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'Hellboy: Web of Wyrd' is a stylish brawler that takes its cues from the comic
'Hellboy: Web of Wyrd' is a hyper-stylized roguelite brawler.
BioWare book will chronicle 25 years of games
Did you practically grow up with BioWare games? If so, there will soon be a book to help you reminisce. The studio is preparing BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development, a retrospective book that will discuss "key moments" in the company's history while showing previously unseen artwork and photos. You can also expect tidbits regarding "secret, cancelled" game projects. This might shed light on how Mass Effect characters came to be, or help you wax nostalgic about playing the original Baldur's Gate or MDK titles ("good gravy, that's Edmonton!").
PSA: The Last of Us comic paperback version out now
The Last of Us: American Dreams from Dark Horse Comics is now available for purchase in paperback form. Set a short time before the events of The Last of Us, American Dreams gives fans a chance to learn more about Naughty Dog's fungi-infected world. The comic focuses on Ellie and her friendship with a girl named Riley. Although Riley never appears in the game, the two girls' friendship provides important context for Ellie's behavior. American Dreams is co-written by Faith Erin Hicks and Neil Druckmann, while Hicks also provides the artwork for the comic. If you want to take a sneak peek, you can read the first six pages of the comic on the Dark Horse website.
The Witcher rides a Dark Horse into the comic book world
The Witcher series developer CD Projekt RED have teamed with comic publisher Dark Horse to bewitch the American comic store with a comic series set in the Witcher universe. The series will be penned by Eisner Award winner Paul Tobin, with art by Joe Querio, and available starting March 19, 2014. A press release described the story as one with mystery and horror: "Travelling near the edge of the Black Forest, in the land of the Angren, monster hunter Geralt meets a widowed man whose dead and murderous wife resides in an eerie mansion known as the House of Glass." It was unclear at what point in The Witcher series' timeline the comic will take place. In an interview with Newsarama, Tobin teased "monsters and pretty women." On a DeviantArt page attributed to Querio, a journal post reads "Monsters and women... What better combination can there possibly be!?" It sounds like the comic might, just maybe, feature monsters and women.
Dark Horse preparing Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z digital comic
Dark Horse is prepping a tie-in comic for upcoming Team Ninja, Comcept and Spark Unlimited collaboration, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. The three-issue run, which will be available as a free download through the Dark Horse website and app, is penned by writers Tim Seeley and Josh Eamons, with art from Rafael Ortiz. A physical comic will also be available at Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z's launch. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will launch sometime in 2014 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Despite being set within the Ninja Gaiden universe, Team Ninja has said it views Yaiba as its own franchise and, even though the game hasn't launched yet, would love to pursue a sequel and nurture Yaiba's growth into a full-fledged franchise.
Tomb Raider comic book announced, may bridge to next game
Comic book veteran Gail Simone is working with publisher Dark Horse on a continuation of the Tomb Raider reboot. Kotaku reports Simone expects the series' narrative will pick up mere weeks after the first game's events and may lead directly into a sequel of this year's well-received game. "In continuity, it will be Tomb Raider canon, and lead DIRECTLY into the sequel," Simone said. "This is what got me excited; we get to be part of Lara Croft history." Simone, a long-time fan of the Lara Croft franchise, says the core difference between her series and the reboot will lie in Lara's surroundings. "The storytelling in the game hooked me instantly," Simone said. "The biggest difference is, the game told a claustrophobic story in an isolated setting. We are going globetrotting." Although Simone was a fan of the action-oriented character portrayed in the original Tomb Raider games, she's still fond of the character's new-found depth.
This week on gdgt: HX50V, Minx Air 100, and Moto X customization
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their most recent picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
True stories of EVE Online to become comic book and TV series
The CCP Presents Keynote at the annual EVE Online Fanfest is usually a fairly tame retrospective on how CCP has a company has done the past year and where it's going in the future, but for EVE's tenth anniversary, CCP broke out the big guns. In addition to announcing a massive new collector's edition, the studio has also revealed plans to turn real stories of events inside the sandbox into professional comic books and even a TV series. Industry giant Dark Horse Comics, the company responsible for comics like Hellboy and Sin City, will be publishing the 54-page graphic novel this winter in both a paid-for print form and a free digital download. For the lore buffs among us, Dark Horse will also be producing a colossal 184-page glossy colour hardback book covering all of the NPC backstory and lore behind EVE Online and DUST 514. Titled EVE Source, the book will be an in-character almanac of everything in the EVE setting that isn't player-created and will even include previously unreleased concept art.
