Forgotten Realms (comics)

Forgotten Realms is a fantasy based comic book set in Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting, written by Jeff Grubb and illustrated by Rags Morales and Dave Simons.

Publication history

In 1989, DC Comics began publishing the Forgotten Realms comic series, written by Jeff Grubb. Each issue contained twenty-six pages, illustrated primarily by Rags Morales and Dave Simons. The 19 issues produced by Morales was his first professional work. Tom Raney illustrated issues #17 and #20. Elliot S. Maggin served as an editor for DC from 1989 to 1991 and oversaw the licensed TSR titles, including Forgotten Realms. Twenty-five issues were published in total, with the last being released in 1991. Kim Yale served as an editor for DC from 1991–1993 and oversaw their licensed titles. Grubb wrote all 25 issues. A fifty-six page annual Forgotten Realms Comic Annual #1: Waterdhavian Nights, illustrated by various artists, was released in 1990, illustrated by Tom Raney.

Plot

Forgotten Realms

The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories. Several years later, Greenwood brought the setting to the D&D game as a series of magazine articles, and the first Realms game products were released in 1987. Role-playing game products have been produced for the setting ever since, as have various licensed products including sword and sorcery novels, role-playing video game adaptations (including the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game to use graphics), and comic books. The Forgotten Realms is one of the most popular D&D settings, largely due to the success of novels by authors such as R. A. Salvatore and numerous role-playing video games, including Pool of Radiance (1988), Baldur's Gate (1998), Icewind Dale (2000) and Neverwinter Nights (2002).

Spyro: Year of the Dragon

Spyro: Year of the Dragon is a platform video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation in 2000. Year of the Dragon is the third installment in the Spyro series and the last Spyro game to be released for the first generation PlayStation. The game was also the last Spyro game Insomniac developed; their next title would be Ratchet & Clank for the PlayStation 2.

Named after the animal of the Chinese zodiac, which was the symbol at the time of the game's release, Year of the Dragon follows the titular purple character Spyro as he travels to the "Forgotten Worlds" after 150 magical dragon eggs are stolen from the land of the dragons by an evil sorceress. Players travel across thirty different worlds gathering gems and eggs. Year of the Dragon introduced new characters and minigames to the series, as well as offering improved graphics and music.

Upon release, the game sold more than two million units in the United States and received positive critical response. Reviewers noted the game built on the successful formula of its predecessors by adding more games and expansive environments. It was followed by the multiplatform title Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, and was later released for download on the PlayStation Store in 2009 in North America and in 2012 in Europe.