The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal

Justin McElroy, Carey Pietsch, Clint McElroy, Travis McElroy, Griffin McElroy — 2020

START YOUR ENGINES, friends, Clint McElroy and sons Griffin, Justin, and Travis hit the road again with Taako, Magnus and Merle, the beloved agents of chaos from the #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novels illustrated by Carey Pietsch, The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins and The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited. Our boys have gone full-time at the Bureau of Balance, and their next assignment is a real thorny one: apprehending The Raven, a master thief who’s tapped into the power of a Grand Relic to ransack the city of Goldcliff. Local life-saver Lieutenant Hurley pulls them out of the woods, only to throw them headlong into the world of battle wagon racing, Goldcliff’s favorite high-stakes low-legality sport and The Raven’s chosen battlefield. Will the boys and Hurley be able to reclaim the Relic and pull The Raven back from the brink, or will they get lost in the weeds? Based on the beloved blockbuster podcast where three brothers and their dad play a tabletop RPG in real time, The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal has it all: blossoming new friendships, pining for outlaw lovers, and a rollicking race you can root for!

Reviews

Steph L @paigesofnovels

Aug 14, 2022

This was my favorite book so far! I loved the characters and the plot.

Risa C@risa

Feb 28, 2022

One of my favorite Balance arcs, but aren't they all? Reading this series after listening to the podcast all those years ago is like reliving an explosively colorful fever dream consisting of all the best-bad jokes and fantasy shenanigans while also spotting the bits of heavy foreshadowing for the epic and emotional pay-off that's to come. I really hope the series nails the climax of the campaign.

Katie@love___katie

Nov 22, 2021

Unsurprisingly, the McElroys and Carey Pietsch have done it again--adapting an incredible podcast into a graphic novel that stands on its own two feet, able to be completely separate from the source material while honoring it in all the right ways. The art is, as always, fantastic. Carey is extremely talented and I always look forward to seeing how she will translate an audio source into images. The jokes are amazing too! There were some new ones created just for the graphic novel that made me laugh out loud, and some classic gags (Merle dirty talking to plants and Magnus being ass out in front of God and everyone, for example) that stayed in. I loved how they made the relationship between Hurley and Sloane crystal clear, and changed the ending in a really beautiful and poetic way. This was the point in the podcast where I realized, "Whoa, this is something special," and for that reason, Petals will always have a special place in my heart. As always when I read and review these, I highly recommend listening to The Adventure Zone on whatever podcast platform you prefer, and read the graphic novels too! They're all a joy.

Renee Delcourt@booksteaandchocolate

Nov 16, 2021

OMG. I think this is my favorite Adventure Zone yet. I really really loved Hurley and Sloane! They were just the sweetest couple ever and I want to see more of them! Ahhhh. I love this series.