring as themselves) explore the history of role-playing games.
Tabletop role-playing games combine elements of imaginative play, interactive storytelling, and statistics-based tactical gaming. The evolution of the TTRPG began long before the creation of Dungeons & Dragons. After explaining the basics of modern TTRPGs, Steenz (a nonbinary Black person) and Sattin (a light-skinned man with dark hair) invite readers on a nonlinear journey through time and around the globe. They discuss how interactive theater and tactical war games contributed to the creation of role-playing games—both live action and tabletop. The information is well organized and appealingly illustrated, divided into six parts that each focus on a different aspect of TTRPGs—“Beginning the Adventure,” “Books of Lore,” “From Battlefield to Sandtable,” “Assume Your Role,” and “Magic in the Modern World”; “Continuing the Adventure” then describes how the modern TTRPG is still evolving. Throughout, Steenz and Sattin acknowledge and critique the racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination embedded in the ideologies that influenced the development of modern TTRPGs, including The Lord of the Rings and Conan the Barbarian. They also highlight the work of gamers from marginalized backgrounds who are increasing inclusion and accessibility. The concluding miniadventure offers an exciting, conflict-filled setting, but an overinvolved nonplayer character creates a rigid story structure and dampens the thrill of the heist.
Engaging, informative, and comprehensive. (creators’ note, glossary, bibliography) (Graphic nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780358616375
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Versify/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future.
An adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).
Divided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. However, the mention of transgender movements and activism—in particular, contemporary issues—runs on the slim side. Whereas chapters are devoted to over 30 ethnically diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer figures, some trans pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen and Holly Woodlawn are reduced to short sidebars.
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future. (glossary, photo credits, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5612-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A tribute to young people’s resistance in the face of oppression.
In 1983 South Korea, Kim was learning to navigate university and student political activism.
The daughter of modest restaurant owners, Kim was apolitical—she just wanted to make her parents proud and be worthy of her tuition expenses. Following an administrator’s advice to avoid trouble and pursue extracurriculars, she joined a folk dance team where she met a fellow student who invited her into a banned book club. Kim was fearful at first, but her thirst for knowledge soon won out. As she learned the truth of her country’s oppressive fascist political environment, Kim became closer to the other book club members while the authorities grew increasingly desperate to identify and punish student dissidents. The kinetic manhwa drawing style skillfully captures the personal and political history of this eye-opening memoir. The disturbing elements of political corruption and loss of human rights are lightened by moving depictions of sweet, funny moments between friends as well as deft political maneuvering by Kim herself when she was eventually questioned by authorities. The art and dialogue complement each other as they express the tension that Kim and her friends felt as they tried to balance school, family, and romance with surviving in a dangerous political environment. References to fake news and a divisive government make this particularly timely; the only thing missing is a list for further reading.
A tribute to young people’s resistance in the face of oppression. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-945820-42-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Iron Circus Comics
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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PERSPECTIVES
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