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Dragon Age comic debuts in March, 2010
click to dragon size The previously announced Dragon Age comic series will begin next March. Penned by Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game, Empire), the story appears to revolve around rogue (the concept, not the class) mages within the Circle of Magi who "will defy the rules of the Templars and change the course of the world forever." BioWare and TOR previously released the Dragon Age novel, The Stolen Throne, which if you're into the whole words without pictures thing, sets the stage and gives plenty of background for the epic RPG. [Via Big Download]
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!
World of Warcraft comic moves to graphic novels
According to a post on IGN Comics, Blizzard's Warcraft and Starcraft series of comic books, published by Wildstorm (which in turn is owned by DC comics, owned by Time Warner) are from now on to be published as stand alone graphic novels. The current World of Warcraft comic will end, according to the article, with a special issue arriving in stores while Starcraft will end on issue 7. I have mixed feelings about this. The World of Warcraft comic has gotten, shall we say, mixed reviews. As a long time comics geek, I had high hopes for it, since it was written by Walt Simonson (one of my personal heroes), justly famous in comics circles for his runs on Thor, Manhunter and Orion. The comic didn't always work for me (fanboy though I am, even I couldn't digest a 'diet of steel' so to speak) but I'm still sad to see the monthly title end before splitting into the Horde and Alliance versions we were expecting. Hopefully we'll still get to see those stories as stand alone graphic novels yet.
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.
WoW.com's gift guide for 2009
It's that time of year again -- if you (like me) haven't gotten gifts for everyone on your list, it's time to start scrambling to find something nice to get under the tree this year. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about finding something good for the World of Warcraft fan in your life: we've got you covered there. In the gallery below, we've got a nice bunch of gift ideas for everything Warcraft, from the cheap to the expensive, from the silly to the practical, from in-game presents you can wrap with shiny paper, to out-of-game classics that you can... also wrap with shiny paper. If you need to give a gift to a WoW player this year, you'll find it below for sure. And if you happen to be a Warcraft player, faced with the annual awkward question of "What do you want me to give you this year?", just feel free to drop this link surreptitiously as a reply, maybe even with a hint or two towards a specific item. We've included links to everything and kept it easy to understand even for someone who hasn't visited Azeroth before. That's our gift to you. Happy holidays, and good gift hunting! %Gallery-79856%
WoW.com's Weekly Comic: Byron, the Tauren Rogue!
Welcome to the first installment of WoW.com's Weekly Comic! Every Tuesday morning we'll present a new page in the comic from Kelly Aarons. The story kicks off with a rogue named Byron, stealthily hanging in a rather precarious situation. We'll be keeping all these in an ordered gallery, which you can access below for easy reading if you want to (eventually) catch up on everything. However to begin with there's obviously only one page in there... but what a page! Check the full resolution out above, and tune in next week for the second page! %Gallery-77825%
The WoW comic leading into Cataclysm (spoilers)
The Wrath storyline factored heavily into the official WoW comics, albeit slightly late, and continues to do so with the release of the upcoming Thassarian manga. And now it looks like it's headed on a collision course with the storyline to Cataclysm! Ogre-turned-Liefeldian-monstrosity Cho'gall recites a prophecy in the latest issue related heavily to the Old Gods, Mary Sue shamagadin Med'an, and the Elemental Planes. BlizzPlanet has a pretty good writeup of what the prophecy could mean and its consequences down the road, but I'll give you a brief summary here, too. Of course, I'll toss it after the jump for those inclined to avoid spoilers. Ready?
Sneak peek at World of Warcraft comic No. 24
BlizzPlanet reports that Wildstorm has released a preview of the latest World of Warcraft comic which will set the stage for the finale of the current story arc. The summary of the issue is kind of spoiler-ish for those who haven't read everything yet, so we've posted the full review after the break. And if you don't want to know such things, don't read! Interesting stuff though...
