Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Micro Series “” Krang #1
Script by Joshua Williamson
Art by Mike Henderson
Colors by Ian Herring
Letters by Shawn Lee
Edited by Bobby Curnow
Covers by Kevin Eastman, Mike Henderson & Tyler Walpole
IDW Publishing
Release Date: April 17, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Micro Series “” Krang #1 is, simply put, a delight. It’s about 50% kick-ass action tale and 50% the fun Ninja Turtle type comic that you love. Put that all together and it’s 100% good!

I really didn’t need a Krang origin, but Joshua Williamson convinced me otherwise. I can’t believe I just read a comic about a living brain who goes Rambo in order to prove himself to his father, but I did. And I really enjoyed it. Williamson writes an interesting story about focusing on Krangs younger years and his quest to earn the respect of not only his father, but his fellow…brains, I guess. It’s a lot of fun, surprisingly intense in places, but it’s all around awesome. There’s great elements of fun, surprise and we get an honest to God resolution for the story. The only downside? No Ninja Turtles.

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.

Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Fool Moon #5
Written by Jim Butcher and Mark Powers
Pencils by Chase Conley
Inks by Nick Nix and Chase Conley
Colors by Mohan
Letters by Bill Tortolini
Cover by Tyler Walpole
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 22, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

If there is trouble to get into, Harry Dresden will find it. This month in Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Fool Moon #5, Harry most certainly manages to get caught right in the middle… as usual. One of the key action parts of this storyline (yes, it’s based on a book that I freaking LOVED!) takes place in this issue and Chicago’s only practicing wizard finds himself between a rock (not “The Rock,” as in Alcatraz, though the reference was intended) and a werewolf. Well, he tangles with a loup-garou at a police station, anyway.

Mercy Thompson: Moon Called #8
Written by Patricia Briggs, David Lawrence
Art by Tyler Walpole
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: Sept. 8, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

I haven’t read the previous issues in the first volume of the graphic novel adaptation of the Mercy Thompson series by urban fantasy mainstay Patricia Briggs, but I’m familiar with the actual books that the comics are based on. The artwork is well done, and fans of the books will be pleased with the depictions of the central characters, which largely match their descriptions as set out by Briggs.

The storyline involves a high risk werewolf mission that Mercy is caught in the middle of. She’s as tough as ever, and because of Briggs’ direct involvement with the storyline, it’s true to her books and the plotline therein. And although Briggs’ writing has never suffered from slow pacing in the novels, the same immediacy is conveyed in the graphic novel, but better. Mercy has to rescue a girl named Jesse and her dad, but their captors are intense and very dangerous, which makes their escape difficult.