I really appreciated how the writers and artists utilized Baum’s original series and did not rely on the more well-known film version of the characters. The writers of the stories also understood many of the characters and lands in the 13-book series, including people like the Shaggy Man and Ozma.

The setting is interesting and unique, allowing games to only take place in Americana Literary settings. I found the book a fun read and very rules-light. It almost seemed like a party game in its design and intent than a traditional tabletop roleplaying game with long campaign settings.

It is amazing to see how true to the story that Shanower is in a comic format, and Young’s art is beautiful, personalized, and true to the imagination of how the characters are described. It is clear that the creative team is avid fans of L Frank Baum’s work.

On the surface, the similarities between both systems are player-driven and are heavy into creating consensus in telling a story.

Where the FATE system has strength is in its simple dice system of plus and minus and allowing the player to build their character, allowing them to fully understand who their character is at the beginning of the game.

The Brickley Sisters have a great concept about a children’s book about a bookshelf. The innovative character concept, matched with a heartfelt message to young readers: “Everyone has a story” makes this book an instant classic and must-have in every library.

The game is part of the original White Wolf ‘World of Darkness’ game line. The players take on the roles of ghosts and try to navigate the horror and hope of finding purpose and peace in the next stage of existence.

It was a great read and highlights the struggles of Chinese immigrants to the United States during the 1800s. it was a powerful story, educational, and inspiring. I am so happy to discover more graphic novels that tell stories that we all should be reading.

Although it was written in 2000, and much like political cartoons, some references are dated, I have enjoyed seeing that some of the commentaries of Vermont politics remain unchanged.

It is clear to me that Blamire has a love of the golden age of comics. The satirical comic book cover images are both hilarious and nostalgic with a touch of genius.

This is one of those books that I can read repeatedly and be continuously entertained and inspired with new ideas.

I am an immediate fan of this game. The setting reminds me a bit of my two favorite tabletop roleplaying games: ‘Shadowrun’ and ‘Changeling: The Dreaming’. The City of Mist combines the real world and the fantasy world. Like other PBTA games, this one focuses on group play instead of individual storylines.

Lords of the Cosmos is a quintessential homage to 80’s culture. On the surface, it appears to reference ‘Heavy Metal’ and influenced by the artwork of the bands of Iron Maiden and Metallica.

As I read more of the story, it was fun to see also inspirations from the 80’s cartoons and toys as well.

Erika Chappell did a fantastic job designing the game and she did a great job putting in the intricacies of aerial combat in the rules-light system. The book is 300 pages long and is an amazing example of a steampunk setting.

I got on interlibrary loan the 1984 children’s book, “Trouble for Trumpets.” The book has never been reprinted and is incredibly hard to find. When I do find it on Amazon or eBay, it usually runs for around $800.

I am quickly becoming a fan of comic anthologies and this did not disappoint. The book consists of 7 stories, each one doing its own interpretation of a cryptid. Some stories are fun, others are kind of dark, but I really enjoyed seeing innovative versions of these monsters, and was happy to learn about new ones as well.

For those who like to read about mythical monsters and those who are avid comic anthology readers, this is a great book.

Huygen created an academic guidebook for the reader which is imaginative and engaging. Rien Poortvliet’s detailed illustrations also give the reader the hope and expectation that anyone could run into gnomes while enjoying the wilderness and it would be completely normal.

Chantler is a perfect example of how comics can be one of the best ways to tell a heartfelt and moving story in over 200 pages while only having less than a page of dialogue.

His use of expressions and pace-setting is genius and is a must-read for anyone who is a fan of the 20s, Jazz, or loves graphic novels.

This past week was more reading bedtime stories. A couple of years ago I was lucky to find the entire Sweet Pickles series by Ruth Lerner Perle and Jacquelyn Reinach. They were originally released in the late 70s with Weekly Reader.

I read Tony McMillen’s newest book, AttaBoy.

Tony made the book in a treasury size and it was a great idea to have the book in a larger than normal comic book size format.

I really loved the story. It was a combination of classic Nintendo game instructional manual with symbolism and parallels to the narrator’s personal history.

This past week I read the DC Comics 1988 mini-series “The Weird”. With the Big Two publishers, I have been recently gravitating to stand-alone stories and so I discovered this four-issue mini-series.

The book raises many questions to the reader regarding our connection to social media and how we create personas about ourselves to the public. I appreciate how Baker’s story allows the reader to come up with their own judgments and just let the story focus on the characters and not necessarily the setting.