The Last Session Vol. 1: Roll for Initiative

The Last Session #1-5

by Jasmine Walls, Dozerdraws (Illustrator), Micah Myers (Letterer)

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.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, LGBT, Young Adult, Queer, Contemporary

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Jasmine Walls is an award-winning writer, editor, and artist. She's worked on several graphic novels along with writing Vixen: NYC, and can otherwise be found drinking hot chocolate or befriending all the neighborhood dogs.

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nicely diverse group of high-schoolers meet at a Gay Straight Alliance meeting that doesn't get off the ground, and they decide to start playing a Dungeons & Dragons-derived RPG.

Four years later, they are finally going to finish their campaign, and just in time, because most of them are moving away, for jobs or college. The DM has a partner who wants to introduce to the group, for this last couple of sessions. She tries her best, but she doesn't completely vibe with the group, underlying tensions within the original group surface and it all gets very dramatic.

I'm in two minds about this book. On the one hand it's nice to see a diverse group like this, labelling their problems and solving them neatly by the end of the book. Happy endings for everyone. On the other hand I feel like I've read a story like this a hundred times before, there are no surprises and it never really mines the drama inherent to the set-up. It feels like it's time to do something different with this kind of story.

The art is pretty great, both in the real world and in the game world.

(Thanks to Mad Cave Studios for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a group of five teens met in their high school's GSA and formed an impromptu D&D group, none of them suspected the game would last for more than four years! Now in college, balancing jobs, internships, partners, and moves, they have gathered again to play the very end of their oldest campaign. With a hitch: the DM wants to add a new person to the party. The art in this volume is excellent, strong character designs, clean page layouts, and beautiful coloring all support a story of friendship and fantasy.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle, tidy friendship drama unfolds amongst a group of Dungeons & Dragons players who started adventuring together in high school and are on the verge of graduating college. Some worry one party member's girlfriend is the Yoko that will ruin the group, but as with Yoko, things are more complex than that.

The characters are diverse in race, gender, and sexuality, but don't feel particularly deep or complex yet. It's seems another volume is planned, so maybe they can be made more three-dimensional there. And yet at the same time, this volume feels like a complete story and I'm not sure what more needs to be said about them. I guess I'll find out.

[Maritina Mela · Rating 3 out of 5]

*2.75/5

A group of students of different ethnical/racial backgrounds, sexualities and gender identities, form a D&D group during their high school years and once every week, they organise meetings where they play out Dungeons and Dragons.
Things change up a bit where they grow a little older and some of them decide to move away, a decision that is going to make their games a bit more of a rare phenomenon. So, before that happens, they decide to meet for one last time and one last epic game of D&D.

I am going to be honest.

I love reading illustrated books. I love children's books, comics, mangas, graphic novels etc. So, I thought I'd like this one too. And the gorgeous artwork on the cover, practically sold this book to me. But, there are a number of things that contributed to me not really enjoying this one, which pains me a little, because I went in to this with hope.

Before going on with the things I did and didn't like, let me say that I have no experience in D&D. What I know of that game, comes from recollections of friends who are fans of it and tv shows such as The Big Bang Theory and Community. And although I am not 100% sure about that, I am inclined to think that I actually should not be a D&D expert in order to enjoy a story that involves it. It's supposed to be a funny story about adventure and friends coming together, right?

Now, moving on from that to the things I liked:

Well, first of all, I loved the artwork. Honestly, this graphic novel is so pretty to look at. And yeah, I am not going to lie, seeing such a diverse cast of characters was refreshing. The world isn't made just of white, cis, straight people, so, why would that be the case in the media we consume?

But here we have a case where something that I originally liked, turned into a flaw...

Because, the characters are pretty much limited to what diverse group they come from. I remember their races, sexualities and gender identities, but I cannot remember anything past that. Like, I don't remember their names, what characters they were playing as and so on.
Although, I do kinda remember how those who are not blunt, are actually kind of unlikeable...
And maybe that goes on to show that besides their diversity, they're pretty much forgettable (which kinda enforces my theory that the author might have included them, not only as a way to be more inclusive and true to real life, but as a way to draw attention to the story as well...)

