Author: Karl Cramer

Comic Book Cameo: Green Lantern on ‘Bones’

In the season finale episode of Bones, "The Pain in the Heart," an upset Doctor Brennan burst into her FBI partner’s bathroom and made a startling discovery. Special Agent Seeley Booth likes to relax in a hot tub with a beer helmet and comic book. In this case, Green Lantern. Booth is played by David Boreanaz, who previously played the brooding vampire Angel in Joss Whedon’s celebrated TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and his solo spin-off series, Angel.

Macho tough guy, and ex-Marine Corps sniper, who would’ve guessed Booth is a closet geek. But there you have it:

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Of course, that wasn’t just any comic book he was reading, either. It was Green Lantern #33, a Silver Age comic of Hal Jordan fighting Doctor Light. The issue featured a Gil Kane cover and a story titled "Wizard of the Light-Wave Weapons."

Booth explained the hat by saying, "Cold beer plus hot tub equals warm beer." But no defense was offered for the comic — or for the unreported crime of exposing that old comic to steam. That’s a definite no-no.

‘Penny Arcade’ Game Prequel Comic Goes Online

Penny Arcade is well known in the webcomic world for its wickedly funny lampooning of the videogame industry. On May 21st, they’re becoming a target themselves by releasing Penny Arcade: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode One. The Penny Arcade videogame will premiere as a digital download for Xbox 360, PC, Mac and Linux systems.

The adventure role-playing game imagines the Penny Arcade cast in a 1920s Lovecraftian setting where Gabe and Tycho are a crime-solving team at the Startling Developments Detective Agency in the city of New Arcadia.

To help readers understand Gabe and Tycho’s role in this world, Creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik have created a four-page prequel webcomic that explains what the characters were up to just before the game starts.

In all honesty, they had us when they showed a steampunk version of Fruit F***er, the kitchen juicer gone bad.

Behind the Scenes With ‘The Incredible Hulk’ Game

Sega released a video yesterday with the unwieldy title The Beast Within: The Making of The Incredible Hulk The Official Videogame. In it, staff members from publisher Sega and developer Edge of Reality declare their undying love for the Incredible Hulk. Then Justin Lambros, Vice President of Interactive at Marvel Studios, said he thought they were cute, too.

Sheesh! What’s with the love fest? This is the Incredible Hulk. It’s all about rage and anger. But the video did show some neat renders and development footage if you’re into that kind of thing. See it for yourself after the jump. (more…)

UDON’s Street Fighter Tribute: Nice, But Worth the Price?

Remember when we told you that comic publisher UDON was working on a 20th Anniversary art book for the popular Street Fighter franchise? Well, UDON’s website is taking preorders on Street Fighter Tribute and gave some details on the book.

By far the most surprising aspect of the title is its $80 price tag. Even though it’s a 320-page hardcover, you can expect most fans’ jaws to drop at such a steep price. If you don’t mind the cost, the rest of the book should be pretty appealing.

Street Fighter Tribute measures 8.25 x 11.25 inches and features work by UDON regulars Arnold Tsang, Alvin Lee, Omar Dgan, Jeff "Chamba" Cruz and Joe Ng, as well as comic celebs like Adam Hughes and J. Scott Campbell.

Even Gabe from Penny-Arcade.com is in there, representing  the webcomic side of the industry.

Sample artwork is provided after the jump: (more…)

‘Marvel Universe Online’ – Why They Killed It

That’s weird. We were just talking about Marvel Universe Online a few days ago. The massively multiplayer online role-playing game (think World of Warcraft with Spider-Man and the X-Men) based on Marvel comics superheroes. Joystiq.com writer Christopher Grant got to have dinner recently with Shane Kim, VP of Microsoft Games Studios, and asked him why it was canceled.

Basically, Microsoft owned up to the fact they don’t do MMOs well.

"We don’t have a heritage of MMOs," said Kim. The article went on to list several MMO attempts that Microsoft attempted that failed. "It’s a hits-driven business … it’s all about quality, all about hits."

A link to a Gamasutra.com piece shed more light:

Given the rumors of confusion on the dev team about what the game was going to be like at a fundamental level, pulling support from the project seems like a no-brainer. That said, I think MUO’s death highlights Microsoft’s sordid history with Massively Multiplayer games.

I think that the fact that we’re still talking about Marvel Universe Online several months after it was officially canceled shows that the concept is still compelling and viable. But there’s no arguing that outside of a few MMO hits, the landscape is littered with flops from many different companies. Remember The Matrix Online or Star Wars Galaxies? Not surprising when you consider it’s a subscription-based business. How many of us just have HBO and consider that good enough instead of also getting Showtime?

