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Mass Effect 'Redemption' issues flying off retailer shelves
If there's one thing we can say the Mass Effect series has going for it (besides impressive graphics, interesting combat, and complex characters), it's the great story. We may not be the types to invest in literature based on our favorite gaming franchises, but the first two issues of the Mass Effect comic -- a series titled "Redemption" -- may actually convince us otherwise. Heck, they've already turned lots of other folks; the first issue sold out in under three weeks and the second issue took just six days, according to CBR News. It certainly doesn't hurt that Redemption explores the actions of our favorite Asari while she searches for answers on Shepard before the story continues in Mass Effect 2 -- can we help it if we miss her a bit? Okay, okay, we miss her a whole lot. Where have you gone, Liara?! We just wanna talk, baby! [Via Big Download]
Review: Dark Horse Comics' "The Goon: Chinatown and The Mystery of Mr. Wicker"
I used to collect comics pretty religiously when I was a kid (after all, there was a comic book store right across the street from the church my parents always took me to), and lately I've been thinking of getting back into the hobby -- there's something really magical about sequential art and word balloons. And while, if the rumors are true, the new product coming from Apple will probably offer up a better way to do it, I was pretty impressed with my first experience reading the funny pages on the iPhone, in Dark Horse's "The Goon: Chinatown and The Mystery of Mr. Wicker" [iTunes link]. For just a fraction of the price of the actual TPB (trade paperback), you get to flip through a nice set of story and art pages, formatted (pretty) coherently for the iPhone. There's not a lot of flash in the options -- the comic consists of about 420 "pages," which are basically screen-sized panels that tell the story of Eric Powell's hero The Goon, a broad-shouldered fella with ugly mug in the vein of Sin City's Marv, who mixes it up with the bad guys, gets beat up pretty often, and chases after a dame or two. You can either flip through the screens yourself (which I preferred, soaking in the art and pacing), or have them flip after a delay of your choosing. Unfortunately, the art is sometimes cropped a little closely, and the iPhone's small screen doesn't always let epic scenes play out in their original scale (again, something a tablet would be better at). But for $2 for a readthrough, I enjoyed the book a lot. Dark Horse has a nice series of comics available on the iPhone already (including a free sample), and if you're in the mood for a cheap read on your iPhone, they're worth a look. TUAW is commonly provided with not-for-resale licenses or promo codes to permit product evaluations and reviews. For more details, see our policy page.
The Guild comic available for pre-order
The comic adaptation of the popular, award-winning web series The Guild is now available for pre-order from Things From Another World (TFAW). Published by Dark Horse, the comic is written by series creator and actress Felicia Day herself and drawn by indie comic artist Jim Rugg, who drew the Plain Janes graphic novel. The first issue will be available in two variant covers done by Cary Nord and Georges Jeanty. Readers will learn about the origin of the Knights of Good, as the comic chronicles Cyd's life before she joins the guild, how she became Codex, and how she meets her fellow guild members. The story includes tidbits not found on the web series, making it a delight for fans and serve well as an introduction for those who have never watched the show. The 32-page comic is scheduled to hit the stands in March 24, 2010, and will sell for $3.50. Like The Guild? We do, too! We've got all the episodes of season 3 posted: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and the season finale. We've also chatted with all of the folks at BlizzCon, including Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh, and Jeff Lewis and Michele Boyd. And as if that wasn't enough Guild, here's the liveblog of their panel, and the guys were nice enough to stop by our meetup as well. Stay tuned for more Guild here on WoW.com!
Felicia Day says The Guild comic is coming in Spring 2010
Felicia Day told us back at BlizzCon that she was going to go undercover for a little while as The Guild's latest season wrapped up, but undercover for this woman seems to mean that she's only in two TV shows and prepping for a comic book release. She showed up in last night's Lie to Me episode, singing, and in this interview over at Newsarama from the Video Game Awards with Sandeep Parikh (who himself just showed up in Tiki Bar TV -- slightly NSFW, language) she says she's still working on the unfortunately canceled Dollhouse as well. So that's where Eliza Dushku got her addiction from. She also says that the Dark Horse published Guild comic book is due out in spring of next year -- Jim Rugg is working on the art right now -- and fans of The Guild may even get a little Christmas present from the show and Microsoft. We'll keep an eye out for that for sure. So even though we're in between seasons (and we assume that season 4 is upcoming next year, even though we haven't heard an official announcement on that yet), there's lots of Guild goodness to go around.
Issue #2 of Star Wars: The Old Republic webcomic gets physical
As self-proclaimed nerds for all things involving story and lore, we're thrilled to see the second issue of the Star Wars: The Old Republic webcomic, Threat of Peace. Things are beginning to heat up in the story, and we have a feeling that some all-out brawling is just around the corner.We'd like to take this moment to point out that art-wise, Threat of Peace is quite pleasing. Anyone who reads the KOTOR comic series is probably seeing a little visual similarity here, and that's because the colorist (Michael Atiyeh) and letterer (Michael Heisler) are the very same fellows who've been working on KOTOR. We hope they can keep it up, because living life without this much awesome Old Republic era storytelling would be cruel and unusual.
BioWare and Dark Horse release first issue of Old Republic webcomic
If you're chomping at the bit for scraps of information regarding BioWare and LucasArts' upcoming long ago and far, far away MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, you'd be wise to turn your attention to the first issue of the game's Dark Horse-produced online comic, "Threat of Peace." With writing from BioWare's Rob Chestney and art from JSA Classified illustrator Alex Sanchez, it's higher caliber work than your usual webcomic fare. Sure, it's a scant three pages long, but with future installments dropping every two weeks, it should prove an invaluable resource for the KotOR-uninitiated who can't tell their Kashyyyks apart from their Coruscants.
NYCC 09: Hands-on with Unbound Saga
Let's face the truth: new PSP exclusive games are far and few. We were surprised to hear that Dark Horse Comics was going to announce a brand new game for the PSP at New York Comic Con. Even more surprising is the game's unique distribution model: it is a brand new game that will be available exclusively on the PlayStation Store for PSP.This brawler is planned to release simultaneously with a brand new satirical comic series. You play as Rick Ajax and Lori Machete, two fighters on a journey to meet "The Maker." Rick Ajax suspects that he's trapped in a comic book, and he's trying to fight his way out. Unfortunately, "The Maker" will make things won't make it easy, drawing in new challenges and enemies in the panels Rick travels across.%Gallery-44095%
