It started as just a gaming comic, but expanded to much, much more. It’s one of the most popular independent webcomics out there. It’s spawned books, cartoons, shirts, and even plush toys. It’s won an Eisner Award. And it shows no signs of stopping after ten years online.

It’s Scott Kurtz’s PvP .

Cole, Brent, Jade, Francis and Skull make up the primary cast, and the staff of PvP magazine, a gaming-centric publication that’s typically ignored by the cast in favor of wacky misadventures. Cole is the responsible grown-up (when he’s not jumping ditches in his replica General Lee), Brent is the Mac-loving artist type (and constant victim of panda attack), Jade is the hot chick who also plays games (and is often the “straight man” of the group), Francis is the twitch-gaming teenager, and Skull is the loveable-but-incredibly-stupid mythological creature (he’s a troll).

Kurtz’s style is a broad-based humor, backed up with ongoing plotlines. Pretty much every strip has a punchline, but there’s a continuity over weeks and years, and the characters develop throughout the strip’s run. It plays like a newspaper comic, if the average reader was a software engineer, rather than a little old lady.

If you’re intent on paying for additional PvP, there are six books available, five through Dark Horse (collections of pamphlets produced by Dark Horse, which are “enhanced” collections of strips published online) and a book of original material produced by Dork Storm Press. Shirts and books (and toys, as they’re produced) are available from the store, and then the random-and-amusing animated series. (more…)

As sure as the sun rises, sure as night follows day, sure as MJ loves Pet…oh, wait, scratch that one…um…as sure as humans breath in oxygen and expel a form of carbon, there’s sure to be a new Spider-Man video game. And unlike even vs. odd numbered Star Treks, the quality of Spider-Man games (or super-hero games at all) is sketchy at best.  Sure, you’ll occasionally hit a milestone gem like the game based on the Spider-Man 2 movie, but then you’ll follow it with duds like Spider-Man 3 and Friend or Foe.  Thankfully, the developers at Shaba Games have taken the mold from the good Spidey titles and built an even better game around some new ideas that make this feel like the best wall-crawling escapade yet. 

That’s right, I said feel.

I recently had an opportunity to play a preview build of Web of Shadows for Xbox 360, and let me tell you, as a hardcore Spider-fan, this is the one we’ve been waiting for.  As fantastic as the swing mechanics were in Spider-Man 2, this takes everything up a notch with quality camera control, new combat maneuvers, a great story, and, finally aerial combat.

Admit it…even if he is a nerd, Parker has some bad-ass moves.  The way he hurls himself through the sky, zipping along a webline is graceful, dynamic, and awe-inspiring.  The animation team at Shaba has done a wonderful job of upping the ante with his swing animation, and everything flows just the way you remember from past games.  That’s the good thing.  The even better thing is how you transition from swinging to fighting.  Even while gliding through the air, you can target the nearest enemy by clicking the left trigger, and the camera stays focused on your foe (unless you tap the right analog stick).  Tap the Y button and Spidey will shoot out a webline straight for his target, either pulling his foe to him or him to it.  With careful timing, you then tap Y again once the two are about to connect, and you’ll begin the attack sequence.  Under a flurry of blows, ol’ Webhead can punch, kick and web up his foes, bouncing from target to target with ease.  With a few simple controller taps, you’ll be ping-ponging between enemies at a fast rate, and scoring some serious upgrades. (more…)

The season premier for Heroes is Monday and NBC promises their website will feature more micro-sites.  These specialized areas are promised to delve into secrets revealed on air, plus more graphic novel material, more cast commentaries and more webisodes beginning in December. In October, a special heroes vs. villains social network launches.

Meantime, the paperback edition of Saving Charlie, the sole Heroes tie-in novel, is also now on sale. DC’s second collection of Heroes webcomics will be out November 19 and collects all the comic material based on the second season.  Creators for the 272-page collection include Joe Kelly, Steven T. Seagle, Duncan Rouleau, Christopher Zatta, Mark Sable, Mark Warshaw, Christine Boylan, Chuck Kim, Harrison Wilcox, Pierluigi Cothran, Jim Martin, Timm Keppler, DJ Doyle, Staz Johnson, Michael Gaydos, Tom Grummett, Ryan Odagawa, Jason Badower, Travis Kotzebue, Marcus To with a cover from Gene Ha.

Hoping to generate good will for the remake of Knight Rider, NBC is offering the ability to investigate the back stories of some of their favorite characters, play an all-new KITT game and interact in Attack KITT and the KITT cave.

The peacock network has also freshened the Office website as the Dunder Mifflin Infinity social network will feature new branches, new tasks and new prizes. Additional new features include Meredith’s blog, Angela and Andy’s wedding planning microsite, a Serenity by Jan microsite and a second installment of webisodes slated for November debut.
 

Russell T. Davies, who is handing the Doctor Who series over to Stephen Moffat, has suggested that whenever David Tennant is done being the Doctor, the role should go to Russell Tovey.

The 26-year-old Tovey was seen in the most recent Christmas special as the young crewman, Midshipman Frame, left to pilot the sinking starship Titanic. He has also been on stage and screen in Alan Bennett’s The History Boys.

The creator, who leaves the show next year as lead writer and executive producer, said he thought Tovey was "going to be huge" and is "amazing".

In excerpts leaked throughout England for the forthcoming book Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale, Davis also floated the idea of JK Rowling appearing in a Christmas special and the author would work some sort of Doctor cameo into a Harry Potter novel.  Tennant objected, feeling it was crossing a line.

"David doesn’t like the JK idea, he thinks it sounds like a spoof, so we’ve paused slightly, wondering whether to win him round or just abandon something that he’s not going to be happy with," Davies said in an e-mail excerpted in the book.

Comic book fan Charlie Meyerson, currently a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, helped assemble a photo gallery of infamously recalled comic books.  We direct your attention to their website.

Not every title included here was recalled nor is this list in any way complete.  But in the wake of last week’s recall and reprinting of Action Comics #869, All-Star Batman & Robin #10, and DC: Decisions #1, it was a good time to go tripping down memory lane.