I like to imagine, though, that Uatu the Watcher is spying on one of his "What If…?" universes where Marvel Universe Online game out and was more popular then Warcraft. Of course, the game would be populated by a thousand variations of Spider-Man and Wolverine with names like "5piDer-MaN" and "Wolverine Gets High."

‘Hellboy: The Science of Evil’ Gameplay Footage Released

What, you didn’t get to play the Hellboy: The Science of Evil demo at New York Comic Con? I’m so sorry. Your tears taste so sweet.

Ahem Sorry…

Well if you’re curious how the game looks in motion, Konami has released the first official gameplay footage. Hellboy faces off against goblins, werewolves, Japanese demons and weird stuff that could only be imagined by Mike Mignola. As you can see for yourself it takes cues from God of War and Ninja Gaiden type games: crazy, over the top beat ’em ups with big boss battles.

Opening up the videogame console war debate once again, there were slight differences in the game from system to system. The graphics on the PlayStation 3 version were crisper, while the Xbox 360 version played smoother. The PSP version was less detailed, but the difference was barely noticeable on the portable’s smaller screen. All three versions played the same graveyard level where Hellboy fought a host of goblins. The lock-on system was not easy or natural, but I did enjoy ripping a goblin’s head off to use as a grenade. (more…)

‘DC Universe Online’ Needs Senior Artist

Comic book and videogame fans’ cyberspace dreams were crushed when Microsoft confirmed that the Marvel Universe Online videogame was canceled last year. The superhero-themed massively multiplayer online game, playable between computers and Xbox 360 consoles, could’ve been a serious contender to World of Warcraft. However, the developer is carrying on with that effort, sans Marvel license.

But don’t give up hope yet, fanboys. Evidence shows that Sony is still going forward with their planned DC Comics Universe Online MMO. This week, Rich Johnston noticed in his Lying in the Gutters column a Craigslist ad from Sony Online Entertainment looking for Senior Levels Artists to work on the game. Before you start assembling your resume so that you can work with game consultant Jim Lee, be aware that the position has some steep requirements:

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent development experience.
• 5+ years experience in game development using Maya and the Unreal Engine.
• Must have shipped at least two titles with heavy 3D content as a senior Artist with management responsibilities.

DC Comics Universe Online has been long in development with very few details released. It was announced for computers and the PlayStation 3 but it’s unknown if cross-platform play will be allowed. It’s not likely to come out any time soon, either, since no mention of the game was made at Sony’s recent 2008 media event in London last week.

‘The Incredible Hulk’ Smashes Other Movie Standees

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Theater lobbies littered with cardboard standees promoting Indiana Jones, Dark Knight, Hellboy II and other movies may be a familiar sight these days, but to paraphrase the Hulk, they’re just "puny banners!"

Selected theaters across the country recently received life-size maquettes to promote the release of The Incredible Hulk on June 13. And when we say "life-size," we mean it! 

Measuring over 8-feet tall and as wide as a truck, simply standing next to one of the maquettes is enough to understand why that anonymous soldier in the classic Stan Lee/Jack Kirby origin issue called him a "hulking monster."

You have to wonder which movie theater employee gets to take this home.

‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Trailer Now Online

I don’t know what’s more weird: Seeing the Warner Bros. "WB" shield instead of the 20th Century Fox spotlight logo on a Star Wars film or seeing a Star Wars movie done in the style of the TMNT movie from last year. But the fact remains, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars is real and it’s coming this summer, August 15, 2008!

We all knew that the Star Wars animated movie would take take place between Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and continues with many of the characters and settings from Cartoon Network’s Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoons. But the trailer dropped some new details on us. Renegades have kidnapped Jabba the Hutt’s son. Obi-Wan had dealings with Jabba. Anakin returned to Tattooine. Anakin seems to have himself a young apprentice. Episode III isn’t the first time Anakin caught up to Count Dooku. And Yoda is really, really cute when done in CGI animation.

To see the trailer for yourself, go on over to Yahoo’s exclusive preview.

‘Trick My Truck’ Customizes Iron Man Rig

If Stark Industies made tractor trailers, they might look something like this. Country Music Television’s Trick My Truck is the country version of MTV’s Pimp My Ride. Professional truck customizers give a deserving trucker’s rig a makeover so that he can ride with pride on the open road. Now if that good buddy is a comic book fan and known for being an "Iron Man" when it comes to grueling hauls, it’s no surprise what superhero they chose to surprise him with. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing "Iron Truck":

(more…)

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