World of Warcraft comic splits into Horde and Alliance
Just like the Primal Ooze from Un'goro Crater -- except less slimy and without bones sticking out of it -- the World of Warcraft comic has split into two distinct books. Just as promised, the series from Wildstorm will now also feature Horde characters in addition to an Alliance story. BlizzPlanet reports that the two titles, dubbed World of Warcraft: Horde and World of Warcraft: Alliance, will kick off on January 6 and 20, respectively. While the Horde comic starts off at Issue No. 1, the Alliance comic is starts at No. 26, seemingly picking up where the original series, which showcased Alliance faction leader Varian Wrynn, left off. This should be great news for all comic fans, particularly Horde players, who haven't had representation in Wildstorm's take on the game world. World of Warcraft: Horde follows the story of an orc hunter named Malgar and his tauren ally -- presumably an enhancement Shaman from the cover art -- Ironhoof, which probably means they'll fight over the same loot. Written by Doug Wagner and drawn by Batgirl artist Pop Mahn, the story focuses on "the harsher side of Kalimdor". We presume that means Barrens chat. On the other side of the spectrum, World of Warcraft: Alliance follows the father and son tandem of Karlain and Mardigan, a Mage and Warrior who don't quite get along. I mean, if you were some scholarly ectomorph, you probably would be disappointed in your doofus, jock son. Written by Hawksmoor's Mike Costa and drawn by brit Neil Googe, the series promises "murder, a mysterious quest for a powerful artifact, and some fist-pounding action!" It's just what the doctor ordered. And by doctor I mean your mom. The one who wears army boots.
Nate Drake's origins to be explored in Uncharted prequel motion comic
Ever wonder how Uncharted protagonist Nathan Drake got so darn pithy? Curious how he developed his Spider-Man-like acrobatic finesse? Want to know how he met up with his cigar-chomping partner in crime, Victor Sullivan? All these questions and more will (probably) be answered in the next piece of Uncharted errata coming from developer Naughty Dog: A motion comic set before the events of the first game, titled Uncharted: Eye of Indra. The project was announced during yesterday's PlayStation.Blog live chat with Naughty Dog's Travis McIntosh and Neil Druckmann. According to them, the motion comic will be voiced by many of the actors from the game series, and focuses on "a prequel story that we eventually cut" from Uncharted 2. We hope the story reaches back far enough to show when Nate's mother taught him how to dress himself in such a slapdash manner.
15 Minutes of Fame: WoW, Eh?
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.It's not every day that your interview subject offers to whip up some custom artwork depicting the 15 Minutes of Fame interview process in action - but that's how WoW, Eh? creator Cadistra/Kelly Aarons rolls. She's cool like that. That's Cadistra above, chatting with my retired priestess (who's normally found flitting about Darnassus in a Festive Green Dress with my daughter, chasing Wisps and leaving sparkly trails with her Benediction [to endless whispers of "Hey man, where does that staff drop?"] - so it was time for the wench to finally get some work done, you know?).Still, our enthusiasm for Cadistra's artwork can't top her own well deserved elation over a September win in Blizzard's monthly comic contest. As part of her prize package, Kelly received three volumes of Blizzard Entertainment manga. More importantly, she'll be considered by TOKYOPOP for contributions to upcoming volumes of both Warcraft: Legends and StarCraft: Frontline -- a heady opportunity, indeed.
IDW producing Dragon Age and Army of Two comics
Through a joint collaboration with IDW Publishing and EA's new EA Comics brand, comic versions of Dragon Age and Army of Two will find themselves on shelves and available for download on iTunes in monthly runs. The comics will be backed by some pretty heavy hitters; Orson Scott Card will be penning the story for Dragon Age and veteran Peter Milligan will be handling the story for Army of Two, which is due to start its run sometime in January 2010.There's no information on the Dragon Age comic at this time, however we know the events of the Army of Two bromic (see what we did there?) will bridge the gap between the conclusion of the first game and the events of The 40th Day.
Penny Arcade's Dragon Age: Origins comic debuts
Having wisely decided against creating a fantasy epic set within the span of just a few hours, BioWare's Dragon Age is ripe for exploration in all forms of media. With Dragon Age: Origins set to arrive this November, the RPG maestros have drafted the internet's Penny Arcade to provide a new comic for the game's official website.You can read the first part of "Witch Hunt" over here. For the full Dragon Age experience, marketers recommend you do so with an inappropriate Marilyn Manson track screeching in the background.
WoW comic #22 preview
Blizzard and DC/Wildstorm released the preview for the 22nd issue of the official World of Warcraft comic last night. The official soliciation says: The new Council of Tirisfal is formed. Med'an keeps Meryl's possession a secret. Maraad acts on his vision, but what does it have to do with Valeera? The latest issue of the World of Warcraft comic is on sale August 19. Check out the preview pages now! The excerpt is about normal fare for the comic, but includes some tasty plot bits that lend plenty of credence to certain leaked information about WoW: Cataclysm ... if you're looking for it. Half-blood prince shamagaladin Med'an seems to be training heavily to learn all the different schools of magic, which calls Jaina to suggest that they... well, I guess you'll have to read it.Check it out on newsstands (do those still exist?) today!
