DIE creator Kieron Gillen is “envious” of Gamemasters, which he calls “the most accessible and certainly the funniest” history of RPGs available

The rise and rise of roleplaying games over the last few years has been a joy to see – particularly to those of us who were keeping the faith when the genre fell out of fashion for a while. Today, the likes of Dungeons & Dragons are bigger than ever before, being regularly referenced on TV shows like Stranger Things, inspiring podcasts like Critical Role, and spawning hit blockbuster movies. 

The history of the RPG is documented in a new graphic novel from writer Fred Van Lente, artist Tom Fowler, and colorist Bill Crabtree that will be published by Clover Press. Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of D&D, Gamemasters: The Comic Book History of Roleplaying Games takes us on a journey from the earliest pen and paper RPGs to our present moment. So good is the new book, DIE creator Kieron Gillen has said that it made him “envious,” calling the new book “absolutely the most accessible and certainly the funniest” history of the genre. Here’s Fowler’s cover for the book.

“This project has been a labor of love for Tom and me since 2019, and it’s so exciting to bring it to fruition on the 50th anniversary of D&D,” said Van Lente in a statement. “It’s been so cool to follow the story of an idea, from the invention of chess and the earliest wargames, up through the birth of TSR in the 1970s, through all the innovations gamers and designers have added to the RPG genre since then, right up to Baldur’s Gate 3, really.”