The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal
September 1, 2020 5:57 AM - by McElroy, Clint, McElroy, Griffin, McElroy, Travis, McElroy, Justin, Pietsch, Carey - Subscribe
Our boys have gone full-time at the Bureau of Balance, and their next assignment is a real thorny one: apprehending The Raven, a master thief who’s tapped into the power of a Grand Relic to ransack the city of Goldcliff. Local life-saver Lieutenant Hurley pulls them out of the woods, only to throw them headlong into the world of battle wagon racing, Goldcliff’s favorite high-stakes low-legality sport and The Raven’s chosen battlefield. Will the boys and Hurley be able to reclaim the Relic and pull The Raven back from the brink, or will they get lost in the weeds?
Some highlights for me:
* less of a reliance on Griffin to move the story along. PttM is the turning point for Balance getting really good, and the graphic novels reflect that. The additional structure provided by Hurley's arc translates incredibly well into a graphic novel. I bought the first two out of loyalty to the McElboys, but PttM made me an actual fan of the graphic novels -- it relies less on GM!Griffin to keep it going. It's a good adaption of a good arc, particularly in how they handled Sloane/Hurley onscreen.
* The foreshadowing irony is good, with a few moments hitting veteran listeners like a ton of bricks, while still being pretty funny/innocuous to a newcomer. Merle's "I can't tell my arms apart, they look exactly the same" moment was just *chef's kiss*.
* We got a few likely pre-cameos: Lucas in the BoB segment and, perhaps Kravitz??
* The art keeps getting better! I think overall composition is a lot cleaner, without any panel being overloaded with detail -- compare the Red Robe's appearance in Murder on the Rockport Limited vs PttM. The Red Robe design is busy (imo), and it didn't stand out particularly in Murder as it did in PttM. There's fun continuity with Taako as well -- he's the only character whose outfit shifts between arcs, and his hair keeps getting longer too. Neat!!
* Garyl. Now, always, forever.
posted by snerson at 7:35 AM on September 9, 2020
* less of a reliance on Griffin to move the story along. PttM is the turning point for Balance getting really good, and the graphic novels reflect that. The additional structure provided by Hurley's arc translates incredibly well into a graphic novel. I bought the first two out of loyalty to the McElboys, but PttM made me an actual fan of the graphic novels -- it relies less on GM!Griffin to keep it going. It's a good adaption of a good arc, particularly in how they handled Sloane/Hurley onscreen.
* The foreshadowing irony is good, with a few moments hitting veteran listeners like a ton of bricks, while still being pretty funny/innocuous to a newcomer. Merle's "I can't tell my arms apart, they look exactly the same" moment was just *chef's kiss*.
* We got a few likely pre-cameos: Lucas in the BoB segment and, perhaps Kravitz??
* The art keeps getting better! I think overall composition is a lot cleaner, without any panel being overloaded with detail -- compare the Red Robe's appearance in Murder on the Rockport Limited vs PttM. The Red Robe design is busy (imo), and it didn't stand out particularly in Murder as it did in PttM. There's fun continuity with Taako as well -- he's the only character whose outfit shifts between arcs, and his hair keeps getting longer too. Neat!!
* Garyl. Now, always, forever.
posted by snerson at 7:35 AM on September 9, 2020
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I really like how they handle Hurley and Sloane. Got me a little teary, even.
posted by meese at 7:21 AM on September 1, 2020