Hawken: Melee #1
Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Federico Dallocchio
Colored by Chris Northrop
Lettered by Julia Fung
Cover by Tim Bradstreet
Boom! Studios
Release Date: December 4, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Back in April, I reviewed Hawken: Genesis, Archaia’s prequel tie-in to the hit, free online multi-player game, Hawken. Having never played an online multi-player game, I enjoyed the graphic novel so much that I even considered pursuing the world it’s set in some more within its main form of media. Well, Boom has just released issue one of the their sequel series, Hawken: Melee, and I obviously jumped at the chance to check out the newest venture into the gritty, war-torn world of Hawken. Does it live up to its predecessor? Find out below.

In Hawken: Melee #1, I was submerged into battle with a Mech (giant robot controlled by a human) pilot who was caught in the middle of a fast-paced attack from multiple opponents. “20 Seconds,” the first title in the five stand-alone issues series, literally takes place within the span of twenty seconds, though it feels much longer.

The Reason For Dragons
Written by Chris Northrop
Illustrated by Jeff Stokely
Colored by Chris Northrop and Andrew Elder
Letter by Chris Northrop
Cover by Jeff Stokely
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: August 6, 2013
Cover Price: $19.95

“All men have to fight battles, big or small.”

In The Reason For Dragons, the new graphic novel from Archaia, Chris Northrop and Jeff Stokely explore this idea to its fullest. This is a coming-of-age adventure filled with fire-breathing dragons, knights, misunderstood relationships and bravery at its best.

Wendell is a scrawny, geeky teen who just wants to fit in. Bullied by thugs from school and feeling less important than his step-father, Ted’s, precious motorcycle named Lilly, Wendell is disappointed with life in general. When pushed by two tormenters into entering the abandoned, “haunted” Arthurian fair at the edge of town, Wendell seizes the opportunity as a way to prove his fearlessness. What Wendell finds at the fairgrounds is something he didn’t expect: a man dressed as a knight who believes himself to actually be a knight. As Wendell and the knight, Sir Habersham, spend the night avoiding a “dragon,” it becomes apparent to Wendell that his acquaintance is insane””or is he?