Demian's Gamebook Web Page

Series - Diceman

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Language:English
Publishers: IPC Magazines -- United Kingdom
Titan Books -- United Kingdom
Categories: Complexity Level : Advanced (Full Game System)
Format : Paperback
Game System : Combat
Game System : Randomization Method : Dice
Game System : Scores
Genre : Fantasy
Genre : Horror
Genre : Humor
Genre : Science Fiction
Licensed Property : 2000 AD
Licensed Property : Comic Book Tie-In
Target Age Group : Older Children
Target Age Group : Teenagers
Writing Style : Comic Book
Translated Into: Chroniques d'Outre Monde (French)

Each issue of this interactive comic book (a spinoff of 2000 AD) contains two or three adventures. Several of these adventures were later collected in Titan Books' Slaine Gaming Book, which features a "Diceman's Fantasy Gaming Series" logo on its cover.

Collections

Diceman (You Are Judge Dredd in House of Death and 14 more items)
The Slaine Gaming Book (You Are Slaine in Cauldron of Blood and 2 more items)

Magazines

1. Diceman #1 (You Are Judge Dredd in House of Death and 2 more items)
2. Diceman #2 (You Are the A.B.C. Warrior vs. Volgo the Ultimate Death Machine and 2 more items)
3. Diceman #3 (You Are Rogue Trooper in Killothon and 2 more items)
4. Diceman #4 (Diceman in Bitter Streets and 1 more item)
5. Diceman #5 (You Are Rogue Trooper: Space Zombies and 2 more items)

Related Documents

Advertisement

Diceman #1 Ad (part 1 of 3)
from Eagle comic, January 25, 1986. Thanks to Ed Jolley for the scan.

Diceman #1 Ad (part 2 of 3)
from Eagle comic, January 25, 1986. Thanks to Ed Jolley for the scan.

Diceman #1 Ad (part 3 of 3)
from Eagle comic, January 25, 1986. Thanks to Ed Jolley for the scan.

Diceman #2 Ad (part 1 of 3)
from Eagle comic, April 5, 1986. Thanks to Ed Jolley for the scan.

Diceman #2 Ad (part 2 of 3)
from Eagle comic, April 5, 1986. Thanks to Ed Jolley for the scan.

Diceman #2 Ad (part 3 of 3)
from Eagle comic, April 5, 1986. Thanks to Ed Jolley for the scan.

Diceman #3 Ad (part 1 of 3)
from Eagle comic, June 7, 1986. Thanks to Ed Jolley for the scan.

Diceman #3 Ad (part 2 of 2)
from Eagle comic, June 7, 1986. Thanks to Ed Jolley for the scan.

Diceman #3 Ad (part 3 of 3)
from Eagle comic, June 7, 1986. Thanks to Ed Jolley for the scan.

User Comments

This 1986, five-issue comic book miniseries, published in Great Britain by IPC Magazines, represents an important achievement in the world of interactive fiction, being one of the earliest series to combine the interactivity of gamebooks with the visual capacities of the comic book format. The presentation is very different from the Mexican comic books I read as a kid or the American ones I read as a teenager: the size is similar to A4, with around 90 pages per issue and illustrated in black & white, which suits perfectly the grim mood the authors wanted to give their stories.

Every issue contains two or three mini-adventures, which allows a lot of variety since the reader is allowed to play many different characters from the 2000 AD milieu (by the way, the stories presented here seem to be part of the official 2000 AD continuity, which is remarkable for an interactive series). There is also a character and mythos created specifically for this series (the Diceman). In the Diceman stories, the film noir genre is combined with horror in a very effective way. There is also a story which falls in the genre of political satire mixed with a bit of science fiction, illustrated by political cartoonist Hunt Emerson. The rules – which require one or two dice – vary from adventure to adventure, but they are always simple and easy to understand.

What I find amazing in this series is that the famous creator of the 2000 AD series, Pat Mills, is the writer and / or designer of all the stories except one. Considering how interesting and well-designed the adventures are, one can only confirm how multi-faceted his talent is. Mills' participation, along with that of Emerson and Bryan Talbot, also proves that the gamebook form is a true cultural icon, not only a commercial fad of the eighties. Overall, this is a series I wholeheartedly recommend.

--Guillermo

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