Long, hot summer days provide a chance to spend extra time enjoying leisure activities including lounging, reading, and playing games. Whether you are a fan of video games, tabletop role-playing, board games, cards, or any other types of contests, most people have engaged with games in some form. Engaging in organized play is an opportunity for problem solving, goal setting and achieving, group bonding, and so much more.
With so many benefits and near-universal relatability, it’s no surprise that so many games have inspired film, television, book, and comic adaptations over the years. Our Good Game, Well Read curated list featuring a variety of titles that were inspired by, or were the inspiration for, well-known gaming worlds and franchises.
My six picks this month are titles anyone can enjoy regardless of their gaming experience or prowess.
Middle Grade
Minecraft: Out of Order Volume 1 (Dark Horse) by Josh Hicks
Riley, an animal education lecturer, is so risk adverse that he avoids any kind of excitement. He even makes sure not to step foot outside his home settlement, The Hamlet. Unfortunately for him, his walls come crashing down, literally, when evil twins Paula and Prentice explode several homes and structures throughout The Hamlet. Seeking to satisfy the almighty “provence of perfect sameness,” the twins must destroy structures that don’t fit the mold. While the other settlers decide to rebuild further East, Riley faces his fears by journeying through the dangerous Otherworld. Joined on his journey by a ragtag crew of unique individuals, his plan is to give the twins and their goons a piece of his mind (or maybe just ask them nicely to stop destroying people’s homes).
Minecraft is a worldwide phenomenon that has inspired books, toys, home decor, apparel, and most recently, a blockbuster movie. The game itself emphasizes exploring and creating, rather than meeting a set of goals, and Minecraft: Out of Order is authentic to that spirit. Characters explore new areas; build and destroy structures; and vanquish, or befriend, various creatures they encounter.
While this may not make for the most complex story, the themes of facing one’s fears and overcoming obstacles can never be overstated, and recognizable elements from the game keep it fresh. Hicks’ art style leans into the Minecraft aesthetic, blocky and colorful, without ever becoming boring or overdone. This is a solid entry for Minecraft enthusiasts as well as readers simply looking for an entertaining read, and it doesn’t require having any previous Minecraft experience to enjoy it.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): Elementary, Middle School, Children’s Public Library, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Teens
Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 1 (Yen Press) by Ryoko Kui
When Laios and his party are wiped out by a fierce dragon, he awakens to find that his friend Falin is missing, presumably trapped inside the dragon’s stomach. They’ve also lost most of their food and supplies to the dungeon where the fight took place. In need of food, money, more fighters, and supplies in order to rescue Falin and win the day, Laois decides they’ll conquer the dungeon by eating every monster that tries to stop them. This unique approach creates an action-packed, foodie free-for-all, complete with monster meat recipes and nutrition counts.
As someone who has been playing the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) role-playing game for years, I very much enjoyed the fresh (and tasty) approach to this quest. Most D&D campaigns have similar elements: A mixed bag of characters that struggles to work together and is always looking to secure adequate resources in order to vanquish enemies and accomplish their goals. The idea of eating said enemies really levels these common elements up a notch, creating a fun and engaging reading experience that transcends multiple media.
Whether you have played D&D or similar role-playing games, Delicious in Dungeon is action-packed and light hearted enough for young teens and Shonen readers alike. The illustrations are in black-and-white and not overly detailed, which keeps potentially gorey situations like battles and monster-eating age-appropriate.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): Middle School, High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Blitz, Vol. 1 (Ablaze) by Cédric Biscay, Harumo Sanazaki and Daitaro Nishihara
Harmony is a talented high school chess player with no time to socialize. Tom is the school slacker who develops a crush on Harmony, and realizes the best way to spend time with her is to sign up for the chess club. What starts out as a quest to get the girl takes a less predictable turn when Tom gets serious about chess and unexpectedly receives a virtual reality machine that features data on all the greatest players and classic games. This is a turning point for him to begin learning and enjoying chess beyond simply wanting to spend more time with Harmony.
Nishihara’s black-and-white artwork marries realism with a cartoonish touch, and the character expressions and background action add depth to the story. Readers will also learn about chess rules and strategies along with Tom, generating interest in, and an understanding of the game.
Beyond having the game explained move-by-move within the context of the story, a chess lexicon and annotations are also included, which may encourage readers to engage further with the game of chess. There’s also an endorsement from chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, and an essay on the powers of intuition and how to harness them by scientist Alexis Champion.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): Middle School, High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Young Adult
The Last of Us: American Dreams (Dark Horse) by Faith Erin Hicks
In a heavily militarized and segregated post-zombie apocalypse world, Ellie is struggling to adjust to yet another survivor’s settlement. Her attitude and refusal to keep her mouth shut quickly lands her in the wrong side of the other teens, until fellow survivor Riley intervenes in Ellie’s first-day beat down. That same evening, Ellie catches Riley sneaking out of the compound and follows her into the desolate city. The two explore an abandoned mall, where Ellie meets a vagrant lookout named Winston who lets her try riding a horse for the first time.