The Art of BioShock Infinite wants you to pre-order its propaganda
The Art of BioShock Infinite, a compendium of concept art, character designs and production stills, will launch on February 27, the day after the game itself drops, MTV Multiplayer reports. The art book is published by Dark Horse, who is behind the Hyrule Historia and many other gaming-comics crossovers, such as the Valve and Mass Effect collections.The Art of Bioshock Infinite will feature an introduction from franchise creator Ken Levine. Along with confirmed character designs for Booker, Elizabeth and Songbird, we expect to see a few sketches of the game's notable enemies as well. Amazon has the book available for pre-order, with a list price of $40 and a release date that doesn't yet match up with the official announcement.See the full cover for The Art of BioShock Infinite below.
Mass Effect art compiled in hardcover book from Dark Horse
Comic publisher Dark Horse has commissioned a new Mass Effect book that even James Vega can peruse without worrying over Drew Karpyshyn's reams of dense space prose. "The Art of the Mass Effect Universe" is a hardcover encapsulation of the entire franchise's visual work thus far, presented with (text) commentary from the folks at BioWare. The $40 book's due in February 2012 and will contain art from Mass Effect 3, placing it in vague spoiler territory in front of the game's March debut. We can't say whether it will give you that long-awaited glimpse at Tali's face, but it'll definitely serve as a coffee-table tour of the opulent cities you've explored and the aliens you've engaged and/or punched. No word on iPad or Omni-tool versions yet.
Hyperspace Beacon: The Lost Suns
This week, we are taking a break from studying the class powersets, although I do plan to return to them eventually. As I was contemplating what to write, it occurred to me that I really haven't covered any lore for quite some time. While my editors and I are talking about doing a specific series of lore-based articles leading up to the game's release, I definitely wanted to focus on more of the canon history behind the game. After all, this is Star Wars: The Old Republic, and it epitomizes the fourth pillar of MMO design: story. I finally got my hands on the latest comic book with direct ties to SWTOR this past week. It's called The Lost Suns, and while it's fresh on my mind, we should probably discuss some of the main points and characters in the story. BioWare writer Alexander Freed and comic book artist Dave Ross collaborated to bring us this first of a five-issue comic book series about Theron Shan. As Freed said on the official TOR forums, "I like to describe The Lost Suns as our 'ninth story' -- every class in The Old Republic tells its own Star Wars epic, and Theron's tale intersects with the other eight and pushes the greater game story forward, just as they do." Follow after the break to discover how this "ninth story" is starts out.
Mass Effect's Normandy SR2 is ready to dock (on your desk)
You tried your best. You really did, but the scale model of Mass Effect's SSV Normandy SR2 you made out of toilet paper tubes and Q-tips just doesn't look right. Swallow that shame, because Dark Horse has you covered with the 6 1/4" scale model seen above. These puppies are available for pre-order at $27.99 with an expected October release date. Mass effect drive not included. Sorry. [Thanks, Brian]
Dark Horse's online Dungeon Siege 3 comic now available
If you're interested in delving into the lore behind Dungeon Siege 3 before the RPG drops June 21, you might want to flip through the virtual pages of Dark Horse's comic book tie-in. The first, ten-page issue of the illustrated prequel is now available on Dark Horse's official site.
Dark Horse Digital coming to iOS April 27
The wait is finally almost over, Dark Horse Digital will be releasing their iOS app on April 27! I love reading comics on the iPad, the form-factor and experience is perfect. In fact, I prefer it to paper comics. However, while Marvel, DC Comics and some other publishers have been adding more and more issues from their libraries to a number of applications, such as Comixology, Dark Horse has been notably absent. The Dark Horse app is something I've been following pretty closely for a while now. Originally, it was slated to be released in January, but they weren't finished, so they postponed the launch and promised to make it up to excited fans. That's a promise they're making good on by including the first issue of Hellboy: Seed of Destruction bundled with the app, and they'll be giving away a few other titles if they can get enough people to subscribe to the newsletter before it launches.
New Mass Effect comic series from Dark Horse coming 'later this year'
Fans anxious for another Mass Effect comic run will get their wish soon, according to coverage of a Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) panel over on Newsarama. There, Dark Horse representative Jeremy Atkins revealed that the company will "publish another Mass Effect series later this year." With Mass Effect 3 set to launch at the tail-end of 2011, we anticipated more tie-ins -- EA loves its transmedia promotions, after all. Sadly, no other details were offered on the proposed third Mass Effect mini-series.
