Sequential Art

The Crystal Kingdom

The Crystal Kingdom

  • Downloads：3976
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-09 06:52:18
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Clint McElroy
  • ISBN：125023266X
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Based on the blockbuster podcast where the McElroy brothers and their dad play a tabletop RPG and illustrated by cartooning powerhouse Carey Pietsch， The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom takes this #1 New York Times bestselling series to haunting new heights。

A desperate call for help interrupts holiday celebrations at the Bureau of Balance， and sends Taako， Magnus and Merle on a high-stakes mission to find and Reclaim a fourth deadly relic: a powerful transmutation stone， hidden somewhere in the depths of a floating arcane laboratory that’s home to the Doctors Maureen and Lucas Miller。 An unknown menace has seized control of the stone， and is using it to transform the lab into a virulent pink crystal that spreads to everything it touches。

It’s only a matter of time before this sparkling disaster crash-lands， but in order to find the stone and save the whole planet from being King Midased， our heroes will have to fight their way through a gauntlet of rowdy robots and crystal golems， decide whether they can trust the evasive Lucas Miller， and solve the mystery of what—or who—has put them all in peril， before there’s no world left to save。

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Reviews

Crowinator ，

This just did not have enough sweet， sweet elevator humor for me。 （c;

Kat Kester ，

beautiful art and amazing depiction of this arc

Wilder ，

Well， the Kravitz and Taako moments were somehow even better than I expected， and the I Saw Seven Birds part at the end gave me goosebumps aGAIN so I'd say this was an outrageous success all-around。 （Taako saving Magnus and making small talk under a mirror was one of my favorite parts？？？ Ultimate brohimes， love it。） Well， the Kravitz and Taako moments were somehow even better than I expected， and the I Saw Seven Birds part at the end gave me goosebumps aGAIN so I'd say this was an outrageous success all-around。 （Taako saving Magnus and making small talk under a mirror was one of my favorite parts？？？ Ultimate brohimes， love it。） 。。。more

Caroline ，

I get such a cosy feeling reading these graphic novels。 Big warm and fuzzy feelings from the goofy characters and the shenanigans。 It's a lot of fun but I do have to admit that this volume was not my fave。 It had a lot of good stuff but I finished and was like 'hmm damn wish that had more oomph'。 There was definitely some good set up for the next volume and lovely backstory which is always appreciated。I read a few other reviews that said this volume deviated a little from the podcast so good to I get such a cosy feeling reading these graphic novels。 Big warm and fuzzy feelings from the goofy characters and the shenanigans。 It's a lot of fun but I do have to admit that this volume was not my fave。 It had a lot of good stuff but I finished and was like 'hmm damn wish that had more oomph'。 There was definitely some good set up for the next volume and lovely backstory which is always appreciated。I read a few other reviews that said this volume deviated a little from the podcast so good to see them get creative and still have it be so entertaining。 。。。more

CJ ，

KRAVITZ！！！！This was the jumping off point for a whole new set of adventures and I truly can't wait！！！ KRAVITZ！！！！This was the jumping off point for a whole new set of adventures and I truly can't wait！！！ 。。。more

Joel ，

A nice return to form after Petals to the Metal—it deviates from the podcast in spots in ways that really work to further the overarching narrative。

Leni ，

Loving the books and the podcast！ Reading the book first really helps me with listening to the podcast。

Fay ，

I've missed these characters。 I love the storylines and interactions between the characters。 As someone who plays DnD， I can confirm the amount of silliness and fuckery is on point （but so is the heartfelt emotional crap！） I've missed these characters。 I love the storylines and interactions between the characters。 As someone who plays DnD， I can confirm the amount of silliness and fuckery is on point （but so is the heartfelt emotional crap！） 。。。more

galpalkirk ，

love the way they ramped up the taakitz in this

Katelynn ，

I would commit murder for every one of these precious beans。 Especially Merle。

Hannah ，

My favorite installment in the graphic novel series so far。 Kravitz is HOT。

Olivia Schmer ，

This is the most solid graphic novel series I've ever read。 I could care less if it makes any sense at all， I read for the characters， jokes， and beautiful art。 I'm not even kidding， this is the most beautiful art style I've ever seen in a graphic novel。 The colors are stunning， the character designs are out of this world， and the action is so understandable it hurts。 This series is such a breath of fresh air from every other illustrated story I've ever read in just how solidly its executed。 So This is the most solid graphic novel series I've ever read。 I could care less if it makes any sense at all， I read for the characters， jokes， and beautiful art。 I'm not even kidding， this is the most beautiful art style I've ever seen in a graphic novel。 The colors are stunning， the character designs are out of this world， and the action is so understandable it hurts。 This series is such a breath of fresh air from every other illustrated story I've ever read in just how solidly its executed。 So good。 。。。more