I also disliked the conflict.
The whole conflict involves the newest entry to the friend group, who happens to not be as much of an experienced D&D player, as the rest of the group. So, during their meetings, she messes up and that has consequences in real life as well, because she is slowly getting excluded from the group, especially from one certain person -whose name of course I cannot recall, but I believe she was playing as a dwarf?-
Finally, the conflict is resolved when the group realised that the new girl's character, was crucial to them achieving their mission, based on the dungeonmaster's notes. So she suddenly gets both good at D&D and accepted by the friend group.

And I get how not being good at certain activities can exclude someone from a friend group, but not so much when they are in their damn 20s? Because we're talking about a friend group that has been close with each other for years! Would they in real life, stop talking to their friend because she wasn't good at D&D?
(But then again, I remember how I was blocked by a girl who I was friends with for around 7 years, because she hated Game of Thrones, and would go out of her way to call GOT fans, sheep, and I replied with "You're being quite harsh, I am sure some of the things you enjoy, other people hate." And she was in her damn 30s. So, I don't know, maybe in a certain context, the conflict of the book may be realistic.)

I also wasn't a fan of the story's pace and the way it handled the way time was passing. Because in the first half, I couldn't really distinguish between them being in high school and the present.
I will also admit that, even though I usually tend to fly through graphic novels/comics/etc, this took me some time to read because I couldn't really focus and dozed off a couple of times...

It is kinda sad that I wasn't a fan of this one. Because I can see the love that was put in it. And as I said, I did love the main idea behind it. But this just wasn't for me.

If you made it this far, congratulations!
'Til next time, take care :) :) :)

I received a free e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Paz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for this e-ARC to review!

4 stars
Do you love D&D? There's a sense of community that is born out of this wonderful collaborative storytelling medium and TTRPG. If you ever rolled dice as a kid, or as an adult, with friends while creating fantastic stories and fighting evil forces, then I think you will absolutely love The Last Session.

This graphic novel follows a group of five friends that meet in a Gender & Sexuality high school club. When the president of such club starts missing on the sessions, they decide to pass the time playing Dice & Deathdraps! Or D&D, as you might prefer calling it. And as time goes fast, four years later our characters are about to graduate college or embark on new adventures. However, there's a problem. Their first high school campaign is still unfinished. So they decide to dust off their old character sheets and give their characters a proper ending, however, the DM's long distance girlfriend has graduated early and has the chance to join the last games. Though they are a really close group of friends, this new person messes up the flow of things, and with them wanting a smooth end to their beloved campaign, well, trouble comes up.

I really loved this graphic novel. I loved finding out that Maverick picked it up for a reprint and relaunch and that a new volume is coming out after years. It's great news because finishing this volume I just wanted more.
This story took me back to my high school days when I got to play D&D with my friends. And then, growing up, having issues with our schedules aligning and making time for it. Though our games were never character-focused (clearly a mistake), I have always had a soft spot for D&D and this graphic novel makes it justice.
Though the characters meet in high school and we get flashbacks at the beginning of every issue to their teenage years, this story focuses on them being in their 20s and I loved that! I also really liked that, though the in-game shenanigans were fun and adventurous, this title focuses more on the real life people playing these characters, as opposed to the in-game quests.
The characters feel defined and different and I'm actually so amazed at how good the characterization was with such little time, considering it is a short volume, there are six main characters and there's a story within a story.

Also, I have to talk about the art style! It's so good, it feels fresh and dynamic and I really think the artist nailed the vibe of both the adventuring party and the friends in their 20s trying to survive college and jobs. I also absolutely love how at the end of this volume, there's bonus content like character sheets for your games and note pages, the design is delightful.

Anyway, with the rise and high of D&D shows and content nowadays I think most readers are familiar with the game, so I hope people pick out this graphic novel. I can't wait to get volume 2.

Happy (re) release day, The Last Session!

[RatGrrrl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

As a big TTRPG fan (and a tiny creator) and an even bigger Queer, I was incredibly excited to read this and enjoy all the elements that make up this comic, but this was a bit of a let down.

The subversion of classic elf game tropes and all the awesome Queerness were great, but the script wasn't particularly interesting and the one player and eventually the whole group freezing out and being mean to the new player made the majority of this a major bummer to read. I get that it's a learning to not be a jerk story, but so much of it was depressing to read. Also, the whole Rudolph of it all, that a person actually has 'value' because of skills or knowledge they have, always seeks like a sad reason to not be a dick to them.