The Guild ends the year with DVD release and new comic
The Guild, the award-winning web series by Felicia Day, has a couple of new offerings for this holiday season. Season 4 of the popular web series is now available on DVD through Amazon.com as well as iTunes. The DVD version of the release is packed with extras, including the Game On music video, recaps of earlier seasons, featurettes involving Cheesybeards and Zaboo's mom as well, as audio commentary with the cast and gag reels. The iTunes release is available in both standard and HD versions. An iTunes exclusive bonus feature, The Making of the Team Cawkes Painting, is included when you purchase the entire season. The Season 4 DVD is $10.99 on Amazon; the iTunes version is only $9.99 for HD, or $5.99 for standard edition. And if you happen to be looking for something to read rather than something to watch, The Guild has also released a new one-shot comic titled Vork. Written by Day and actor Jeff Lewis, who plays Vork in the series, this comic centers around Vork and his role within both the game world and real life. As with all Guild comics, the story takes place before the events in Season 1 of The Guild. The comic's only $3.50 from Dark Horse, and you can choose one of two variant covers: Darick Robinson's gladiatorial version of Vork, or the more simplistic, real-life Vork styling of Gilbert Hernandez. For more on The Guild, you can check out the entire series on MSN.
Rumor: Interactive Mass Effect comic will fill in players of PS3 Mass Effect 2
The "seamless introduction" that will ease PS3 owners into the rich backstory of Mass Effect 2, first hinted at when the game was announced this past August, may have been uncovered recently in the BioWare Social Network forums. A moderator recently posted a quote from BioWare's Casey Hudson from the latest issue of German gaming mag Play3, in which he reveals the PS3 version of the game will have an interactive comic from Dark Horse, that lets players make the big decisions from the first game while quickly seeing how those decisions play out. The forum post also claims that Hudson confirmed the PS3 version of the game will come with the game's three main expansions, "Kasumi's Stolen Memory," "Overlord" and "Lair of the Shadow Broker," and will include a voucher to download all the content currently available on the Cerberus network. Finally, the post quotes Hudson as saying the game will include an exclusive mission which clocks in at around six hours in length. Sounds like a pretty tall order for the game's PS3 port. We've contacted BioWare to see if they'll comment on the post's legitimacy.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II comic hits Tosche Station newsstands Oct. 6
Many of you likely remember the first Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a story penned by Haden Blackman which told the tale of Darth Vader's secret apprentice. Now the sequel has been announced and Blackman is not only returning to work on the sequel, but has also been tapped to be the scribe on this 88-page trade from Dark Horse. The first comic based on the first game managed to sell 88,000 copies -- not much compared to how many copies the game sold, but still a figure no Sith should scoff at. You'll be able to grab your own copy for $10.99 come October 6, three weeks before the game's launch. [Via Big Download]
The Guild comic: There's an app for that
If you like The Guild comic book and would like to read it on your Apple device, there is now an app for that. Dark Horse Comics has released an app on iTunes that allows you to read issue #1 electronically for less than a buck. If you prefer your comic books in paper form (or want both), issue #2 is available in stores now. You have your choice of two covers, one drawn by Kristin Donaldson and the other drawn by Matthew Stawicki. The comic chronicles the origins of The Knights of Good from The Guild web series and is written by Felicia Day herself. The artist is Jim Rugg, who was also one of the artists in the Dr. Horrible comic. 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!
Mass Effect getting an ongoing comic book series
It looks like Dark Horse is chomping at the bit to squeeze a bit more commercial success out of BioWare's deep space opera franchise, following the impressive sales of the Mass Effect comic mini-series, "Redemption." During a Dark Horse Comics panel at the Seattle-based Emerald City Comic-Con, it was announced that Mass Effect writer Mac Walters and John Jackson Miller, writer of the original mini-series, would be teaming up to create a regular, monthly Mass Effect comic. According to Comic Book Resources, the plot of the series will "follow the second game." We don't know if that means it will actually cover the events of Mass Effect 2, or if it takes place shortly thereafter. What we do know is that the panel also brought the announcement that Patton Oswalt is working on a Firefly comic, which takes place shortly after the events of Serenity, and that's the best news we've ever heard in our whole lives. [Via Big Download]
