Dark Horse Comics has just the answer for someone needing to capture every story in one fell swoop with the Mass Effect Library Edition Volume 1 HC by writers Mac Walters, John Jackson Miller and artist Omar Francia! This bundle of beauty includes all four Mass Effect series—Redemption, Evolution, Invasion, and Homeworlds—as well as the short stories from MySpace Dark Horse Presents, USAToday.com, and the Dark Horse digital store.
The Art of Remember Me reveals many interesting development ideas that it truly makes one wonder why other game studios don’t put this amount of thought into game design. One I found particularly interesting was the reason behind the developer — DONTNOD — choosing a futuristic, dystopian Paris as a setting. It’s a simple question with a not so simple answer. The answer (which I won’t spoil) is surprisingly refreshing and shows that DONTNOD’s creative staff were very thorough in its thought process.
Joe Johnston’s The Rocketeer — nearly twenty years after its theatrical release — remains one of my all-time favorite comic book movies. It’s lighthearted fun, full of thrilling flying sequences, and the story of an everyman becoming an unrecognized international hero. This makes it a film I will drop everything to watch whenever it [...]
Comics have become a mainstay in geek culture. In their infancy, they were tools to capture children’s imaginations, and featured little depth or character development. As such, comics were dismissed and labeled immature entertainment. But as the people who read those stories grew older, the complexity and depth grew as well. Superheroes went from being simple crime fighters to complex characters with realistic issues like drug addiction, depression, and marital issues. Today, readers can relate to a broken Batman who mourns the losing a sidekick, or an alienated Bruce Banner who’s constantly torn apart by his inner monster, the Hulk. Today’s comics are respected and revered, but with so much history where does someone unfamiliar with these characters begin?
The Killing Joke—penned by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brain Bolland—is perhaps the most iconic and memorable Joker story ever to be conceived in the comic book medium. Regarded as The Joker’s breakthrough story, this one-shot became a part of the Batman mythos due to its reception by critics and fans. The imagination excellently displayed by both Moore and Bolland created, unbeknownst to them, quite possibly the most important one-shot in comics history, changing the goofy jester into the Clown Prince of Crime we all know today.
UDON Comics takes yet another crack at the Street Fighter franchise with the gorgeous Super Street Fighter Vol 1: A New Generation. The graphic novel features characters from both Street Fighter III and Street Fighter IV, but it focuses on Guile returning to military action in order to track down The Secret Society. This clandestine organization has plans for world domination (shockingly) and it’s up to Guile to stop them. It’s a personal mission for Guile as the field agent he sent in as a mole (Tom) has yet to report back, making the Street Fighter II star feel responsible. Guile encounters many familiar Street Fighter faces as he hunts for the missing agent, and gains a few partners in his mission — almost delightfully akin to an RPG.
I’ve been digging anime since the early ’80s when I experienced it dubbed, edited, and squeezed into American cartoon blocks either in the wee hours of the morning, after school, or on weekends. I didn’t know its country of origin, but I did recognize that it was different. Cooler. Edgier. Not necessarily better — I still loved Scooby Doo and Super Friends — but different. Very different.
It was the style, really, and more mature storytelling. My earliest anime memory is tied to Battle of the Planets, a chopped up and remixed version of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Fronted by a heroic, stage-setting opening theme and featuring the a five member team in avian-themed outfits, Battle of the Planets became must-see TV at age seven. In fact, my friends and I tied sweaters around our necks as mock capes/bird wings and used our own imagined martial art to battle intergalactic ills on the playground. My anime crush had begun.
It’s been a big year for Marvel Comics and the entire 616 universe. The Avengers and X-Men squared off and (SPOILER ALERT) the brainy handicapable Professor X kicked the bucket by none other than his boy scout former student Cyclops. Because of these events, times are changing for the entire 616 world, which facilitates a relaunch of some of our favorite books.
At New York Comic Con, Marvel gave fans a taste of what’s in store for the X-Men, Avengers, and the relaunching Marvel NOW! titles. Not to be confused with DC Comics “New 52″ reboot, Marvel professes that “nothing is broken at Marvel” and that this relaunch won’t be taking steps back, but taking the 616 universe into the future.
Upon first gaze I fell in love with this art book; I couldn’t, and still can’t, keep my eyes off of Kazuya and Ryu about to throw down on the cover. I anxiously and feverishly skimmed through the pages amazed at the different concept drawings and character designs. This is more than just another art book; it’s two of the most beloved and storied franchises dissected by the people who created the amazing fighting game characters and their portrayals. If you’re looking for the inside scoop and design process for one of the biggest fighters of this console generation, look no further
Shining Force captivated SEGA Genesis owners back during the summer of 93. I was just a wee lad then, but still marveled at the amazingly detailed character design (during battles, anyway) and its intense strategy-focused battles. The series birthed multiple sequels, but there are numerous entries that failed to see the light of day stateside.
The Saturn’s Shining Force III Scenario 2 & 3 comes to mind when I think of the lost entries, as they appeared on a dying console that sparked little consumer interest. When Shining Force Feather debuted at TGS in 2008, it piqued the interest of many North American gamers, but SEGA had no intention to localize this amazing entry. For those interested in this lost gem, UDON has published an amazing $39.99 art book, Shining Force Feather: Design Works, packed with character and setting design, as well as creator interviews.
