Earnest “Gary” Gygax. To geeks, his name is one to be heralded. He was the father of the role-playing genre, creating one of the most beloved and widely played games of all time – Dungeons and Dragons, better known as D&D.

Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D, by David Kushner and illustrated by Koren Shadmi, is a graphic novel that tells the story of Gary Gygax from what led him to the creation of D&D in 1974, to Gygax’s death in 2008. The book was published in 2017, being spiritually similar to Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee (2015), yet telling someone else’s story. It is an unpretentious book, telling the story from Gary’s perspective.

Trying Something Different

Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D does something different and, to be honest, it does something different fairly well. This is the story that geeks are familiar with worldwide, the tale of Gary and the universes he created. The illustrations by Koren Shadmi are absolutely superb. That being said, the whole book can sometimes be a little polarising. Good guys are good, bad guys are bad, and there is very little in between.

What is more, Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D is told in second person, with the reader taking part (for the majority of the book) as the role of Gary Gygax. It works well in some areas, and less well in others. I have to admit really enjoyed how it mimicked a game of Dungeons and Dragons, throwing the reader into a similar perspective of a gamer. It is clever and does help bring the reader in.

That being said, as a concept (I have to admit), it is something that can grow old, especially as, when there are pages describing general life context, you are suddenly greeted with the second person again. This can jar. That being said, you have to take your hat off to the book for trying something different.

Not Just About Gary

Rise of the Dungeon Master is not a book that is just about Gary Gygax. I could get grandiose here and say that “it is about all of nerd kind”. Realistically, however, there is a far more pragmatic explanation. Rise of the Dungeon Master also spends a large amount of time focusing on Dave Arneson as well. Where this is welcome, there are other key players in Gygax’s life that do get mentioned in passing but with no additional time dedicated to exploring why they are such an influential part of the D&D story, as well as Gygax’s own life.

This includes his wives (Mary Jo and Gail), neither of which are mentioned in the book. Don Kaye is only given a brief introduction, Kevin and Brian Blume, and Lorraine Williams. Each is given a maximum of four panels in which they appear, and then they are never mentioned again.

This is because Rise of the Dungeon Master, where original in its art form of a graphic novel, is also highly selective due to the restrictions that artform presents. Each page only has around 10 lines of text due to the need for images. This means the text has to be highly selective, and can only tell a condensed version of the story.

Engagement Through The Medium

The fact the book is a graphic novel, however, presents an interesting set of circumstances. What the art form allows the book to do is hyperbolise the truth, showing Gary as the hero he was to so many nerds. What this means is the graphic novel version of this story is such that it is:

1. Incredibly accessible to anyone who is not familiar with Dungeons and Dragons, or the story before.
2. A fantastic homage to Gary Gygax.

These both mean the book is accessible, telling the basic facts behind the story without getting bogged down in the nitty-gritty detail.

A Homage to The King of the Geeks

What Rise of the Dungeon Master is, ultimately speaking, is not a biography of Gary Gygax. Instead, what it persists to be is a homage to the man that is striking and enjoyable. It does justice to him as a hero, showing the way he created D&D, who his allies were, and just what Gary means to the world.

That being said, the whole book is painted (or drawn even) with rose-tinted glasses. Where you get aspects of Gary’s life, it misses out on a lot of the controversy in favour of showing the lighter side of Gygax. Yes, he was a hero to many of us; however, he was also human, fallible, and a personal man as well as a king of the geeks. This book, Rise of the Dungeon Master, shows a remarkably two-dimensional view of Gygax, showing him as a creator but not as a human.

Rise of the Dungeon Master vs Empire of the Imagination

Of course, there is more than one book about Gygax’s life, and so this review should really end on a comparison with Empire of the Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons by Michael Witwer.

So, first thing is first, Rise of the Dunegon Master is a graphic novel in the second person, whereas Empire of the Imagination is a more traditional style biography written in third person.

There was always a criticism of Empire of the Imagination that it too looked at Gary Gygax through rose tinted glasses. Where it was not perfect, and does have its flaws, it also tells more of a story. Since it is not restricted by the graphic novel format, Empire of the Imagination can also deliver more emotion behind everything it says. To this day, Empire of the Imagination still has one of the best endings to any biography I have ever read, pulling on the heartstrings and making you really feel for Gary Gygax.

In comparison, Rise of the Dungeon Master is a much lighter version of the story. It picks and chooses the parts it wants to tell, pulling together a story that feels concise and complete from start to end. Only a couple of parts of it feel rushed; however, if this were not a graphic novel then it would be possible for those parts to be explored in more detail.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Rise of the Dungeon Master is a beautiful homage to Gary Gygax. It pictures him as the hero he truly was, whilst also acting as a fantastic introduction to those new to D&D. The artwork is simply stunning. That being said, it isn’t really comparable to a standard biography when it comes to content. The graphic novel format forces the novel to glance over key aspects, whilst focusing on that which keeps the story spicy and enjoyable.

Instead, Rise of the Dungeon Master focuses on accessibility. It makes a game designer’s biography interesting for all to read. It may be light, but it is mighty in more than one way. It is light, it is fun, it is enjoyable, and it can be read in around an hour.

I don’t usually do star ratings when I write gaming reviews, however, since I am on Goodreads and since I have to give it a rating on there, I thought I would share with you what I gave it.

So, what do you think? Have you read Rise of the Dungeon Master? Is this the kind of book you would like to read? Let me know in the comments below.

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Book Review: “Empire of the Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons and Dragons” by Michael Witwer

Published by Luke

Board game nerd, comic book geek, Rubik's Cube solver, Splendor player, and Blogger. View all posts by Luke