The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia HCPublisher: Abrams
Release Date: July 2013
Price: $19.95
Author: Martin Olson
Format: 160 pgs., B&W and Full-Color, 6"x9", Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0564-9
Age Rating: Kids/Teens
ICv2 Rating: 3 out of 5
With the ongoing Emmy Award-nominated television series on Cartoon Network, licensing that encompasses toys, t-shirts, DVDs, keychains, mobile and console platform games, and a host of other novelties, a series of books aimed at young readers by Penguin Publishing, and the recent Eisner Award-winning Best Publication for Kids ages 8-12 comic book from BOOM! Studios, the Adventure Time brand has never been stronger. As a testament to its continued popularity since 2010, the release of The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia then comes as little surprise. Yet, while young children may enjoy the various chronicles of the Land of Ooo, older readers who appreciate the various BOOM! Studios lineup and cartoon may find this latest offering quite disappointing.
Written from the perspective of Hunson Abadeer, the Lord of Evil and ruler of the Nightosphere, father to Marceline the Vampire Queen, The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia begins with an interesting premise that fans of the series will appreciate. While the book is compiled and documented by Abadeer, including his own personal opinions on the various heroes, villains, and auxiliary characters who inhabit the Land of Ooo, it also includes editorial comments and annotations from Marceline, Jake, and Finn. At first, some audiences will find these humorous and intriguing as Abadeer moves throughout the lands and kingdoms of Ooo; however, the shtick wears thin after a few dozen times and readers will discover that The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia is little more than a rehashing of the cartoon adventures with little to no original material added to the already well-known storylines from the cartoon. In fact, the originality and creativity of the show, as well as that invented by Ryan North, Meredith Gran, Natasha Allegri, and Danielle Corsetto for the comics and graphic novels, is all but absent in this latest offering as it merely retreads well-travelled roads. As such, The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia mirrors similar efforts by DK Publishing and others with their comic and toy encyclopedias.
Yet, despite these limitations, the greatest value of The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia rests in the illustrations included with the book. Instead of merely recycling screen grabs and scenes from individual episodes, the book includes original art by Renee French, Tony Millionaire, Celeste Moreno, Aisleen Romano, and Mahendra Singh. Furthermore, audiences will enjoy a sequence of Dancing Baby Finn by Natasha Allegri and flipbook animation by series creator Pendelton Ward.
As a reference book to accompany the show, The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia does a good job of providing character and location biographies; however, with the various fan-run websites and the community-created Adventure Time wiki, is it necessary?
--Nathan Wilson