Mars Attacks Judge Dredd #1
Written by Al Ewing
Art by John McCrea
Colored by Jay Fotos
Lettered by Tom B. Long
Covers by Greg Staples, John McCrea and Jay Fotos, Loston Wallace and Stephen Downer, Nav! and Thomas Mason
IDW Publishing
Release Date: September 11, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Mars Attacks Judge Dredd #1 starts in a dark room with shadowy figures, talking about the mega-mafia. It quickly devolves into an argument about who is in charge, until a man shows up and says he is the only person to control the mega-mafia. A month later, Judge Dredd gets called in to help the North Sector with their troubles with the mega-mafia’s new plans.

The art, by John McCrea, is all over the place, sometimes clear as day, sometimes looking like a photograph from the ’40s. It works well with the writing though, and doesn’t interfere with reading the comic. The writing, by Al Ewing, doesn’t stand out in any way; it is clear and coherent, but not much else.

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #19
Written by James Roberts
Pencils by Alex Milne
Inks by Brian Shearer
Colors by Josh Burcham
Letters by Tom B. Long
Covers by Alex Milne & Josh Perez, Sean Chen & Tom Chu, and Nick Roche & Priscilla Tramontano
IDW Publishing
Release Date: July 31, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #19 is an amazing continuation of the series. It brings so much more to the storyline.

In this issue, we are treated to Minimus Ambus trying to explain who he is and was. It takes the reader, with Rodimus playing proxy, through how Ambus was Ultra-Magnus, what is the Ultra-Magnus, and how he got there with him in the cell.

This story by James Roberts is truly amazing, and I would definitely recommend it. That said, you will need to have read the previous issues, because the plot is a bit complicated. At points, it can be difficult to figure out what’s going on if you hadn’t read at least a few issues earlier.

Transformers: Monstrosity #1
Written by Chris Metzen & Flint Dille
Art by Livio Ramondelli
Letters by Tom B. Long
Edited by John Barber
IDW Publishing
Release Date: June 19, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Transformers: Monstrosity #1 is the first issue in the definitive origin of the Transformers. And I mean that in every way possible. You can’t go back much further than this in the history of Cybertron.

Writers Chris Metzen and Flint Dille dive DEEP into the past of the Autobots and the Decepticons. Going back to when Optimus Prime was just a security guard and him and Megatron where fighting side by side. Not only do we get an origin story for the two most popular Transformers, we see a lot of familiar faces in VERY different roles, An intelligent Grimlock? Yes, please! What I was impressed by in this first issue is that even though the characters are far removed from what they’ll eventually become, they’re all still the same characters that we know and love. Starscream is still a lying, manipulative bad guy. Prime is a leader at heart. And Bumblebee is still too courageous for his own good. Metzen and Dille have set things up in a way, that, even though we know what’s going to happen, we have no idea HOW they’re going to get there. Plenty of fun surprises in this issue.

Hatter M, Volume 4
Zen of Wonder
Written by Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier
Illustrated by Sami Makkonen
Lettered by Tom B. Long
Cover by Vincent Proce
Automatic Pictures Publishing
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Cover Price: $14.95

Hatter M, Volume 4: Zen of Wonder is the latest book in the Hatter M series from Automatic Pictures Publishing. Continuing the saga of Hatter Madigan in his journey through our world in the 19th Century, Frank Beddor, Liz Cavalier and Sami Makkonen manage a feat with this new installment that I had not thought possible: they made me enjoy Madigan’s tale.

It is 1870 and Hatter Madigan has been in our world searching for the lost Alyss””the rightful heir to the throne of Wonderland””for over ten years. Distraught over the fact that he has been unable to find the girl he was sworn to protect, Madigan’s luck is finally about to change. When he meets a mysterious young girl named Nekko who begins to teach him the art of Zen””being content and gaining enlightened understanding””Madigan is led on an expedition that begins with a quest to acquire a Samurai sword with sentimental meaning. This new voyage takes them from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands and finally to Japan where Nekko continues her guidance of Madigan. A notion that could be the key to helping him find Alyss becomes increasingly clear to him: “when you seek, you cannot find.” But it won’t all come easily, as Hatter Madigan must fight samurais, best fire breathing chicken demons and elude ghosts from his past if he is ever to reach a Zen-like state.

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.