Magic: The Gathering #1 came out on Wednesday, and the reviews are streaming in. Most people seem to like it a lot. Here are details from a few of the kinder reviews.

CNN’s Geek Out! made the book its pick of the week.

If you’re looking for something new this week, or just want to dip your toe in and see what the hell all these “Magic” players are always on about, think about giving “Magic: The Gathering #1” a shot.

MTV Geek says the book “Deals a Winning Hand.” 

[F]ull of plenty of propulsive action and a forward, breakneck pace that doesn’t pause for long before jumping to the next set piece… What will distinguish M:TG is its ability to make Dack an engaging lead, and luckily, Matt Forbeck does just that.

At Civilian Reader, Stefan enjoyed the book too. 

Forbeck gives us a good introduction to the series and world(s), and despite being entirely unfamiliar with the franchise, I felt quite at home.

Kitty’s Pryde gives the book 4 out of 5 stars.

The script is solid. Good pacing and with a sense of fun… [M]akes for good reading.

At Muliversity Comics, Walter Richardson gives it 7 out of 10.

[T]he first issue of Magic: The Gathering is a pretty good read. Writer Matt Forbeck gives us all the information we need while still keeping things exciting… It’s fun, exciting, and flat-out looks great. My accolades to the entire team for proving my expectations quite wrong.

If you go out and grab or download it, I hope you enjoy it too.

As ICv2.com reports today, the Magic: The Gathering comic I’m writing for IDW has been pushed back about five weeks. Rather than having the first issue ship on December 28, it’s now slated to be in stores on February 1. The given reason is “unforeseen printing challenges.”

Creatively, I’ve had a great time working on the series. I’ve seen proofs for the completed first issue, and the artist (Martin Cóccolo) and colorist (J. Edwin Steven) have created something beautiful and fun and even better than I imagined it all in my head. While I hate to see it delayed, it clearly falls under the banner of “getting it done right,” so I can’t complain, and once you see the end results, I don’t think anyone else will either.

Over the past week, IDW released two more covers for the Magic: The Gathering comic book series I’m writing for them. The first is by Christopher Moeller, whose artwork I’ve loved for years. It features our hero, Dack Fayden, running for his life.

This is, I believe, the third cover for the Magic: The Gathering #1. Like many publishers, IDW gives out copies of its comics with rare variant covers to retailers who buy lots of copies of the book. This one is the rarest of the lot, and like the regular versions it should be in stores and on e-readers in December.

Believe it or not, Martín Cóccolo’s interiors are just as fantastic as the covers. Martín’s a master of both perspective and anatomy, and he breathes real life into the characters he draws. It’s been wonderful watching him turn my script into an actual comic, and I cannot wait for you all to see the finished book when it comes out.

IDW also released the cover for Magic: The Gathering #2, which comes out one month later, in January 2012. This again features Dack, but this time he’s just burst through a window, which means he’s entering a scene rather than leaving.

Karl Kopinski created the art for this one. Karl’s done a lot of great work for Games Workshop (for which I’ve written many things) and for Osprey Publishing, which owns Angry Robot, the publisher of my original novels. You can see here just how talented he is. I recently turned in the second draft of the script for issue #2, and Karl’s image captures one of the early scenes in it perfectly.

Yesterday, IDW released its solicitations for its comics coming out in December. Among many other amazing things, this contained more details on the first issue of the Magic: The Gathering comic book I’m writing for them. While most solicitations are kept intentionally vague, it does reveal a few cool new bits about the book, including the names of the superstar artists working on variant covers: Eric Deschamps and Christopher Moeller.

IDW’s really pulling out the stops to get some top artistic talent on the book, and I cannot wait to see their efforts. I’m proud to be in such excellent company, even if it means I’ll have to work twice as hard to keep up!

Look for the full text of the solicitation after the break:

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