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Another Comic Contest Honorable Mention
If these are really supposed to be a weekly thing, then they're running early this week - or perhaps they've just had a slew of good entries to feature. At any rate, there's another honorable mention posted. This comic addresses something that's always puzzled me - non-combat pets and stealth. My own rogue has a black tabby that trails along after me, whether I'm stealthed or unstealthed. Isn't this just a dead-giveaway to my enemies? Well, this comic suggests that it may not be...And if you feel you have the talent to compete, the comic contest runs all year, and there's still time to submit your own work for consideration!
Get your (Dead Rising) priorities straight
In honor of the (US) release of Capcom's zombie sandbox game, Dead Rising, Hooked on Polygon (these guys) have created this comic. It illustrates a dilemma that has surely already plagued many in the demo: do you focus on the objective at hand, or waste time trying on clothes and taking pictures? The answer: waste time, of course! Just a few more prestige points and you can get that roundhouse kick!
This Week's Comic Contest Honorable Mentions
I admit, I find this week's honorable mention comic, by Oscaron, a little puzzling. A tiny mailbox? What? However, that was before I found this - a printable template with which to create your own tiny mailbox, for those times the server is offline. Now that's funny. Again, if you feel you have the talent to compete, Blizzard is running this comic contest all year, and there's still time to submit your own work for consideration!
July's Comic Contest Winner
July's comic contest winner has been announced. This comic by Barbosa <Anguish> took the grand prize, but you can also check out the month's honorable mentions, which are just as good. If you fancy yourself a comic maker, the contest continues for the rest of the year, with one winner per month - what have you got to loose by trying?
Superman Returns looking bizarre
In a move seemingly inspired by Ultimate Spiderman's villainous gameplay, EA is including the famed super-clone Bizzaro as a playable character in Superman Returns. Bizarro Jerry is surely pleased. Of course, the mere hint that a Supes game doesn't suck is the clearest indication yet that we're all living in an alternate universe.[Via VideoGameJocks]
Halo Graphic Novel a "must read"
In the first of what Bungie assumes will be many rave reviews, IGN calls the newly released Halo Graphic Novel a "must read," and better still since we now have to run out and buy it, "a work of joy, rather than a marketing gimmick." It also summarizes the separate stories for those who do their reading in the store.How about putting this comic on XBLM in 720p glory?
The Darkness Lead Designer favors Blu-ray
PS3Land.com scored some Question and Answer time with the Swedish studs at Starbreeze Studios. Having ironed out The Chronicles of Riddick among other titles, they're now tackling The Darkness (based on the comic) for PlayStation 3.A notable quote from the interview came from when Lead Designer Jens Andersson spoke on his personal experience with developing for the PS3 and the new Blu-ray medium: "Personally, I think Blu-Ray is going to be the thing that will make most difference. Since the start of the development we've been discussing whether or not we will fit the game onto one DVD, and that is not counting all the bonus materials we want to cram onto the disc."So having all that extra space is showing some merit already. There are some in-house readers who would agree with that, based on our previous Blu-ray poll. Now it's just a matter of time before we see the advantages for ourselves.
Get a glimpse of the Halo graphic novel
Marvel is offering a sneak peak at the upcoming Halo Graphic Novel (that's HGN for those of us in the know). They're teasing the Halo-faithful with some panels from each of the four main stories -- "The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor," "Armor Testing," "Breaking Quarantine," and "Second Sunrise Over New Mombasa" -- as well as a short strip titled "Shore Leave: Master Chief on Holiday." It also has the release date emblazoned on the back page: oh seven-twelve-oh six. That's less than a month away, fanboy. You can make it. We believe in you. Master Chief believes in you. *Registration is required so try user/pass: gimmewallpaper/gimmewpaper (Bugmenot). [Update: Forget Marvel's obnoxious, interactive, reg-required site. Check out Bungie.org for some regular, plain-ole JPGs and a little background on the preview. Thanks, supersloth!]
More Comic Contest Winners
See this week's honorable mention here and last week's here. I'm not sure if either of these comic authors have websites or more comics out there - so if anyone's familiar with these, drop a link to the site in the comments. If you feel you have what it takes to win the contest yourself, go there's still time to submit your work - Blizzard will be picking one winner every month.
Comic Contest Results, Round 1
While they aren't announcing this month's comic contest winner yet, Blizzard is publishing one honorable mention comic every Monday with plans to announce the winner at the end of May. Check out this week's comic by Keydar (of Dark Legacy Comics), and stay tuned for more next week! If you're a hopeful comic creator, fear not - there's plenty of time to submit your work for next month's contest.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance forged on DS
After beating the radioactive, magical and often otherworldly crap out of each other in Capcom's excellent Marvel Vs. series of 2D fighting games, it seems that the comic giant's major superheroes now find themselves forced to cooperate for the good of the entire Marvel universe. Activision has officially announced Marvel: Ultimate Alliance for PC, current and forthcoming consoles, as well as handheld platforms. I don't know about you, but my hands are usually the first choice when it comes to holding the DS. Developed by Raven Software, the game will be an action-RPG, no doubt similar to the X-Men Legends series (but hopefully a whole lot better). Various levels of customization are touted, but the one that has us most pleased is the ability to create a custom vehicle for your team. When I'm done with that, the Fantasticar won't know what hit it.No word yet on how the DS version will differ from the rest--would cooperative Wi-Fi play be too much to ask for?
