Token City Wondercade
by Brady Gambles and Spencer Holt
Top Shelf Productions/IDW
27-Jan-2026
Publisher’s Summary:
New Game Start! Izzy’s great with hardware…but when her dad’s arcade gets invaded by creepy spirits, it’s gonna take more than a screwdriver to fix this mess.
The Token City Wondercade has seen better days…but for 15-year-old Izzy, it’s both work and home. Her dad is already struggling to keep the business afloat when the arrival of a mysterious arcade cabinet, bearing only the name “Hex,” throws their world into chaos. As digital/supernatural phenomena begin haunting the Wondercade, this stubborn loner must learn to cooperate with new allies…or it’s Game Over!
D. Bradford Gambles, the acclaimed graphic novelist who brought you Shred or Dead, teams up with co-writer/colorist Spencer Holt for the first in a new action-packed series for gamers of all kinds.
FAST-PACED CARTOON ACTION: D. Bradford Gambles’ relentlessly energetic art style will make Cartoon Network and Adult Swim fans feel right at home.
ARCADE ADVENTURES COME TO LIFE: Reminiscent of Ready Player One, Izzy’s motley gamer crew grapples with video games of all eras, laser tag, bowling, fantasy role-playing, and more!
SIX THRILLING CHAPTERS WITH MORE TO COME: As in Gambles’ first book, Shred or Dead, each chapter is a satisfying “episode” while slowly building an overall story arc…but now a cliffhanger ending will set up a sequel!
DIVERSE TEEN TEAM: Indian American protagonist Ishani “Izzy” Cooper is joined by teammates of Latino and Chinese descent, among others.
AGE RANGE: 13–17 years.
Review:
Izzy is the central character in this misfit group of four teens. Izzy’s dad owns the Wondercade and has no idea electrical ghosts are spawning from a game he acquired. Each chapter is called an episode (I think levels would have been better).
The 4th episode is practically a world of its own as the four teens end up in the laser tag arena where young kids dropped off by their parents have created their own society, The Children of Light. It introduces new characters who are only in this part of the story. It’s quirky and ingenious the way the children have separated into factions which are essentially anarchists and civil pacifists.
There’s a mysterious link between a best selling fantasy book series and the game Hex which is taking over the arcade. Milton is the oldest of the teens and enthralled by this fantasy book series. Izzy refuses to acknowledge Milton’s or anyone’s contributions to their squadron of spawning electrical monsters.
Milton represents the quiet bookish nerds who love to cosplay as their favorite characters and attend conventions, standing in line for an entire day just meet the creator/author. He’s the way in for Izzy, David, and Jillian to discover how to beat the monsters without them respawning. Izzy learns that sometimes you do have to rely on others and even go to the biggest nerd for help.
If this comic was pure nostalgia about days in front of arcade video games and pinball machines, it would be flat. This story, however, has substance. Izzy and her dad need to save the arcade from financial doom. Izzy and the other teens need to physically save the arcade from monsters. While Izzy may be a hardware genius, she has to learn that other people want to help her, not out of pity, but because they really do like her and don’t want her family to suffer. It’s endearing.
The artwork is magical in the way that electrical shocks and swords glow with luminescence. The expressions and body language on everyone look authentic in this “Cartoon Network” style of drawing. It really does feel like a Saturday Morning Cartoon from the 90’s (Ben 10, Powerpuff Girls, etc.).
Rating: 5 stars
About the Creators
D. Bradford “Brady” Gambles is probably working on a comic right now as you’re reading this. He’s made those darn comics for magazines, anthologies, and even the internet (they don’t let just anyone do that). His first graphic novel, Shred or Dead, was published by Top Shelf in 2025. Rumors are that his mom thought it was pretty good. He lives in Utah with his partner Kade and their roommate Kleo (who is a cat).
Spencer Holt has been making comics for fun and profit for most of his life, many of which have also been in magazines, anthologies, and even the internet. He lives in Utah as well, but has way more cats than Brady. His wife Marque and children Hendrik and Lily are very proud of him.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.