Are you shopping for gamers this holiday season? If so, there are a lot of great comics based on some of today’s most popular video games. Here’s just a few comic gift ideas that are perfect for gamers:
BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED — Go deeper into the world of ARKHAM CITY with BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED. A weekly, original digital series based on the video games BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM and [[[BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY]]], each 10-page chapter ties directly in to the continuity of the game and follows your favorite characters through the bedlam. And don’t forget that the first ARKHAM digital comic series –BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY – is now available as a collected hard cover.
UNCHARTED — The critically acclaimed and best-selling PlayStation 3 video game jumps onto the comic page, featuring an all-new action-packed story written by Joshua Williamson (SUPERMAN/BATMAN) with fantastic covers by the legendary Tony Harris. It’s just in time for the newly released [[[Uncharted #3: Drake’s Deception]]]. (more…)
Every week it’s a visceral war for my attention: between using my time to produce articles, write or draw comics, complete freelance design projects, or be a lazy bastard. Not 12 feet from my Hacktintosh work station is my present to myself. A 46” HDTV, a Sega Saturn, my DVD collection, and an XBox 360. When I moved into my house last year, I put all these amazing toys in said man-cave so I would have a space where I could create, and reward myself when I was finished. Here I sit a year later…clickity-clacking away for you, the fine readers of ComicMix, my entertainment center gathering a thick layer of dust. And it strikes me that I’m toiling away nervously hoping that my words will excite and amaze you when I could be doing something much more important.
I could be saving Gotham City.
Earlier this month, Arkham City, the sequel to the hit video game Arkham Asylum, hit the store shelves. Presumably millions of copies found their way to similar basements as my own. When the game debuted, I decided to be an adult. I abstained. You see, I waited almost a year and a half to buy Arkham Asylum. I’d nabbed it in the used bin at a Gamestop over Hannukah last year. Since, I’d played it handful of times. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Never beat it though. And thus I gave myself every reason with which to remain stoic in my stance. I didn’t need a $60 investment in time wasting. I have articles to write! Comics to draw! A pregnant wife to attend to! A nursery to paint and organize! And I still haven’t beaten the first one!
That Friday, at the weekly Unshaven Comic work-night, my will grew weak. Matt entered my basement with a hearty “Dude, why don’t you have Arkham City yet?” I shook my head in a desperate plea. “Duuuuuuude!” My knees felt weak. Kyle descended into our dank pit of creativity next. “Hey guys. Marc, did you get it yet?” Damnit! I turned to a nearby die. I declared to my cohorts if I rolled a five or a six, I would get up straight away and get the damned thing. I chucked the six-sided keeper of fate to the floor. It skitted around the vinyl tile in a red blur. And there, staring back at our hopeful faces… one lowly dot. Fate, as it were, was giving me a message. “Stay strong.” Screw fate. I rolled it again. Two. Four. One again. Matt and Kyle chortled as lay on the cold floor, forever mocked by my lack of fortune.
The following week, the work-night began as it had the last. “Dude?! Now?!” No, Matt. I had to pay the mortgage and bills. I can’t be tossing away my cash all the time. I bought books this week anyways. Kyle came down, a rustle of plastic tucked between his arm and body. “Well, I got it!” Poop. We worked hard for an hour or so. Set some dates for conventions we’ll attend next year. We bitched to one another about our printer problems. And like a beacon light guiding us away from our duties as creators… Bruce Wayne called out. “My Unshaven Lads! The hammers of justice are yearning to strike down the nails of tyranny. Only you three can unleash my vengeance upon the night! C’mon, just watch the introduction story!”
A hour later we forced the game off. We pried it from my disk tray. We sealed it back inside its plastic Pandora’s box. With the night ending, Kyle whisked the game from my house, and my life. I could always borrow it when he’s finished, I told myself. I’m plenty busy anyways.
That Sunday, Kyle and Matt returned to record our podcast. Kyle entered with a knowing smirk. “Gas pellets, Marc. Gas. Pellets.” No. “Seriously. You get them like right after the part when we turned the game off. You get the gas pellets.” And you can throw them to the ground, and then fire off your grappling gun, and zip away in a puff of smoke? “Oh yeah. And the game is an open world this time, so you could just go around doing that, and beating up thugs for hours.”
Kyle didn’t even get a chance to finish that sentence before the wisps of my Brut aftershave left a Marc-sized silhouette where I was sitting.
And here I am, finishing up this little tale of woe for you. The game sits on the desk next to me, unopened. It’s been sitting there since I brought it home last Sunday. Between interviews for ComicMix, my day job, drawing the next installment of TheSamurnauts and finding time to sleep, I’ve yet to crack it open. The anticipation at this point is unsettling. I’ve considered hugging people with the flu in hopes of having a legitimate reason to call in sick.
But who am I kidding? Even when I’m sick I log on to do my day job out of guilt and fear I’ll be missed. And I love drawing and writing comics. And interviewing Will Meungiot this week? It was like a 60 minute conversation with the friend I wish I’d had years ago. Maybe I’m just a masochist. Like Bruce Wayne. Bruce. … What’s that Bruce? Gotham City is overrun with gangsters, psychopaths, and malevolent psychologists hells bent on overtaking the city and exposing your secret to the world? Only I can help you?
