Unity #2
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated by Doug Braithwaite
Colored by Brian Reber
Lettered by Dave Sharpe
Covers by Doug Braithwaite, Travel Foreman, Cary Nord with Len O’Grady
Valiant Entertainment
Release Date: December 11, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Inside the X-O armor, “Aric has single-handedly pushed the world to the brink” in Unity #2.

Aric’s invasion of Romania cannot go unanswered. He’s already destroyed a Russian carrier inside the X-O Manowar armor, and in response, the Russians are planning to send a tactical nuke in to destroy the one man army. The fallout from such an event would be cataclysmic to Romania and the world. Toyo Harada can’t let this happen. So, even though his Unity team was defeated in a matter of minutes, Harada reforms a new team that includes himself to take down Aric and avert nuclear meltdown.

Transformers: Dark Prelude
Trade Paperback | Kindle Edition
Written by James Roberts, John Barber and Nick Roche
Art by Steve Kurth, Chee, Nick Roche, David Daza, Matt Frank and Agustin Padilla
Inks for Orion Pax by Juan Castro
Colors by J. Aburtov, Graphikslava, Ronda Pattison, Len O’Grady, Zac Atkinson, Thomas Deer and Joana LaFuente
Letters by Shawn Lee
Series Edits by John Barber and Carlos Guzman
Collection Edits by Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon
Cover by Nick Roche
IDW Publishing
Release Date: August 14, 2013
Cover Price: $19.99

Transformers: Dark Prelude collects the storylines of Orion Pax, ThunderCracker, Megatron, Bumblebee, TrailCutter and Hoist in an overarching story that spans millions of years, from the distant past, to now. Each story shows a major event from each character’s life. This allows for a more in-depth view into each character’s make up and driving forces.

The abrupt changes between the different stories can be a bit much but do help to distance each story from the last. This was also helped by each character’s changes in appearance between stories. These stories add to lore of this Transformers universe in a wonderful way.

Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms, Vol. 1
Written by Ed Greenwood
Art by Lee Ferguson
Inks by Sal Buscema and Marc Deering
Colors by Len O’Grady and Dee Cunniffe
Lettering by Shawn Lee, Tom B. Long, and Neil Uyetake
Cover by Tyler Walpole
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 15, 2013
Cover Price: $24.99

As a long time player of RPGs, I’ve borne witness to a lot of books and comics based on these games. Many are great additions to their franchise, while others are laughable and contribute nothing to the genre. IDW Publishing’s Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms is one of those that falls in between. With decent art and a mediocre story, it is entertaining but nothing remarkable when compared to others of its ilk.

The story starts off in Waterdeep, one of the dirtiest and most corrupt of all cities in the Realms. Two local thieves become involved in what appears to be a simple kidnapping but turns out to be more of a political scandal, though little is truly explained to justify the actions undertaken by the enemies of House Roaringhorn. Much magic and deceit follow closely on the heels of our two ruffians as they are forced into one calamity after another…even a rescue attempt. All in all, it’s a fun read, but definitely not memorable.