- cross-posted to:
- britishcomics@feddit.uk
- cross-posted to:
- britishcomics@feddit.uk
Originally published during the adventure gamebook boom of the 1980s, Dice Man has never been reprinted in its entirety before, but now the complete run of the popular magazine is presented in this massive collection.
Using dice and a pencil, you will become Judge Dredd as he faces off against the Dark Judges, or guide Nemesis the Warlock as they race through the Torture Tube, or help Sláine steal the Cauldron of Blood from the Tower of Glass!
Written by John Wagner, Pat Mills, and Simon Geller, with art by Bryan Talbot, Garry Leach, Graham Manley, John Ridgway, Kevin O’Neill, Mark Farmer, Mike Collins, Nik Williams, Steve Dillon, David Lloyd, Glenn Fabry, and David Pugh, this is the definitive collection of these fantastic dice-based role-playing games.
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This is something different if you are interested in the 2000AD comics and want to have a new experience with the characters.
I would say it is half way between reading a normal storing and roleplaying as you have to maintain a character sheet with figures, but not so complicated as a traditional pen and paper RPG. Maybe this one is good for a gateway book if you are getting into those sorts of games or if you already play those and want something a bit different.
This is also ideal if you don’t have a lot of people to play with and want something just to entertain yourself for an hour or so.
Interview with Pat Mills from 2014
It’s 1985. You are one of the guiding lights of The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic. The choose-your-own adventure gamebook craze is in full-swing. You’re looking for a new magazine to spin off from 2000AD. What would YOU do?
That was exactly the choice Pat Mills faced when he created Dice Man, a revolutionary concept in British comics. Using the format popularised by the massively successful Fighting Fantasy gamebook series, Mills developed a version of 2000AD where the reader could become Judge Dredd, Nemesis or Slaine. Each decision you made changed the story, with no guarantee of even completing it, depending on choices made and your luck in dice-rolling.
Instead of the text-based adventures of the gamebooks, Dice Man was lavishly illustrated by some of the biggest and best artists in British comics such as Bryan Talbot, Kevin O’Neill and Steve Dillon.
Looking back on the genesis of the project, Mills felt it was an obvious thing to try. “I was aware of the gamebook craze and felt comics should do the same. So I designed a game system. The issues of Diceman sold, made money, but not enough for the publishers to continue.”
I have most (all?) of the single issues but will definitely pick this up, if I’m quick I can get it in my letter to Santa for this Christmas.