In what may be the really profitable digital strategy for DC, Batman: Arkham City, the critically acclaimed sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Rocksteady Studios has become the Highest Reviewed Video Game of 2011 on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, and has shipped more than 4.6 million units worldwide since its October 18 launch in North America.
These sales figures are more than double the number of units the previous title sold in the same time period, and has already solidified the games rank as a contender for one of the top-selling titles of this year. Also, the game currently stands as the highest reviewed PS3 and 360 game of this year on Metacritic.com with average scores of 96 and 95 respectively.
Building on the intense atmosphere and story from the original game, Batman: Arkham City drops players into a section of Gotham, shut off from the main city, and over run by the inmates of the former asylum. Gangs wage war against each other and a new threat looms to take over Gotham as a whole. Cameos from Catwoman, Two-Face and more from Batman’s Rogues Gallery litter every single scene in the game, and coupled with the excellent storytelling, make it one of, if not the best superhero game ever. Look for our review in a day or two.
Batman: Arkham Asylum was one of the best games of 2009. Only four months after its release, Rocksteady and DC Comics are already giving us a teaser trailer and a new website for the sequel.
With the holidays fast approaching, the question becomes: what do you get for the comic-loving gamer in your household? Well, here are some of the best releases from this year to satiate their comic-gaming lust and keep you looking like the know-it-all Santa. From purely comic-related titles to one of the year’s best surprises for film-fans, this is the collection to make your gamer happy.
Playing the previous title in this series isn’t necessary, as the events that unfold herein are actually the video game adaptation of Marvel’s ‘Civil War” event from a few years ago. As players traverse the games environments, you’re tasked with choosing Pro- or Anti-Registration stance as you recruit new team members for your cause. Gameplay is multiplayer-centric, as 4 players can team up together to take on all foes in this combat rich title. As players pair up different members of their teams, stat bonuses reward the player for pre-existing groups (like having all the members of the Fantastic Four as a team, for example). The control is refined from the previous title, so those who ARE familiar with the series will notice tighter control of their teams, as well ease in combining powers, one of the games newer features. Here, timed special attacks can be joined with a selected partner for a larger attack, and bigger damage results. While the ending won’t match the comic’s storyline, players will certainly enjoy all the Marvel references and characters throughout the title, and Xbox 360 and PS3 owners actually can download MORE characters to increase their player rosters.
In case you’ve been under a rock, or don’t pay any attention, this week the Electronic Entertainment Expo has been showcasing some fancy new titles due out soon for the current generation (that being the Sony Playstation 3, and Microsoft Xbox 360… sorry Wii-Heads) of video game systems that should tickle comic lover’s thumbs.
From DC’s mighty utility belt comes Batman: Arkham Asylum. Produced by Rocksteady Studios, and published by the fine folks who gave the world Lara Croft’s shapely rear end life, Arkham Asylum lets wanna-be detectives put on the digital cape and cowl for a rousing round of villain destruction. Falling somewhere between Splinter Cell‘s stealthy kill-em-up, and God of War‘s thumb-destroying beat-em-up, the game features an original take on the Grant Morrison penned graphic novel. Players will take Bats through multiple levels (all inside the aforementioned loony bin) in what appears to be a final fracas with the clown prince of crime. Voice actors from Bruce Timm’s seminal animated series provide audible lift to what easily appears to be the best iteration of the Dark Knight’s digital gaming experience. While hands on reports mention some sloppy camera work still be worked out, the game is slated for release at the tail end of August… giving them enough time to work out the kinks. Let’s just hope there’s no multiverse twist at the end, eh?
From the House of Idea’s comes another sequel in the celebrated ‘dungeon-crawler’ epic: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Electric Boogaloo. OK, it’s not an electric boogaloo… but what UA:2is, is a continuation of Vicarious Vision’s long running franchise that’s looking to make the true leap to the next generation from its Playstation 2 / Xbox roots. UA:2 takes place in the current-ish comic storyline (Civil War anyone?) and allows players to take the reigns on some of Marvel’s most popular characters. Want to smash and bash as the Hulk? Go ahead. Want to pilot some mighty armor as Iron Man? Hit the X button pal. Not a fan of the classics? No problem. UA:2 brings Matt Gargan’s Venom, Deadpool, and the mighty Juggernaut as potential playable characters. Players will get to make their own teams, and take them into battles across several Marvel stalwart environments, from Latveria to the Barack Obama-Spider-Man-fist-bumping Washington D.C.. While Activision is hush-hush on an official street date for now, look for the Ultimate Alliance 2 to hit your local gaming emporium in the fall.
For more information on E3, and the scads of games being played by people more important than us, feel free to head to the official site.
Mark Hamill reprises his vocal work as The Joker for Eidos and Warner Bros’ video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. The actor, of course, had a memorable turn as the Clown Prince of Crime on Batman: The Animated Series back in the 1990s. He’ll once more be working opposite Kevin Conroy, who also returns.