Nina ，

I almost feel like this arc needed 2 volumes。 So many things I wanted to see that understandably didn't make the cut so it wouldn't be too long， including。。。 all？。。。 of the major fight scenes kinda？ And Garyl。 And Magnus doing a dumb， hilarious thing。Couldn't have asked for a better Kravitz though。 <3 I almost feel like this arc needed 2 volumes。 So many things I wanted to see that understandably didn't make the cut so it wouldn't be too long， including。。。 all？。。。 of the major fight scenes kinda？ And Garyl。 And Magnus doing a dumb， hilarious thing。Couldn't have asked for a better Kravitz though。 <3 。。。more

Dylan Zucati ，

I am rarely one to admit an adaptation managed to improve upon the source material while staying true to everything that came before it。 The Adventure Zone: Crystal Kingdom does for this story what the podcast simply couldn’t for sake of being a table top RPG。 Every beat from the original story remains， though some are condensed from an entire episode to a single frame， and others are given to entirely different characters in order to expedite plot。 From the first few pages， Carey Pietsch and th I am rarely one to admit an adaptation managed to improve upon the source material while staying true to everything that came before it。 The Adventure Zone: Crystal Kingdom does for this story what the podcast simply couldn’t for sake of being a table top RPG。 Every beat from the original story remains， though some are condensed from an entire episode to a single frame， and others are given to entirely different characters in order to expedite plot。 From the first few pages， Carey Pietsch and the McElroys manage to take a shopping episode and use it to carry them to plot。 Combat that originally made up thirty to forty percent of the arc is squeezed into pages that care more about communicating lore or character development。 Moments like the elevator museum are explained away with a sign gag and the tardigrade fight is given to other characters， tightening the adventure at every turn。 Turning a Dungeons & Dragons campaign into a pre-determined narrative story allows the emotional moments that existed to motivate players stand on their own， instead of depending on your brother’s not getting bored and forcing things towards something exciting， such as combat。This was the first Adventure Zone graphic novel where NPCs felt like individuals， separate from the main characters; something I don’t know was true in the original podcast。 Even Sloane and Hurley in the last arc with their flashback pages and added epilogue felt necessarily connected to the established world。 Lucas and his mother brought an emotional core to this novel that really threw me off of the goof ‘em ups this story is usually known for。 In seeing Lucas’ expressions while he’s speaking through the com system， you see his struggle first hand， making his actions and their consequences weigh on him alone rather than the group at large。 It may be that every edition of this series， the McElroys and Pietsch learn how to tell this story more succinctly， it may be that Griffin’s original story took off in these moments and the visual medium showcases that in ways the podcast was limited。 Whatever the case， the ending brought tears to my eyes and shivers down my spine。 As the story approaches maximum velocity and end game really takes off， these emotional moments will only continue to heighten until that final battle on the Starblaster。Not to discount the vital work of the McElroys for a story that literally came from their family， but these graphic novels would be nothing without Carey Pietsch。 She is able to so perfectly convey emotions， giving the smallest of NPCs a stage to shine through。 Some we get to see for only one short panel， where they continue to build into their later plot or exist in that glorious moment to be remembered after all is over。 Characters we see repeatedly get to exist as more than a recognizable voice。 When you’re running a campaign， characters have to sound the same every time so we remember who they are， recognizing them visually allows Pietsch to give them expression not afforded in a strictly audio format。 This is all beside the great talent she shows in her illustrations throughout， her attention to detail， the use of every square inch of page， only using white space when the panels carry more weight with the contrast。 I loved seeing her notes on design in the back of the book， her descriptions of characters only confirmed the love she made apparent throughout。 The Adventure Zone crew has been conscious of their use of race as a group of white people。 A prime example being the internal debate around how to treat and then ink Takko， who started as a joke mocking D&D naming conventions back before the show was more than a joke itself。 Their care to representation while understanding what stories are and aren’t theirs to tell， making so many NPCs BIPoC without demanding gratitude for this bare minimum; their care for diverse storytelling stands out against an overwhelming history of white superheroes。 While they may not feel comfortable taking some of the head-canon swings that exist within the community， the fan art included in the back allows these versions of the characters to exist without conflicting with the source material， something Griffin was always clear about giving to the audience of the podcast。 My favorite in this issue was Kelenia’s Kravitz， whose vitiligo gave another take on his skeletal form， allowing the fans to further diversify this story meant for anyone who sees themselves within it。 。。。more

kyle ，

KRAVITZ！！！！

Mimi Schweid ，

I loved this arch in the podcast so it was super fun to see it like this！！ I'll always love TAZ Balance so I'm always happy to have a physical copy of my Tres Horny Boys in action！ I loved this arch in the podcast so it was super fun to see it like this！！ I'll always love TAZ Balance so I'm always happy to have a physical copy of my Tres Horny Boys in action！ 。。。more