The art and LGBTQIA+ cast were cute, but this was a bit of a let down.

[Nore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so tired of "queer" rep like this

Nice art, though.

[Meredith Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

My feelings on this graphic novel are mixed -- and they veer positive, but it was hard to get over my kneejerk emotional response to this.

The good:
- INCREDIBLY good art. It's super charming, really emotive, and gets across both the characters and their player characters so well. I also want to say that there's a sense of love in the art? Which I know is so abstract, but it feels like the artist loved these characters and wanted to really portray all sides of them.
- The writing is very solid and all the characters feel unique and distinct.
- It's very diverse, with all-queer characters from multiple ethnic backgrounds. I think this is a really positive work to put in front of eyes of all ages!

The squeamish (There's no real bad):
I had a hard time reading this because the central conflict of it is sort of the stereotype of the genre. It's like reading a novel where the main character is a romance fan who conflates fiction with reality and treats everyone like characters in her lives who has to go through an arc of learning that people are complicated beings instead of the "good boy who isn't right for you" and "bad boy with a heart of gold". It's like reading a book where the main character is a nerdy boy into sci-fi/fantasy who gets bullied by jocks and they have to come together to realize that deep down they're both nerds who are fervently interested in their own special fields and aren't so different after all. Because this conflict basically plays off the standard stereotypes of D&D players -- that they're too absorbed into the story they're telling to be welcoming of newcomers and thus are exclusionary, but also that new players are overeager and don't spend the time to really learn how to play and dominate the game while totally changing the vibe of an existing group and that sucks.

It's like -- the thing is all the characters have reasons to be self-absorbed, and Cassandra of course has reasons to be cringey! It's written into the story that way. But I couldn't not read without thinking "ah yeah I forgot this is how people outside the hobby see us" (although I'm sure the writer and artist *are* in the hobby given how it's portrayed). As a DM and as a player I kept thinking about how nobody was actually doing anything to try to change it -- everyone was criticizing Cassandra's mistakes (even those who wanted her around) instead of helping her out with the massive rules set because she was new. The DM was Cassandra's partner and wasn't having words with anyone when things were getting out of hand but let them RP out abandoning her character and only THEN told them off -- why? I mean, I know people can in fact just hope it gets better on its own and keep playing through things, but it reached a point (when they were all complaining about her) that it was just uncomfortable to read for me as someone in this hobby. Because do I think people can act like this? Sure, there are many exclusionary groups. I've been in some. I've been in some really shitty scenarios, especially at conventions when I can't choose who I play with. But... hmm. It's hard to put into words at the point it stopped feeling like how people act and started to feel like negative press, the same way it would for having a romance fan who doesn't have a grip on reality or a nerd-jock enmity where both were annoying about it. There are plenty of real people who act like that but there are also so many who don't and I think it was maybe the fact that not one person was like "have you tried just talking to each other about it" repeatedly haha. I think maybe also that the only character whose pov we didn't get was Jay -- they were the one who was the fulcrum in the middle of these two factions and I think it would have been sold better to me as their story, in a way, trying to tell a good story and not upset either group and wanting the best for both but also ... it's been their campaign of four years, and they want it to end well too.

Anyway maybe the fact I have so many feelings about it IS a sign that it pulled off this conflict well, because I sure can't separate my own feelings about gaming groups and trying to protect both new players and old vibes from how the story wrote it out.

I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is queer and loves D&D (which is a venn diagram with a huge overlap), with the warning that they might have to brace themselves for the Iconic New Player Problem as the central conflict.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last few years have brought us a wealth of new resources and stories on Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games, but there has been a distinct dearth of stories that represent BIPOC characters as a part of this. The Last Session not only helps fill that void, but also brings in dimensional, LGBTQIA+ characters.

This is a great comic with a lot of well done colors (love the bright oranges, reds, and blues!) and illustrations. I had not heard of Jasmine Walls or Dozerdraws before but they are tremendously talented and rival many of the professional comic artists I've read for decades.

