IDW Comics: Magic The Gathering

IDW has delivered to us a comic book series modeled after the trading card game, Magic The Gathering. If you checked your local comicbook store, card store, or maybe even a book store, you might have caught a glance at these two issues, the lattter having been released this past Wednesday, March 7th 2012.




















Unlike most comics, these comics are displayed in package, sealed. They also include a piece of cardboard for sturdiness. So, in short, if you're able to pick up the comic and flip through it, you're missing out on something. Something that may interest you. Something...well remember how we mentioned Magic The Gathering is a trading card game? When you purchase the issue, you get a Magic The Gathering card, with artwork the same as the cover art. These are the two released so far:

If you're familiar with Magic the Gathering, you'll know what I mean when I say it's just a story of another Planeswalker. Outside of the names of a few familiar planes such as Ravnica and Innistrad, there isn't any indication of interaction with other planeswalkers or stories. If you don't know  anything about Magic The Gathering, a Planeswalker is a mage who can travel through the various planes of the multiverse. Each comic book also gives a small summary of what a Planeswalker is on the inside covers, incase you need the reminder or the lesson. As a story, this leaves multiple outcomes, as the character can cause a problem in one plane, travel to another, and have a completely different problem. The main character, Dack Fayden, does just that, jumping between the planes to gather information, create and solve problems, or just use the resources specific to a certain plane.

After reading the first two issues, the story is easy to get attached to. There isn't a lot of confusion, especially as Dack likes to think to himself alot. Overall it's a very easy read and I would recommend you pick up the books. I don't know much about the cards in their current state as far as the Trading Card Game goes, but I do appreciate the extra care IDW has put in to make sure theft of these cards is not so easy.

So it's up to you if you want to make the purchase of these issues. There's no indication that this is a limited series, whether it will always include cards, or whether or not it will always be about this particular character. If you're interested in Magic the Gathering, it can't hurt to pick it up. If nothing else, you get cards you can trade.