Penny Arcade guys reveal all
Gabe and Tycho (that's Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins to you insiders), the brains behind (Weekly Webcomic Wrapup mainstays) Penny Arcade, get the third degree in Computer Gaming World's May issue. Don't have the mag, then check out the "Director's Cut" version at their website. So, what is revealed in this tell-all, gut-spilling, interview? They talk about their spat with Harlan Ellison ("... his audience there erupted and he glared at me like he wanted to choke me onstage."); their feud with Scott McCloud ("We're best friends. He came to my birthday party."); games they're playing ("... what I've been doing at night lately is playing Marble Blast Ultra."); their secret fantasies ("You had to punch guys until their clothes came off. Every time you'd punch them, like, their pants would fly off."); their Bioware module; their favorite comic ("They Hail From Canidon"); PAX ("We wanted to make a show where gamers could get the same kind of experience we got at E3."); and Child's Play.If this is the stuff that didn't make it into the magazine, that means the rest of the interview must have encompassed the sum total of their collective life experiences; a dump of their consciousness, ready and waiting for a post-human existence.
WoW in the Comics
I'm always tickled when my favorite gaming web comics mention my favorite pastime - World of Warcraft, of course! And while I see the occasional mention of the game on Ctrl Alt Del, Foxtrot (not actually a web comic), Mac Hall, Penny Arcade, and Player vs. Player, I only know know of a few comics that devote themselves to the world of Azeroth. And in light of the upcoming comic contest, I thought I'd list the ones I know of as examples and inspiration for any thinking of entering. I know my list isn't comprehensive - so does anyone know of any other WoW comics out there? Drop a note in the comments if you do! Until then, enjoy Adventures with Play, Flintlock's Guide to Azeroth, Heros of WoW, and Messy Cow (thanks to James for pointing this one out).
Comic Contest!
Blizzard is accepting submissions of WoW related comic strips for posting on the web site. One "exceptional" comic a month will be chosen to win a prize - a Blizzard-branded iPod Nano and the first two volumes of The Sunwell Trilogy. Decent rewards, and I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting comics about my favorite pastime. (Posted above is a portion of a strip from Mac Hall - a personal favorite.)
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: April 2 - 8, [Update]
'Tis a time for celebration! This week, both Press Start to Play and Bob and George hit milestones, accomplishing 50 posts and 6 years (respectively) -- congratulations, guys! That said, we were a tad disappointed not to have found any webcomics pertaining to windows gaming on a Mac. Major props to VG Cats for a hilarious (yet not game-related) strip. Here are our favorite game-related webcomics for the week: A political puppet of his father. Oh sweet Miss Liberty! (thanks, Eliot) Pause. The size of your head Boooooeeeooww!! Welcome to the "Total Moron's School of Business" [Update: Sorry it took so long to make an update on this: the first choice (Digital Unrest), as Chris has pointed out in the comments below, has gone down becuase of server traffic. We are both sorry to Chris for him having to upgrade his server unexpectedly, and elated that the Joystiq community would support a comic by clicking on the link en masse. Thanks, guys!]
Halo graphic novel marvels fans
Forget about "Forerunner." Finally, some solid Halo news to report thanks to the Bungie Weekly Update: Presenting the Halo Graphic Novel, which from now on shall be known as the HGN. If you're a Halo fiction fan AND a comic book fan, then this might just be the mother lode. Before we get into the how and the why, let's give you a breakdown of the what. The HGN is a 128 page, full color, high quality hardcover graphic novel, featuring an anthology of original stories, including one big story, and three shorter tales. Side stories, if you will. It should be available in July, 2006. Well that should please some over-lapping geek demographics. By the way, the publisher is none other than Marvel. Excelsior! Bungie says this project has been in development for a year and a half. Not surprisingly, the talent behind is first class. Follow the link for a list of writers and artists, plus some varying artistic takes on the Halo universe.
Lifemeter, comics and art about video games
Lifemeter is a new site "intended to showcase illustrated tributes [to video games] in a vast range of unique art styles, while maintaining respect for the characters and their gameworlds."Dave Roman's comic, "Adventures in Adventure", is hysterical: what if the protagonist from Adventure had gotten drunk and was trying to track down his keys? They are currently seeking submissions, so if you have an idea for a "day in the life" of a favorite video game icon, stop by their page for details.(Image is from KC Green's "Frog Suit.")[Via GSW]
Just for Fun: Keynote Comics
This morning, I spotted Jordan's DownloadSquad post about StripGenerator, a flash-based web app that lets you generate your own comic strips. Inspired by next week's keynote, I made the pictured comic with a short, angry version of Steve Jobs presenting a multimedia iPod remote alongside a new Apple IntelMac.Just for fun, head over to StripGenerator, create your own comic strip of how you think next week's keynote may go down, and post a link to the strip you've created in the comments.
Comic Life Updated
Just before the weekend Comic Life, which is a great fun product that I blogged about previously, came out with an update to 1.0.1 with a few new templates (but, alas, no PSP template yet) and reduced the price: "Yes! 1.0.1 has new styles, new export options and more... now at only $24.95 USD with a new Education Price ($19.95 USD) and Household License Price ($39.95 USD). Existing customers: Thank you! - please contact us so we can organize your special offer." I contacted them, but still haven't discovered what my special offer is. Hopefully, it's about $15, which is the difference in price from what I paid, and what the software now runs.
