NetGalley Review: The Last Session Graphic Novel by Jasmine Walls, Dozerdraws, and Micah Myers

Hey all, Sam here.

You know, I haven’t done a Tabletop Tuesday post in a little while, and I might try to start getting back to that with a couple tabletop posts a month because David and I have two rather solid D&D groups going right now and I’d love to talk about that more, but until then, I have something that is sort of tabletop related…. a graphic novel review that’s about a TTRPG group as they near the end of their campaign. I’ve been meaning to get this posted for a little while now, and just didn’t sit down to actually write out the review until now.

I’ll be completely honest and say that I also have a few book reviews that involve characters playing TTRPGs as well, so I might do a book review/Tabletop Tuesday mashup for a few posts. It could be fun.

All right…let’s just go ahead and jump into today’s review.

ROLL FOR INITIATIVE Jay, Lana, Drew, Walter, and Shen began playing Dice & Deathtraps in high school. Now dealing with college and all the twists and turns of their lives, their weekly game has been a wonderful constant. But, as college graduation looms and it feels like their lives are all moving down very different paths, Lana’s thrilled to finally finally complete the party’s unfinished original campaign. But when Jay’s partner Cassandra joins the game, Lana refuses to let her inexperience ruin the best part of her week! But in the end, that may be Lana and the party’s undoing… Writer Jasmine Walls ( Edmonia Lewis) and artist DOZERDRAWS (Lumberjanes) weave a heartfelt story of friends learning to cope with all the changes that come from growing up. Collects issues #1- 5.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

Gosh, this was so relatable in a number of ways, mostly in the group starting to sort of drift apart because of life. But I respect that at least everyone wanted to get together and finish the campaign. Not getting closure on the characters and the adventure really sucks (and I definitely know from a number of past experiences).

This group had a lot of unresolved issues, in game and out, and they bled from one to another (yet another relatable aspect, unfortunately), and it was a bit annoying that some of the group wanted to limit and railroad the new player because they didn’t like how she was changing the group dynamic, but it was a dynamic that needed to change and grow a bit, and that’s okay.

New players can be such fun to add to the game because they can throw out some of the best and most wild ideas. Sometimes once you learn the rules and such, you build your characters with an eye towards conforming to the rules. Maybe I’ll do a post talking about some of the epic moments from the new players in both of our campaigns, because there have been some wonderful and hilarious moments.

All Cassandra wanted to do was be part of the group, but since the group had known each other much longer, some of them were very set in their ways when it came to their positions in the group dynamic. It caused friction that was clearly grating on many of them, but instead of trying to address the issue, they dug in their heels and stubbornly pushed on to try and reach the end of the campaign.

This graphic novel combines all 5 issues of the story, so you’ll get to see all the ups and downs of the journey, because it does reach a breaking point that will either get the party to the end of the campaign or will break the gaming group up for good. I’m not going to spoil any of that adventure for you.

The art felt a little simple compared to some graphic novels I’ve read, but that doesn’t at all mean that it’s bad. It wasn’t weighed down by complex intricate backgrounds and detailing, so you could focus more on the characters and the story. Oh, and the whole cast is delightfully diverse, which is also fantastic. We get to know bits and pieces about everyone’s lives, in game and out, but since this isn’t a text based full length novel, it’s not like we get everything fleshed out in grand detail, but it is enough to connect with each character and each player.

And though it has taken me far too long to review this graphic novel, it didn’t really take all that long to read. It is one that I have added to my collection, because I love to have stories about other TTRPG groups and the adventures they take together, in and out of game. I can definitely see myself re-reading this one whenever I need a little dose of tabletop action.

I know these characters have the potential for more adventures together at the table, but I’m not holding my breath for more. Despite the cover of this saying Volume 1, I think it is the complete collection. The Last Session was released back in 2022 and there’s been no evidence of more issues coming to create a second volume. The story wraps up well enough, and we can always daydream about imagined futures for the members of this friend group.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and I’m glad I read it.

Well, that’s all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.