Session, while it feels similar to the Adventure Zone graphic novels at times, takes us somewhere new by showing us how events that happen in-game influence external ones, and vice versa. I thought this was a great new spin on exploring tabletop roleplaying games.

Many thanks to Diamond Book Distributors, Mad Cave, and NetGalley for the chance to review an eARC,

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lana, Drew, Shen, Walter, and Jay have all been friends since the time they first met at a high school GSA meeting. They started playing Dice & Deathtraps (obviously Dungeons & Dragons) around then. Four years later, they've decided to meet up and finally complete their first campaign, the only one they never finished. It's one last opportunity to get together in person before some big life changes for several of them. It's also an opportunity for them to all meet Cassandra, Jay's girlfriend, in person. Cassandra has heard about their campaigns from Jay and is excited to get to play with them for the first time.

Unfortunately, Cassandra's newbie mistakes rub everyone the wrong way. Her presence changes the group dynamics and makes what was supposed to be a fun final in-person game a frustrating experience. Lana reacts particularly negatively, to the point that Cassandra notices and starts to feel unwelcome. Will their final game end with hurt feelings and strained friendships?

I loved the artwork for this. It was appealing and fun, and I never had any trouble telling characters apart or figuring out what was going on.

The story was a bit heavy-handed, all about friendship jealousy and dealing with changes. At least one of the characters was going off to grad school - at their ages, it seemed a bit odd that they hadn't talked through this kind of stuff before. In fact, Lana had apparently had a similar reaction in high school, when Shen and Walter's queer-platonic relationship began.

Change is especially tough for some folks (like me, hello), so the setup wasn't too difficult for me to accept, and the little peeks readers got into the various characters' backstories and their relationships with each other helped. And I appreciated that the story stuck firmly to friendship jealousy - I realized after finishing the volume that it could very easily have turned into some kind of romantic jealousy thing, and there wasn't even a hint of that.

All in all, I enjoyed this and the way it wrapped the characters' issues into their D&D game, although I'm wondering about the "volume 1" aspect of it since it worked perfectly fine as a standalone read.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Dani ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a game master and TTRPG player of five years, I think it can be immensely difficult to truly capture the magic of playing a roleplaying game with your friends -- there are pieces of literature and tv that have come close, but The Last Session really knocks it out of the park. Aided by an art style that is equal parts whimsy and unique, personal pizzazz, the story really comes alive. The seamless transition from the characters playing at the table to inhabiting their bodies within the world of make-believe is worth noting every time it happens... in particular because it makes me so envious! Every single person who has ever played any tabletop roleplaying game would understand that feeling.

And on the topic of relating, I feel that we've all been in this situation, if not a little differently for each of us - it is easy to feel Lana's jealousy, her fear of things changing. I found the storyline relatable on many levels, and in a lot of ways too. Additionally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how inclusionary the collection is. Visually, POC of all sizes can be seen, and gender and sexual representation is either implied or outright confirmed which is very welcome because typically, TTRPG spaces are not the most welcoming for women, or anyone who falls under the LGBTQIA+ banner. It's heartwarming to see so many of us included and represented in a story like this.

It is difficult to find any concrete flaws with this collection due to how short and sweet it was. Do I wish that we had gotten even more character exploration? Yes, but then the storyline would not be quite so tight, nor as cohesive. Selfishly, I want to see more of the characters, especially within their D&D world, but that's not what the story is. We're left hoping the best for them, believing that whatever game they're playing next, it's sure to be a good one.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting for this book is that high schoolers get together for the Gay Straight Aliance (GSA) meeting, but the president never shows up to guide them, so they start coming up with other things to do during their meetings, which is play their own form of Dungeons and Dragons.

They continue to play, through high school, and a bit through college, but then they realize that after college they will all have moved on to other things, and they wanted to finish the one campaign that they never did.

Only problem is there is a new player, and she is a bit thorny. But, she also notices things that the other players don't, that the dungeon master has set up.

