The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited!

by Clint McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Carey Pietsch
2019, First Second Books
Paperback, 240 pages, $25.99 CAD

Rating: ★★★★★

Good: Character Development, Worldbuilding, Art
Bad: Constrictive Narrative, On-rails Narrative

Since I spent far too much time on analysing the podcast in my analysis of The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins, I will do my best to focus solely on the contents of The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited! this time around. The second arc of The Adventure Zone podcast isn’t something that made that much of an impact on me. I was still in the process of acclimating to the format and the McElroys’ storytelling style. While the Rockport Limited arc remains a favourite for many fans—due in part, I’m sure, to the introduction of fan favourites like Angus, Jenkins, and Jess—I found the arc rough around the edges. Griffin was doing his best to create something new instead of relying on pre-written campaigns, while the rest of his family was still getting a handle on what their characters were and how they interacted with the world. Thankfully, some of this was smoothed out for the graphic novel. Perhaps thanks to improved writing or Carey Pietsch’s talents, I found the world much more cohesive and interesting than in Here There Be Gerblins, and I appreciated that the McElroys cut back on jokes and pop culture references. This helped to elevate Murder on the Rockport Limited! to a higher level of quality than its predecessor, though if I have one complaint, it’s that the events in the book feel too restrictive. It’s as if the characters have no agency of their own, being forced down the path laid out for them.

Though, it’s possible that a tighter, less expansive narrative is to be expected for Murder on the Rockport Limited!, for two key reasons:

• Griffin ran the campaign on rails—and not just because it’s on a train.
• I am familiar with the source material.

The first reason is a product of the format and the anxieties that the McElroys faced when embarking seriously on this podcast venture. They didn’t stray far from what Griffin had planned, and actively followed his story prompts in an effort to build a cohesive storyline. I can’t fault them for it. It’s to be expected that the graphic novel’s plot would be similarly unidirectional in order for it to be faithful to the source material. It makes me wonder whether or not my familiarity with said source material is the primary reason I felt the plot wasn’t fleshed out. I’d be interested to see what someone uninitiated in the podcast would feel regarding the novel’s plotting. Though, some elements in the novel seem to indicate that the McElroys intended to keep the story on rails, with the itinerary provided to the main cast at the Bureau of Balance being a good example of this. It’s also difficult for me to determine whether the story’s mystery elements were well adapted, given that I already knew the conclusion. I’d like to make it clear that I have a difficult time really considering any of these deal breakers. I find myself constantly flip-flopping on whether or not my criticisms really matter here. I enjoyed Murder on the Rockport Limited! immensely despite my concerns, so I feel like that whatever flaws I’ve noticed should be taken with a grain of salt.

The main takeaway from my analysis of Here There Be Gerblins is that The Adventure Zone podcast has many different “Levels” to it, but only a few of these levels translate well to print. I argued that the Narrative Level was the most important to the success of the podcast—and by extension—should be the focus for the graphic novels. I don’t have enough hubris to think my thoughts came into play when the McElroys wrote this second volume, but it seems that they did improve in this regard—e.g. they toned down the amount of goofs and pop culture references in favour of developing the narrative. In fact, we barely see Griffin as the Dungeon Master—to the point I forgot he was a character in this volume seeing as he was absent for nearly half of it. This made the experience a lot tighter, allowing the reader to focus on what’s going on, rather than having the comic book equivalent of cutaways every few panels. While jokes and pop culture references are fun, they shouldn’t come at the expense of building an engaging narrative. Though, I was surprised by an increase in fans ervice. Where the previous novel made only a few retcons, Murder on the Rockport Limited! goes into overdrive, to the point that I’m ready to change my mind on whether any these changes were actually made to appease fans, or if they were included to make the world richer and more cohesive.

A good example of this is in Jess’ established role as a wrestler within the world and Magnus’ awareness of her career. At first, I thought this was a simple reference to the one-shot live show, but as other elements were introduced—like the developing friendship between Magnus, Taako and Merle, or Lucretia’s torment—I’m more inclined to think these changes are intended to flesh out the world, rather than just existing as fan service. I don’t doubt that fan interaction has helped shaped the world over the years, but I no longer think that the McElroys are including these details to satisfy fans. The novel is certainly better for it. That isn’t to say there isn’t any pure fanservice. One of my favourite scenes is the Scuttle Buddy mini-advertisement, which was just a cute little distraction from the main plot In any case, I think the McElroys struck the perfect balance in this volume between keeping things fun and lighthearted, and ensuring the narrative takes centre focus.

I don’t think I can express enough how perfect a pick Pietsch is as the artist for these graphic novels. Her drawings have an inherit energy to them. They are fast and loose, never too pristine and just the right amount of scraggy. Her colours are appealing, being just cartoony enough for the story being told. Her expressions continue to be her greatest strength, adding layers to an already colourful cast. She also continues to excel at bringing the world around the main cast to life. Every location feels real, allowing us to slowly learn what kind of world this is through her illustrations. Much like in the first volume, my favourite scenes are her establishing shots with huge crowds fantasy people, all of them just as expressive and lively as any of the main cast.

The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited! feels a lot tighter than its predecessor, and part of me wonders if the arc’s more complex narrative forced the McElroys to narrow their focus, or if they simple realized the narrative should be the most important element going forward. I imagine it’ll become harder and harder to include everything that happens between now and the end of the podcast, considering how much more expansive the story got over time. I think regardless of their intent, it’ll be increasingly important for the McElroys to focus on narrative and character development. That doesn’t mean we should lose the fun, but I am entirely convinced that great characters and meaningful narrative are at the heart of what made the podcast so special to so many people. In any case, it’s an improvement over Here There Be Gerblins, and I hope to see the McElroys continue along this trend in future volumes of The Adventure Zone’s graphic novel adaptation.