Massively webcomic: Grinders - Incumbent versus Reform
The superhero MMO debate is upon us, with hot button topics like PvP and Character Customization being thrown around as if we were trying to reform health care. Grinders has not picked a side, but in a year or two when the fresh car smell is gone from Champions Online and City of Heroes has either sank or swam, we'll have a clear idea of what we really actually want out of these games. Still, the competition is healthy for the market, and I say pile it on.Have a funny story of your own? Submit your tale complete with a screenshot to lemuel@massively.com. The best will be allowed to hack into your brain. Or just put in the comic.%Gallery-63060%Lemuel Pew is a webcomic artist and MMO player with the attention span of a guppy. Between sketching gamers in cartoon form and inventing a paint-drying MMO, he draws an online comic called Blank It. Feel free to watch his Twitter at your own risk.
Massively webcomic: Grinders - A Backup Plan
Looks like the Matrix Online is taking it's last breath today, which is just the way these things go sometimes. It was a niche game, but the idea of playing a video game inside a computer world is still a nifty hall of mirrors. Personally I hope the new TRON movie revitalizes the franchise and puts an MMO on the table. I sure would like to take on the Master Control Program myself someday.Have a funny story of your own? Submit your tale complete with a screenshot to lemuel@massively.com. The best will be allowed to hack into your brain. Or just put in the comic.%Gallery-63060%Lemuel Pew is a webcomic artist and MMO player with the attention span of a guppy. Between sketching gamers in cartoon form and inventing a paint-drying MMO, he draws an online comic called Blank It. Feel free to watch his Twitter at your own risk.
Here's your order of two Wolfenstein motion comics with extra cheese
If you've been keeping up with these motion comics for Wolfenstein, then you've likely come into this post prepared. There's plenty of cheese to be had here, as we've got not one new comic, but two. We'll just say this: These comics make any Command & Conquer FMV scene look like Citizen Kane.You can find the other video ... *dramatic pause* ... past the break.%Gallery-27813%
Sonic Universe #6: The Unofficial Sonic Fandom Test
Not sure just how much of a Sonic the Hedgehog fan you are? Read through the preview of Issue #6 of Archie Comics' Sonic Universe, in which Silver the Hedgehog visits a future Sonic and Sally Acorn to prevent a disaster.If that made any sense at all, you're a pretty serious Sonic fan. If you read the comic excerpt we posted at the top, and then decided to continue reading the comic, you're a really serious Sonic fan. And if you read the entire comic, and then felt anything but disgust ... how's that Big the Cat costume coming along?
SDCC 09: Dungeon Fighter Online reveals comic book artwork and a new trailer
One of the last things coming out of Comic Con '09 is some of the tasty new artwork and the brand new trailer we've gotten from the Dungeon Fighter Online team during our visit to their booth at the convention. The art is done in complete comic book style, setting up a bit more of the personalities behind the main five characters -- gunner, fighter, mage, priest, and slayer.We've also received word that this week will mark the start of the closed technical beta for DFO. Server load, network tests, and things of that sort will be the focus of this initial beta. Later will be another closed beta phase which will focus on game balancing and design, as well as player feedback.Also, Neople, the original developers of Dungeon Fighter Online, will be on hand to aid Nexon with the localization of the game to North American audiences. This will allow the game to come out to our shores just like the developers intended for it to be played.Interested in seeing our new trailer for the game? Continue reading and catch the trailer after the break!%Gallery-68825%
Horde-centric comic launching in 2010
So much for fears of audiences not relating to "non-human" heroes. After a successful run featuring the travails of tailored-for-badassness Alliance leader Varian Wrynn, Wildstorm studios announced during the San Diego Comic Con 2009 that the World of Warcraft comic will be splitting into two titles after Issue #25. The issue will conclude the current story arc and will trigger events that will lead to the spinoff of a Horde-centric World of Warcraft comic slated to launch in January, 2010.Although BlizzPlanet reports that there were little details beyond that - they point to an earlier interview they did with Walt Simonson who dodged the question about such a title - there'll likely be more information in the coming weeks. In particular, players and comic fans alike should prepare for significant announcements regarding this and other projects during BlizzCon. A title featuring the Horde should quell one of the biggest criticisms levied against the comic, and should be a refreshing change of pace.
