After over 30 years, Tetris remains one of the most popular video games of all time, and Box Brown chronicles why in his new graphic novel, Tetris. Brown’s story jumps between two major threads, with one presenting the history of Tetris while the other examines the larger history of game creation and play through the ages. The result is a rich read that provides valuable context for the rise of video games in the late 20th century, and this exclusive preview offers a glimpse at both of the book’s plotlines. The preview begins with an excerpt focusing on Tetris and how the game’s mental stimulation made it a huge hit in Moscow, and Brown presents this information with clarity and energy, particularly the page of gamers enthralled by the new program.
First Second has also provided The A.V. Club with a deleted scene that explores the 17th century game, E-Suguroku, and these pages highlight how games are an artistic medium that engages with players on a deeper level because they’re having fun. The scene also draws connections between E-Suguroku and the comic-book form by showing how the grid of images in the game is remarkably similar to the sequential storytelling of comics, and while this sequence may not have made it into the final product, Tetris is full of those insights into the relationship between games, art, and graphic storytelling. Readers can expand their gaming knowledge when Tetris is released on October 11, but in the meanwhile, they can check out these preview pages and play Tetris online to get hyped.