Abrams Adventuregame Comics: Leviathan

Leviathan is a quick adventure into a light fantasy world that has a uniquely pointed message.You get a quest, explore, and try to stop the bad guy by gathering a magic wand. If that sounds like a game plot, well the comparisons don't end there. When you leave locations you have a classic role playing game top down view which allows you to choose where to go next, where you can solve math and logic puzzles. But there is more to the world than it first seems.Reviewing this from the lens of the intended audience of grades 3 - 7, I think it would be fun and empowering. While the message may be a bit heavy for the lower grades, I believe it would start important conversations.Where this differs from many other of Shiga's past work, and many in the interactive comics space, is the format. Not only the use of tubes, but the fill in the blank page numbers, and the day/night state cycle puzzle. Elements like this have been seen before (Virtual Reality Gamebooks for example), but are still relatively unknown to most. The implementation of both here have a direct purpose, which when it all comes together is delightful.Jason Shiga's interactive comics are often so highly focused on format that they lose momentum in their storytelling. While this book adds new mechanics, it also avoids plot for greater meaning. The tale of the protagonist is not more than the single sentence paragraph above. What makes this memorable is that the inspiration (Hobbes' Leviathan) mixed with the intended audience of grades 3 - 7. It is saying something big to someone tiny, in a way that I think could stick.The only downside is that this book has is that the choices are to move or talk throughout. As the interactive comics genre has expanded by leaps and bounds in the past five years, it feels oddly stiff and lacking whimsy of his earlier titles. There is less choice here, less plot here, less character, than compared to any other series, especially ones for kids. While I understand why (this is 116 pages!) the end result is an on-rails experience that only gets off rails to solve one of four puzzles. It is lovely, but there is no replayability once read. That may be a challenge compared to other children's titles which have found clever ways to use the visual nature of these interactive comic books to make reengaging in these stories to make fresh choices or explore new areas even more fun.This is the first book in a series and this is a bold, engaging start. Here's hoping the mention of Sugarcane Island within brings this series the same luck as the previous series who used that as their original first title: Choose Your Own Adventure. I'm excited to see where this series goes next!

I read everything this guy has published. His imagination is form another world. Buy it, if you like comics and week narrated stories

I had some choose-your-own-adeventure books as a kid but only the simple kind with few or no illustrations. This (and the other adventure book by the same author) is something else. Cartoon illustration led and apparently a lot of fun. I got the kids one each for Christmas and they happily solved one and then traded to solve the other.This book is on the small size (around 6x7 inches). Another book by the same author, titled "Meanwhile" is equally good but bigger (7.5x9 inches) and more probably more durable (it is made of some kind of plasticized paper), so that one might be a better pick for younger kids.

Very clever adventure book that makes you think outside the box to unlock the secrets inside.

What a great book! Takes choose-your-own-adventure to a whole new level. Beautiful art and great story too. Would really like to see something a little more long-form from the author.