Unbeknownst to Ellie, the whole encounter is really a distraction so Riley can steal Winston’s walkie talkie and use it to locate her real target, a militia group known as the Fireflies. The two intervene in a Fireflies operation, causing them to violently subdue and haul the teens back to their headquarters. Not only is it revealed that joining the Fireflies has been Riley’s desperate plan all along, but also that their leader, Marlene, knew Ellie’s deceased mother and has been monitoring Ellie from afar.
The story serves as a prequel to both The Last of Us video game and the popular television show of the same name. Fortunately, due to the strong characterization and story development, readers don’t need to have interacted with either to enjoy this tale. (As a viewer of the show myself, it is interesting to see Ellie’s history with the Fireflies receive more context than the show has fleshed out to-date.) Hick’s illustrations are bubbly and in traditional panel layouts, setting her tale distinctly apart from the game and the show, and backmatter includes character outfit sketches.
In a world that is plagued with various takes on the zombie apocalypse, this chapter in The Last of Us saga offers a fresh take on “the living are the true threat” trope, due to how Hicks builds the world and explores relationships. This version of society is violent, chaotic, and often surprising, allowing the tale to weave through the gaps within what’s left of human communication, and older teens will want to ride along for Ellie’s next phase.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Clementine Book One (Image Comics) by Tillie Walden
Clementine, another teenage survivor of a different zombie apocalypse, is newly on her own in a ravaged, dystopian world. Not only has she lost loved ones, like most survivors, she is a new amputee struggling to adjust to her prosthetic leg. She comes across the sheltered and overly optimistic Amos, and the two make their way North where they discover a ski resort in Vermont. The once abandoned resort is now home to a group of teens who are working together to build a safe settlement. Clementine is naturally distrustful and understandably reserved, and soon the group dynamics become a complex mix of friendship, romance, and rivalry. Can this group survive zombies, harsh weather, supply shortages…and each other?
The Clementine character originally debuted in The Walking Dead video game, and has not (yet) been featured in any of the television shows. Her character was apparently emotionally compelling for many fans, prompting TWD creator Robert Kirkman to expand her story into her own comic with the award-winning creator Tillie Walden at the helm.
Walden’s illustrations are not just in black-and-white, they are deep, dark, and broody — depicting the shades of grey that define this terrible new world. Beyond the zombie outbreak, Clementine grapples with her sexuality, not wanting to form attachments, and with the physical pain of adjusting to new leg prosthetics. A bleak yet simultaneously hopeful story, Clementine is a moving exploration of resilience that will resonate with older teens.
NOTE: Clementine Book One is also one of our first Book Club Picks, including a custom reader’s guide to help spark conversations.
- Comics Plus Collection(s): High School, Teen Public Library, All-Access for Schools, Full Collection
Adult
Kill la Kill, Vol. 1 (UDON Entertainment) by TRIGGER/Kazuki Nakashima and Ryo Akizuki
After Ryuko Mato
i finds her father’s murdered body, impaled with half a pair of scissors (a scissor?) still protruding from his lifeless body. Immediately, Ryuko straps the scissor to her back and sets out to find her father’s killer. Ryuko transfers into Honnouji Academy and immediately challenges their current school order.
Students of the academy don magical school uniforms which give them special protections and abilities depending on the number of stars on the uniform. Heedless of these rankings, Ryuko comes face-to-face with student council president Satsuki Kiryuin, whom she realizes possesses the other half of the scissor. Did Satsuki have a hand in murdering Ryuko’s father? And, will Ryuko survive the battles with Satsuki’s minions to even find out?
As fast-paced and action-centric as Kill la Kill certainly is, greater themes of fascism, control, and individuality are explored through the student hierarchy and status assigned by uniforms.
In this case, the video game (Kill la Kill: If) and manga are both based on a popular anime series (Kiru Ra Kiru), rather than the other way around. While the game had mixed reviews, the manga is a worthy pick for fans of humor and action with deeper themes, but without a heavy-handed delivery.
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Moni Barrette, MLIS is the Director, Collection Development for LibraryPass, as well as former President of American Library Association’s Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table, and co-founder of the nonprofit Creators, Assemble! Inc. As a former public library manager, Moni won the California Library Association PRExcellence Award (2018 & 2019) for library events aimed at underserved adult library users, and has proven success using comics to increase library circulation. She is a frequent panelist at San Diego and New York Comic Con, San Diego Comic Fest and Wonder-Con, hosting industry networking events and providing instruction to educators and librarians.
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