A good story of friendships, old and new, and what to expect and not to expect from both.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super sweet story, adorable art, wonderfully diverse and inclusive. Captures the joy and social intricacies of TTRPG-playing and friendships!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm part of an upcoming webinar with the author, Jasmine Walls, and so figured that I should read her upcoming release (which she joyously sent to me). I'm very impressed! (Though I will be asking her: Is she Lana or Cassandra?)
The Last Session is the story of a group of friends who started a RPG game back in high school, and are coming together to finish the campaign before all heading off as graduating college sends them in different directions. Though there are 5 members of the original group, one member, Jay, is inviting his partner Cassandra to be part of the adventure. Tension begins between Cassandra and the others, specifically Lana, who is experiencing early separation anxiety and taking it out on the new girl. You'll have to read for yourself to see what happens.
Two more points I'd like to make. 1) Jasmine Walls, a self-professed queer author, has created an atmosphere with her characters that is inclusive without making it a main focus of the story. One character is non-binary and another discusses the possibility of being asexual/aromantic, but the story does not make either of those points a main priority, and so it excels at normalizing these types of gender and relationship identities. (The RPG community is generally known for being more open-minded and accepting of all peoples, at least in my experience.) This should help it appeal to a broader audience and get it the attention it rightly deserves.
2) It says both "Last" and "Volume 1" in the title. I hope that this story will continue on to future Volumes. I really enjoyed the characters and their interactions and would love to know more about them.
Jasmine Walls has created something here that should make her name more strongly known in the graphic novel and queer communities. I look forward to reading more works from her.
Recommend. Definitely check this one out.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Last Session Vol. 1: Roll for Initiative is a graphic novel collection of the first five issues of The Last Session by Jasmine Walls and Dozerdraws. Released 12th July 2022 by Mad Cave Studios through Diamond Distribution, it's 136 pages and available in paper graphic novel and ebook formats.

This is a graphically appealing and sweetly written slice-of-life story about a group of real life friends from their geeky high school days through their young adulthood, as they're finding themselves, forging relationships, and interacting with one another and the wider world. They're nerdy and sweet and utterly charming.

The characters are so relatable and real that most readers will have no trouble seeing themselves in one or more of them. I love it so much that they're individuals, with believable reactions and motivations, but that they also have this (mostly) stable network of support. It's a small part of the overarching storyline, but I also really liked seeing the support and acceptance from a secondary character (mother) of one of the main group. They're diverse, and their ethnicities and gender presentations are not emphasized in a preachy manner. They're just allowed to be themselves and it's so refreshing and fun to read.

The art is quirky, simple, and engaging and manages to convey movement and action very well. It's told in 5 panel comic format on double page spreads. Lettering is easy to read and clear.

Five stars. This would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition as well as for comics and gaming fans who enjoy non-superhero comics too.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Zoo Wee Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

My very first Netgalley review and what a story to start out with. This story just felt so real; I've been the jealous friend who didn't want new people and the new person who joined a very well established campaign. I adored every detail from the coloring to the style and even font. I am really hoping that this Vol. 1 turns into Vol. 2, 3, 4. Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

TW: Bullying, Fatphobia

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. I played some TTRPGs in high school but never got to play actual D&D until a high school friend reached out and we got to play online since we were split up over a few states. It was awesome! And I’ve played a bunch since and so I identified with both Lana and Cass.

Yes, things wrap up nice and neat and the story isn’t anything groundbreaking, but it’s fun. It’s fun and there’s a lesson without being too preachy. I really really enjoyed it.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but I expected more. Too bad it isn't a series so we could've spent a bit more time with character development rather than just rushed flashbacks and brief moments of insight, which would've hopefully made the DRAMA seem less overblown. Maybe it felt too...surface-level?

Drawing style is nice and worked equally well for both storylines.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but basic YA D&D story. No new ground here, and everything is so obvious and on-the-surface. Nice art and I did like the game 'twist', but even that was pretty easy to see coming. Overall, it's fine.

[Isobel · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was really fun

[Olive · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite being about adults, this feels like it was written for kids 😮‍💨

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5 stars

A group of friends start a Dungeons and Dragons campaign while in high school. Now, with everyone being almost done with college and departing on different paths, they get together for one last session. However, one of the members Jay brings in their girlfriend to join this last session, who is completely new to D&D. Will the group be able to cope with the new member, or will they crumble under their foes?

I felt this was a fun start to a graphic novel series! I personally really loved the art style, and when the story starts to lean more into the fantasy aspect, the designs were very well done! It really immersed me into the world that these characters were in.