Lia Apperley ，

This was a lot of fun as always。 While this hasn’t been my favourite of the series， the setting with the crystals was stunning and the story was very enjoyable。

Bree ，

Love， love， love this series。 What the podcast created is being perfected through these graphic novels。 This arc is *chef’s kiss* and translated amazingly to a visual medium。 My one and only regret is that “books don’t has music，” as the music in this podcast arc made it one of my very favorites。 That one small sadness aside， an excellent streamlining of this story。

Rachel Eaton ，

My favorite one so far！

Randi ，

I fully support the artist in their desire for "Oops all Romance covers" I fully support the artist in their desire for "Oops all Romance covers" 。。。more

Batastrophe ，

The best in the series yet！

Nick ，

Every volume of this series is gayer than the last and I'm all for it Every volume of this series is gayer than the last and I'm all for it 。。。more

Sami ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This is one of my favourite arcs from the podcast， so I was particularly looking forward to this volume。 There are some very cool visuals I enjoyed getting to see， like the cosmoscope and of course all the pink tourmaline。If I'm totally honest， I'm a bit disappointed with how much was cut in the adaptation。 But I realise that this was a very content-heavy arc， plus they managed to sneak in some of the missing content in very cool ways。Also， I loved the behind-the-scenes look at Pietsch's drawing This is one of my favourite arcs from the podcast， so I was particularly looking forward to this volume。 There are some very cool visuals I enjoyed getting to see， like the cosmoscope and of course all the pink tourmaline。If I'm totally honest， I'm a bit disappointed with how much was cut in the adaptation。 But I realise that this was a very content-heavy arc， plus they managed to sneak in some of the missing content in very cool ways。Also， I loved the behind-the-scenes look at Pietsch's drawings！ 。。。more

Alice ，

Beautiful art， fantastic story！ Each issue of the comic adaptation of TAZ has me absolutely screaming for the next one。

Lorraine ，

I really liked this although it felt like there was a lot missing？ Maybe just a plot heavy one。

Julia ，

‘Twas good。 You know what you’re getting if you listened to the podcast。 That but with great art。

Danika at The Lesbrary ，

Carey/Killian forever。 And we meet Kravitz！

Sharon ，

These books are just endlessly entertaining。 You'll laugh， you'll sigh， you'll wish the next one was already written。 Bonus: this one is also very pink with crystals。 And magic。 These books are just endlessly entertaining。 You'll laugh， you'll sigh， you'll wish the next one was already written。 Bonus: this one is also very pink with crystals。 And magic。 。。。more

Nate ，

One of the best arcs of the series。 Lots of laughs and intriguing hints for what's to come。 One of the best arcs of the series。 Lots of laughs and intriguing hints for what's to come。 。。。more

Emily ，

I literally love this series so much， it's such a wholesome reread to do every year when a new book comes out and I'm constantly surprised at just how good it is， especially since I've never listened to the podcast！ This new one is brilliant as always and I love how each book feels like a fun standalone adventure while being obviously connected to a wider narrative。 The art is incredible， super expressive with such good character and location designs and loads of really funny background details I literally love this series so much， it's such a wholesome reread to do every year when a new book comes out and I'm constantly surprised at just how good it is， especially since I've never listened to the podcast！ This new one is brilliant as always and I love how each book feels like a fun standalone adventure while being obviously connected to a wider narrative。 The art is incredible， super expressive with such good character and location designs and loads of really funny background details although this installment is slightly hampered by the inherent sameness of the locations。 The big full page illustrations continue to be hot as fuck。 It's hilarious as expected and I laughed out loud multiple times whilst also having its fair share of really heart warming moments。 Taako is still my fave I am obsessed and him and Kravitz interacting was great。 The foreshadowing was also brilliant （I got spoiled on the twist like 5 years ago lol so I can see what they're hinting at） and has a great feeling of dread to it。Overall banger read although maybe my least favourite so far after reading them back to back （2 is my fave） and could have done with being a bit longer to give the plot time to breathe but when the whole series is this good saying it's the least good means it's still incredible。 Stoked for a new one next year！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Crystal Kingdom

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Crystal Kingdom&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Crystal Kingdom&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0