Kill Shakespeare #5
The Tide Of Blood
Written by Conor McCreery & Anthony Del Col
Illustrated by Andy Belanger
Colored by Shari Chankhamma
Lettered by Chris Mowry
Cover by Simon Davis
IDW Publishing
Release Date: August 28, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Kill Shakespeare: The Tide of Blood #5 written by Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col and illustrated by Andy Belanger is the final installment in this latest series from IDW. With the culmination of the events from the previous four issues, how does this series end? Well, I’ll give you a hint: in true Shakespearean fashion, it’s tragic.

I’m going to skip my normal synopsis of the issue, as so much happened within the 27 allotted pages that trying to mention anything at all would give too much away; and believe me, you wouldn’t want that. Instead, I’m going to move right to the part in which I offer unabashed praise for McCreery and Del Col’s story as a whole. Kill Shakespeare: The Tide of Blood has been an incredible series with a wide assortment of clever and unique twists to Shakespeare’s tragedies. They’ve added extra heart and revelations about the characters that weren’t necessarily focused on in the first series, but helped to make this addition stand on its own. While a few things are left unfinished — which is fine because, you know, sequels and what not — issue number five provides an intense conclusion to the mini-series with enough closure to leave me satisfied.

Transformers: Regeneration One #92
Written by Simon Furman
Penciled by Andrew Wildman
Inked by Stephen Baskerville
Color by John-Paul Bove
Lettered by Chris Mowry
Editor: John Barber
Editor-In-Chief: Chris Ryall
Covers by Andrew Wildman, Guido Guidi & Geoff Senior
IDW Publishing
Release Date: June 12, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

Transformers: Regeneration One #92 is the latest in a long line of books that IDW is publishing for the FANS. And, as a fan, I don’t think we can thank them enough. Yes another case where the publisher ACTUALLY does something because YOU demanded it!

Transformers Godfather Simon Furman continues doing what he does best – writing Transformers. This series picks up where the original Marvel series left off, just like IDW has done with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. The series has been running since last year, and it’s given Transfans exactly what they wanted, and that is a proper ending to the series. Now, I know most of this is old news to a lot of you, but since this is my first time reviewing the series, I thought a brief catch-up would be nice.

The Legend Of Drizzt
Dungeons & Dragons: Neverwinter Tales
Written by R.A. Salvatore and Geno Salvatore
Art by Agustin Padilla
Colors by Leonard O’Grady
Letters by Chris Mowry and John Barber
Cover by Gonzalo Flores
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 1, 2013
Cover Price: $19.99

I love graphic novels. Don’t get me wrong, I was brought up on monthly comics. It’s just that as I’ve gotten older I have a deeper appreciation for contained stories. Dungeons & Dragons: Neverwinter Tales: The Legend Of Drizzt is a prime example. Having missed the first issue, I was originally a wee bit behind. Thanks to this wonderful book, that is no longer the case!

Written by R.A. Salvatore and son Geno Salvatore, this story takes place during the Neverwinter Saga of books. But the tale itself is all inclusive and doesn’t tie directly in with those novels, so you can enjoy one without having read the other. The really interesting thing about this particular one is that it centers around a lesser-known character from the books, Thibbledorf Pwent. As leader of the Gutbuster Brigade of Battleragers, Pwent was always at the forefront of any battle, charging ahead with no regard to his own mortality. This time around, though, things are quite different. No spoilers from me, but everyone thought he had died defending his king. Lost for so long, Pwent’s plight is a dark and lonely one that is fully explained here.

Star Trek #17
Written by Mike Johnson
Creative Consultant: Roberto Orci
Art by Claudia Balboni
Inks by Erica Duranti
Colors by Claudia SGC
Letters by Chris Mowry
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Cover by Tim Bradstreet
IDW Publishing
Release Date: February 6, 2032
Cover Price: $3.99

Star Trek #17 is a great single-issue story focusing on one of the most famous crew members of the Starship Enterprise. It’s part love letter, part space adventure, which adds up to one great comic!

Writer Mike Johnson turns in a fantastic tale of everyone’s favorite doctor, Leonard “Bones” McCoy. This is basically the untold origin of Bones – why he became a doctor, why he joined Starfleet, and just what happened with that ex-wife of his. This is a great character piece that could NEVER be told in a feature film, and if it was, would not be nearly as detailed as this story is. It’s got everything that makes it classic Star Trek, but told within the confines of the new films. It’s got heart, action, and humor, which makes this one great read.

Star Trek: Countdown To Darkness #1
Story by Roberto Orci & Mike Johnson
Script by Mike Johnson
Art by David Messina
Ink Assist by Marina Castelvetro
Colors by Claudia Scarletgothica
Letters by Chris Mowry
IDW Publishing
Release date: January 23, 2013
Cover price: $3.99

There’s a lot of anticipation for this summer’s Star Trek Into Darkness, the sequel to 2009’s Star Trek, which rebooted Gene Roddenbury’s beloved scifi universe and showed the popular crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise back in their Starfleet Academy days. For the 2009 film, IDW Publishing released Countdown, a limited comic book series that served as a prelude. For the sequel, IDW is doing the same, with the Countdown To Darkness, a 4-issue miniseries that bridges the gap between the two films.

Star Trek: Countdown To Darkness #1 finds the newly assembled Enterprise crew months into their mission to explore strange new worlds. Unlike the experienced crew we’ve come to know from the original Star Trek series starring William Shatner, these officers are novices, having only recently graduated from the Academy. Sure, they’ve been through a lot in their young careers – having to face the vengeful, planet-destroying Romulan Nero, for example – but the fact remains, they still have a lot of growing up to do. Therefore, it’s no surprise that James T. Kirk, now Captain of the Enterprise, is still getting acclimated to the loneliness of command, while First Officer Spock, whose Vulcan heritage dictates that he keep his emotions in check, is subconsciously struggling with the outcome of the rescue mission he embarked on while his home world was in the process of being imploded.