When it came to the characters themselves, I felt that their introductions were very fast and I only remembered like one name as a result of it. The same thing applies for the fantasy counterparts. Introductions were beyond brief and they didn't use each other's names much in dialogue. I did like that some of their in person planning and comments leaked into their character, because that is the nature of the game.

I am not usually a fan of exclusionary parties, and I feel that this is what the story may become down the line. I might not continue the series, but I feel that if you're looking for some fun RPG inspired graphic novels, this would be a great start for you.

I received a copy of this story as an ARC from NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was cute, if a bit lacking.

they were, of course, being unkind to cassandra, but also... I understood why the party was upset initially about a brand new player being added to their table. jay sprung cassandra on them in the last arc of their years-long campaign. that was absolutely something jay should have communicated to their party before cassandra showed up. the book obviously understands how important d&d can be to people, because for a lot of us, it is more than just a game. the story fails to properly encapsulate the kind of communication a DM should be sharing with their party.

and an additional random note: why is cassandra level 18 when everyone else is 17?

that being said, there were some fun and cute character designs in the book, cassandra's dragonkin especially. they had such classic "my first time making a d&d character" people in the party. omen shadowblade? iconic name. the art style was cute and covered a wide range of how people look and feel, which I also appreciated. the casual queer representation was welcome. I like that not everything was resolve—the book never confirms whether or not drew manages to get a deal with a literary agent—but the connection to their individual friendships allows them a moment of escapism and connection from reality as it interweaves the real conflict with their in-game conflict.

though this book wasn't groundbreaking for me, I still enjoyed it.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Session Vol. 1: Roll for Initiative was an absolute delight from start to finish. It's a beautiful look at the ups and downs of friendship in your early 20s and how shared experiences can help keep a group together when their lives are heading in different directions. The story is told through both the perspective of the real-life friends as well as the characters within the Dice & Deathtraps campaign. I loved getting to know the friends through their interactions with the group as well as their Dice & Deathtraps characters. There's also so much lovely, matter-of-fact queer representation in this book that was truly the icing on the cake. I can't wait to recommend this book to everyone I know.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mad Cave Studios for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute. diversity-friendly graphic novel about a group of friends who play D&D together through high school and college (the core group formed around what was supposed to be a Gay-Straight Alliance club at their school, but the organizer didn't show up, so they played D&D instead). In what is supposed to be the last game of their longest-running campaign (the eponymous "Last Session"), a new player joins (the GM's girlfriend), and her presence causes tension in the group. I won't give away much, except to say that everyone learns important lessons about The Power of Friendship and such - OK, it's a little blunt in its messaging, and not subtle in its moral, but the story is so earnestly presented and so adorably that I was able to forgive any apparent "sledgehammering" of messages and morals. It was fun to read and I loved it!

[Theo Scully · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big thank you to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for giving me an e-ARC of "The Last Session Vol 1: Roll for Initiative" by Jasmine Walls and Dozerdraws, in exchange for a honest review!

This graphic novel about a group of queer friends coming together to play "Dice and Deathtraps" and combatting life changes all while they continue to meet up every week is absolutely fantastic! I loved the relationship dynamics between each and every friend, and how they all varied from each other. In addition, the casual queer representation gives me life, ranging from asexual to nonbinary to queer and straight main characters. Add to that the bright and crisp illustrations done by Dozerdraws, and you have a gorgeous story that will strike the fancy of any queer Dungeons and Dragons fan.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cute and I adore the art! I do really wish this went in a different direction though, but that’s because with all the D&D groups I’ve been involved in, this definitely would be a case of the DM overstepping everyone else’s boundaries and it would be very hard to come to such a clean resolution lol Jay VERY much is at fault in my mind here and I wish the story grappled with how they failed both their friends and Cass by not integrating a new player properly.

[Sheba Hector]

I just love the art style. I also enjoyed the representation and the background of the characters. I just did not care for the conflict. I think I just had the wrong expectations for this novel. More people should read this novel if they want cute art style and a story around changes and friendship!

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story of a misfit group of friends that found one another and built their friendship through tabletop RPG and how a new addition can upset their balance but make them even better if they learn to accept the change.