Author: Karl Cramer

E3 2008: Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe Gameplay

E3 2008: Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe Gameplay

  • News
  • July 15, 2008

The 2008 Electronic Entertainment Expo is underway. Just to start us off right, Midway released the first gameplay footage from the upcoming Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe videogame. Since we’ve seen the Mortal Kombatants before, the video wisely focused on the DC Comics characters. Superman, Batman, Catwoman, and Flash were shown in some exciting footage using their unique abilities. For instance, the Flash smashed his enemy through several walls while going through rooms in a few seconds.

But the Mortal Kombat characters got the last laugh as the final moment shown was Scorpion unmasking to perform his famous fire fatality on the Scarlet Speedster. Mercifully, the camera cut away before that happened. Flashes always seem to die in these multiverse crossovers, don’t they?

See the video for yourself below:

 

Video: E3 2008: Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe

New ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Videogame Announced

New ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Videogame Announced

  • News
  • July 12, 2008

 The Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show simply will not die. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 is a runaway hit for Dark Horse Comics, while merchandise is still selling at cons, the DVDs are perrenial sellers and they’re still coming out with Buffy videogames.

That’s right. Publisher 505 Games has announced Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Sacrifice for the Nintendo DS. A mixture of first- and third-person gameplay as players take on the role of Buffy as she attempts to seal the re-opened Hellmouth. This is Buffy’s first incarnation on the Nintendo DS.

“Buffy’s return to videogames is great for long-time fans of the franchise and we hope the huge market reach of the Nintendo DS will help to create new fans too,” proclaimed Rowan Tafler, Global Brand Manager for 505 Games.

In a shocking Buffy-like twist, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Sacrifice will be available exclusively throughout Europe on Nintendo DS during November 2008. Fans across the pond are still waiting to hear details on a North American release.  Betcha Giles is lording that one over everyone.

Expect to come across Spike, Angel, the Master, the First Evil, Caleb and, of course, the Scooby Gang. The story is penned by series writer Rob Deshotel.

As an uber-geeky Buffy fan and gamer, I have to wonder where this story takes place. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds games were considered Buffyverse canon, especially since they featured participation from the actors and Joss Whedon, but other entries are questionable. The screenshots seems like it takes place during Season Seven, but the story description makes it sound like it takes place between the finale and the comic book.

Yeah, I know — even Xander would look at me and say, "What a nerd."

More screenshots are posted after the jump.

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The Flash Added To The DC Comics Network

The Flash Added To The DC Comics Network

It wasn’t that long ago we told you that Xbox LIVE added a DC Comics Network channel to its lineup of videos for download on the Xbox 360 gaming console. Well, they’re not wasting any time adding more programming. They’ve added The Flash to the lineup of superhero television shows.

1990’s The Flash, starring John Wesley Shipp, was one of those shows that never got the recognition it should have. It was caught in an unfortunate network struggle for Thursday night between The Cosby Show and The Simpsons. Taking a cue from Tim Burton’ first Batman movie, it was playful but took itself seriously. Comics author Howard Chaykin was on board as one of the program’s writers so the show maintained the right shout-outs to appease comic fans. Amanda Pays perfected the hot, brainy scientist helping Barry Allen with his mysterious powers. And let’s face it, that suit looked cool moving at super-speed.

All that quality was expensive, though, so CBS canceled it after one season when it failed to become a runaway hit. But the show lived on in reruns on the SCI-FI Channel and on DVD.

Visit the official page to see some great previews of each episode — especially episode #12, if you want to see Mark Hamill hamming it up as the Trickster.

Keep ’em coming boys. Maybe you’ll be the ones that will finally distribute episodes of the Adam West Batman series from the ’60s.

Jo Chen’s Comic Art Cover for ‘Fable II’

Jo Chen’s Comic Art Cover for ‘Fable II’

Microsoft recently dropped some details for Fable II, one of their big games for holiday 2008. Pre-order bonus games, collectible figurines, making-of discs, yadda yadda yadda… But what’s cool for fans of Jo Chen’s amazing comic cover art (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Runaways) is that she did the box art for Fable II. (A larger version of the image is posted after the jump.)

Of course, this isn’t totally surprising since she received considerable acclaim for doing the cover art for the original Fable.

So what I want to know is, why haven’t game makers discovered the likes of Alex Ross, Adam Hughes, and J.G. Jones for videogame covers? Instead, they seem content to stick with dreck made by art students with access to Photoshop. *sigh*

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The Question Spotted… at Wimbledon?

The Question Spotted… at Wimbledon?

The online edition of the British newspaper The Daily Mail is reporting sightings throughout the country of faceless, well-dressed people at events like Wimbledon.

Comic fans might suspect that DC Comics’ The Question, investigator of social corruption, has crossed over to our universe. Not really, but we really wish that would happen.

Instead it’s creative marketing from car manufacturer Lotus.

That is, unless car manufacturers are up to something evil… Hmm.

Xbox LIVE Adds DC Comics Network

Xbox LIVE Adds DC Comics Network

As if Dark Knight, Wanted, Hulk, and Iron Man gamerpics weren’t enough, the Xbox LIVE online video game service has announced a plethora of DC Comics content for your Xbox 360.

The DC Comics Network will be a one-stop shopping location on the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace for superhero media to play on your Xbox 360 game system. To celebrate the launch, they’re offering stellar gamerpics of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and the DC Swirl. (Gamerpics are pictures attached to your Xbox online profile to represent you when playing other gamers.) Imagine evil gamers quaking in fear when they find they’re going to play against the Justice League. Cheaters are a superstitious and cowardly lot.