HBO’s second season of True Blood will introduce Anna Camp (Equus) as the wife of Fellowship of the Sun president Steve Newlin, played by Michael McMillain. As outlined by Alan Ball, Jason Stackhouse will get caught up with the anti-vampire church for much of the season, which debuts next summer.
Casting notes describe Sarah as “an example of the new ‘hip’ evangelical movement, hates vampires with a passion, deeply believes in her mission, her marriage, her country and her church. very feminine, but down-to-earth, also with a healthy appetite for life’s many pleasures… as she sees it, it’s all part of God’s gift to us. No actual nudity, but implied…”
Merlotte will gain a new waitress to replacer dearly departed Amy. Daphne will be played by Ashley Jones (Bold and the Beautiful). She is described as “sexy and down to earth, a real country girl, not the greatest waitress, but Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) couldn’t care less, once he gets to know her better. Common sense, no-nonsense, funny, definitely not neurotic. Nudity is preferable in this role…6 episode arc beginning with this episode.”
Kristen Chenoweth did take long to find work. The Pushing Daisies star has landed the lead in David E. Kelley’s new legal drama, Legally Mad, for NNBC. The series is expected to make the 2009-2010 schedule, when the network announcements are made in May.
Remember the comic miniseries Arkham Asylum: Living Hell where a regular guy gets sent to the madhouse for Batman’s criminally insane enemies?Well, now that could be you. Gamestop is sponsoring a contest where your likeness will be put in the Batman: Arkham Asylum game. You’ll get to co-star with Mark Hammil who was recently announced as reprising his voice acting role as the Joker for the game.
The winner will have to patient because Batman: Arkham Asylum doesn’t come out until August 2009, but you can hold yourself over with these amazing screenshots seen below and after the jump that were posted for a short time on developer Rocksteady Games’ website.
ComicMix recently commented on the lack of a Batman tie-in game for The Dark Knight movie. Well, we’ve got some follow-up news for you.
According to the Associated Press, it turns out that EA did indeed have developer Pandemic Studios working on a Dark Knight — a fact that ComicMix deduced from online (Dark Knight) detective work months ago. In an informal red carpet interview, Gary Oldman had told cable television’s G4 that he had worked on The Dark Knight game. But development halted at some point before the movie’s release. Basically, EA (and most other media watchers) didn’t think that The Dark Knight was going to be as big as it turned out to be.
Whether or not a game based on The Dark Knight ever gets made, Game Informer magazine has announced a new Batman game in their upcoming September issue: Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Published by Eidos Interactive and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Batman: Arkham Asylum promises to be as dark and gritty as last year’s critical hit Bioshock. Co-written by Paul Dini, the game story is of a prison transfer gone awry and ending with the Joker set loose in halls of Gotham’s infamous asylum for the criminally insane. When the lunatic’s set loose, it’s up to Batman to go in and restore order.
The September issue of Game Informer goes on sale August 18th with two variant covers; one of Batman at the gates of Arkham and one of the Joker in a straight jacket.
Sure, you might stick them in jail — or an asylum — for what they’ve done. You could even throw them off a rooftop, leaving them paralyzed for life. But that won’t change the fact that they already did it. They scored a victory, even if it was short-lived.
The Joker is definitely a villain with a better track record than most. Lex Luthor may have become President and nearly destroyed Superman a few times. But he never killed Lois Lane or tortured Ma and Pa Kent. The Clown Prince of Killers, however, has had quite a few shining moments.
What drives this evil mass murderer? Some have claimed the chemicals which altered his pigmentation also damaged his brain. Some have claimed he suffered such psychological trauma and simply snapped. Some believe his brain actually acts on a higher level of perception, forcing him to operate with a logic we simply aren’t equipped to understand. Half of his crimes seem to be a way of trying to bring Batman to his own way of thinking, that there is no hope in the world, only chaos.
The fact that we can argue about the Joker’s sanity (or lack thereof) is part of what makes him so interesting. And so, with the release of The Dark Knight — and the Joker — looming near, we’ve sifted through the long and bloody history of the Harlequin of Hate to find those victories which stand out above the rest. Steel your nerves and enjoy ComicMix Six: The Six Greatest Joker Victories.
, the critically acclaimed sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Rocksteady Studios has become the Highest Reviewed Video Game of 2011 on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, and has shipped more than 4.6 million units worldwide since its October 18 launch in North America.
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(DS, PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii)
In case you’ve been under a rock, or don’t pay any attention, this week the Electronic Entertainment Expo has been showcasing some fancy new titles due out soon for the current generation (that being the Sony Playstation 3, and Microsoft Xbox 360… sorry Wii-Heads) of video game systems that should tickle comic lover’s thumbs. 
Mark Hamill reprises his vocal work as The Joker for Eidos and Warner Bros’ video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. The actor, of course, had a memorable turn as the Clown Prince of Crime on Batman: The Animated Series back in the 1990s. He’ll once more be working opposite Kevin Conroy, who also returns.
