The Last Session Volume 1: Roll for Initiative

Author: Jasmine Walls

Artist: Dozerdraws

Letterer: Micah Myers

Editor: Michael Moccio

Plot:

When I group of outcasts meet up at an after school club that doesn’t go to plan, they form a strong friendship within the game of D&D, Dice and Deathtraps. However, the pressure of growing up and finding time to play games gets to each of them, and so their adventure is put on hold for at least four years, until they are able to continue, in hopes of finishing the first campaign that brought them all so close together, but when a new player joins, it seems to throw a spanner in the works and begins to form a whole new storm of issues for the original group of friends.

Can they put their personal issues aside and finish the campaign? Or will emotions get the better of them?

Story:

The story that you read in this book is fun, comedic, thrilling and also full of heart. It has moments that can bring you to tears, and it did just that, there were parts of this story that genuinely brought me to tears because above all else, this book is about the struggle of making new friends and fitting into a group. As someone who knows what that’s like, this book hit hard for me and I loved every second of it.

The shift in tone when we go from reading about the players in their normal lives to reading about the adventure they’re going through as their characters is a very sharp contrast and a brilliant example of how games like D&D are a perfect escape from the struggles of actual life, but it also shows how easily our personal issues in the real world can affect our work, as some points within the game of D&D, the characters begin to closely resemble the same issues as the players themselves.

Art:

The art in this book is fantastic, with great character designs, sharp lines and smooth colouring to make the book pop. The characters within the game of D&D are well designed to bear some resemblance to their player and make the book an exciting and fun read as you feel the game come to life through the artwork, and not just because of the characters, but the backgrounds and little details as well.

The letters are in a very easy to read font, making this book accessible to people of all reading abilities. There’s great spacing between the words and also the letters themselves, so nothing gets mixed up and blurred into something unreadable at any point throughout the entire story.

Conclusion:

The Last Session is a fantastic series, and this collected edition brings it all together into one heartfelt story about friendship, bonding and acceptance of others, which as I mentioned before, really hits hard. It’s such a brilliant book and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

The Last Session Volume 1: Roll for Initiative is due to be released on June 22, 2022 by Mad Cave Studios.