After p0wning bad guys, relax with all the superhero digital downloads you can buy for a reasonable price.

And coming July 8th, Batman: Gotham Knight, the Batman direct-to-DVD animated feature will also be available for download. (Click here for our ComicMix review of Batman: Gotham Knight.) An exclusive clip is available right now for the Xbox.

Haven’t bought an Xbox 360 yet? If you’re considering it, multiple leaks have all but confirmed that a price drop to $299.99 for the system (the one with the hard drive to download video content) will be coming in mid-July.

‘DC Universe Online’ Wants To Be Your MySpace Friend

‘DC Universe Online’ Wants To Be Your MySpace Friend

Just last week, Jim Lee dropped some details on Sony Online Entertainment’s MMO videogame based on DC Comics. We made a wish that screenshots would be soon to follow.

Well, consider that wish granted!

This week’s batch of DC comics featured links to a MySpace page showcasing the first public images of the much-discussed game.

If you’re eagerly anticipating the upcoming PC and PlayStation 3 game, then head on over to www.myspace.com/dcuo for tons o’ details on DC Universe Online.

In addition to screenshots (which we’ve posted after the jump) the site also features developer interviews, Jim Lee concept art, wallpapers, and buddy icons. You might also want to add the social networking page to your Friends List because Sony is sponsoring contests for anyone who makes the game one of their "Top Friends."

But will DC Universe Online comment on my page about that time we got drunk and went to McDonald’s at 2:00 AM? Good times…. good times.

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Interview: Hugh Sterbakov on ‘Freshmen’ and the ‘Summer Vacation Special’

Interview: Hugh Sterbakov on ‘Freshmen’ and the ‘Summer Vacation Special’

When Freshmen was first solicited by its publisher Top Cow, the series was promoted as "The adventures of college freshmen with extraordinary powers."

And while many writers might respond by rolling their eyes, smirking and claiming that their characters were a bit more serious and tackled deeper social issues, Freshmen creators Seth Green and Hugh Sterbakov embrace that tagline for their popular series. When the series kicked off, their heroes were naive college freshmen making the same mistakes any other freshmen might, but on a much larger, action-packed scale.

Majoring in outrageous situations with a minor in young adult drama, the original Freshmen: Introduction to Superpowers miniseries passed its first semester with honors. The second volume, Freshmen II: Fundamental of Fear, is currently wrapping up — soon to be followed by a Freshmen: Summer Vacation Special in July.

While actor, writer and producer Seth Green gets a lot of the spotlight because of his involvement with movies, the Family Guy TV series and co-creating Robot Chicken, co-writer Hugh Sterbakov is very much the heart and soul of the series.

COMICMIX: For new readers who haven’t studied the Freshmen curriculum, what do they need to know for the test? Let’s hear the CliffsNotes version of the series…

HUGH STERBAKOV: It’s a whole dramatic and comedic saga with a crapload of characters and relationships, but if we’re cramming, I’d say that a bunch of college freshmen have been given superpowers by the explosion of a special machine, and the powers are based on whatever they were thinking at that moment.

So one guy can burp at anyone and make them drunk, one girl can make everyone fall in love with her, another guy is totally sticky, that dude can talk to plants, this girl can jump into people’s minds… and they’re (sort of) led by a comic book geek who didn’t get any powers and a talking beaver obsessed with building dams.

The important story elements leading into this [special] deal with three traumatic goodbyes from the end of our last series, Freshmen II.  Green Thumb, the plant guy, left his beloved plant, which had a Fatal Attraction-type obsessiveness over him. Brady and Renee, sometimes called the Drama Twins [with the powers to repel and attract whenever they are in contact with each other], ended their toxic relationship for good, because Brady fell in love with Annalee, the Puppeteer, who can jump into people’s minds.
 
Norrin, our resident "Wannabe" comic guy, watched his beloved girlfriend die. It was a dark ending, but this Summer Vacation Special is the first step toward a bright new future.

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Joss Whedon Teases ‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog’

Joss Whedon Teases ‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog’

  • News
  • June 30, 2008

With all the superhero movies coming out this year, we almost forgot about Joss Whedon’s Doctor Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog project. Well, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer hasn’t. He’s been hard at work along with Niel Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion. The superhero musical is done and details about its debut have been announced on Whedonesque along with a trailer. Find out which of your friends has the biggest monitor and bring the over the popcorn.

We’ve posted the info about the project’s debut below, and the video trailer is posted after the jump.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" will be streamed, LIVE (that part’s not true), FREE (sadly, that part is) right on Drhorrible.com, in mid-July. Specifically:

ACT ONE (Wheee!) will go up Tuesday July 15th.

ACT TWO (OMG!) will go up Thursday July 17th.

ACT THREE (Denouement!) will go up Saturday July 19th.

All acts will stay up until midnight Sunday July 20th. Then they will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom – that’s still playing. Like, everywhere.)
 

 

 

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Take Your Picture With The Incredible Hulk

Take Your Picture With The Incredible Hulk

  • News
  • June 30, 2008

I just found a website that I’m having a lot of fun with. HulkOutWithVault.com is promotional tie-in between The Incredible Hulk movie and green energy drink soda Vault. It’s the digital equivalent of boardwalk cutouts. Upload a photo with a face into one of four Hulk movie backgrounds, then send them to your friends for all to enjoy.

Since ComicMix Managing Editor Rick Marshall tirelessly works to make sure my posts are decipherable, and graciously contributed his image to one of the Wizard World Chicago 2008 photo galleries, I decided to use him as my demo.

The image posted here is Rick partying with the ol’ Jade Giant himself. More pictures are posted after the jump.

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