OXCGN gets a Hands-On With WAR at Darksiders Preview

by GrathiusXR:

©2009 Arthur Kotsopoulos

A "very" big sword

[Ed: The embargo on the 5 hour hands-on was lifted this afternoon at 4pm AEST, so here's Arthur's report on his marathon hands-on with the game.]

Sure, it’s a bold statement to claim THQ’s multi-platform title Darksiders, due for release January 7th 2010, as the real God of War of this hack ‘n slash action game genre.

But when the main character is named “War ” and is one of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse you would think that it’s pretty suitable to label Darksiders as THE new God of War.

Maybe it’s not entirely original, but the game does do an excellent job of taking what worked in many great 3rd person action titles such as God of War, Legend of Zelda, Soul Reaver etc. and mash them in with a post apocalyptic/Armageddon time line to create one of, if not the, most visceral games I have played in a long time.

E3 this year was where I first laid eyes on Darksiders and initially wasn’t overly impressed with what it had to offer. The E3 demo was sort of a taste of what to expect and frankly it wasn’t anything special.

It had the gore and the awesome chain combo moves but other than that it didn’t look like a must have title.

Fast forward about 5 months and we have November where THQ held a nice little five hour session of Darksiders at Fraser Studios in Chippendale for certain Aussie Media in which we played an almost final build of the game as well as being treated to a nice 7 inch figurine of War and some Darksider Hoodies just in case it gets cold this Summer.

• Darksiders Trailer – God Of WAR

Might I say that Darksiders is CRISP!

A few too many steriods perhaps?

From animation, to lip syncing to the detail on the amazingly devilish creatures of Hell and the heavenly angels of Heaven, everything about this game looked clean and crisp. I was actually quite amazed at how far it has come since E3.

Gone was the one kill animation and now we have different kill animations for each enemy, from crushing zombies’ heads, to jumping up and clinging on to the massive human-sized bats and stabbing War’s Chaoseater sword into their gut.

Each kill is satisfying and still leaves you wanting more.

The simple combat control scheme accompanies the gory kill animations and whilst nothing revolutionary it does have a level of depth to it. Anyone who has played games such as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter etc. will know that the more buttons you press in sequence the better combo you will do.

Exact same thing here: the more you press in sequence the better the combo and more damage you’ll do. Kill enough enemies with a certain weapon and it will upgrade doing a tad more damage to enemies upon contact.

Purchase new weapons and combos as well via Virgil who is the demon with a hunger for souls and War will slowly live up to his name. You see,  to become more powerful you acquire Souls which can be absorbed by killing enemies and anyone who has been following this game will know that though you are powerful at the start of the game you get stripped of your powers.

This means you get a nice taste of what WAR can dish out when he does have his powers and know what to expect later on in the game when you’ve acquired souls and purchased all the upgrades. Trust me- you’ll need as many souls as you can find because the scope of this game just gets bigger and bigger as you progress.

The game becomes less linear and allows you to traverse the level as you please at your own pace, all while throwing enemies of different kinds at your feet to stop you from progressing. You’ll never know what to expect in Darksiders; one moment you may be slaying zombies and the next flying on a huge griffin which the forces of Heaven control.

Potential Plus

It’s a game that has much potential and to my great pleasure seems to meet that potential.

It knows it has these awesome creatures and characters to use and though sometimes the game does get a bit tedious in that it might give you the same room four times in a row where you have to clear the same enemy type out in a different way, it still is fun killing them off.

The combat can sometime be a bit boring when you don’t have any other weapons for secondary attack or any other powers but the game does offer enough variety to keep you playing.

It’s crisp, clean and full of blood and when I mean blood I mean blood, heck even on the statistic screen it says how many gallons of blood you have spilled which is pretty neat. It has a combat system that whilst still basic does offer a level of depth in terms of the upgrades you can purchase, and it offers you the ability to purchase new powers and new weapons, giving Darksiders a very basic yet welcome RPG element to it.

This helps to add some variety and longevity to the game, keeping it fresh whether you’re 10 hours or 20 hours in to it.

You’ll always be finding new things so the key to Darksiders is exploration. You are given open landscapes to traverse, so make the best of them as sometimes you may find treasure chests, another Virgil seal where you can buy upgrades or other stuff.

A tad linear – but hey

Darksiders does start off quite linear in that the further you try to travel freely in the level pathways become blocked off to basically steer you straight.  However, as you progress through the game levels become more open and hold many more secrets for you to find. I stress that you do explore and do take advantage as the game is a lot more satisfying that way.

So whether you love some good ‘ol fashion hack’n’slash or some exploration to pass the time or just love to take in the apocalyptic sights Darksiders is a game that will not disappoint you in any way.

It may have a few annoying issues to it that hopefully do not play a major part in every area and a combat scheme some may find simple, but overall it will not take away from just how massive in scope Darksiders really is.

Scope. It’s a word that means big in Darksiders. I was told that the 1st main boss you fight in Darksiders is the smallest out of them all and compared to your character War this boss was at least 4-5 times War’s size. So can you imagine the size of the bosses later on in the game!

Pre-Order Now

It’s going to be epic to say the least and much more fun when you take them down.

Darksiders hits stores on January 7th 2010 and may just be the best way to start off the New Year. It intelligently misses the crowded pre-Christmas period and comes out at a perfect time,  a little while before the Q1 2010 lineup gets going. So get out there pre-order and make sure you are ready for Armageddon!

©2009 Arthur Kotsopoulos

• Other games in genre at discount $’s for ALL OXCGN readers + Bonus Points

In this short video I explore the recent digitization of comics in the form of motion comics. The video also features the premiere of the Astonishing X-Men motion comic, a Joe Quesada press conference, and interviews with comic art superstars Greg Horn and Joe Madureira.

In this short video I explore the recent digitization of comics in the form of motion comics. The video also features the premiere of the Astonishing X-Men motion comic, a Joe Quesada press conference, and interviews with comic art superstars Greg Horn and Joe Madureira.

bahasa/language : inggris/english

download Vol 1 ch. 0

download Vol 1 ch. 1

download Vol 1 ch. 2

download Vol 1 ch. 3

download Vol4 ch.4

Madrid y sus obras infinitas nos esperaban en una soleada mañana para asistir a la presentación de la apuesta más fuerte de THQ para 2010. Un juego de acción frenética, toques de RPG y un diseño artístico a cargo de una leyenda del cómic como Joe Madureira. Señoras y señores, con todos ustedes… DARKSIDERS.

NOTA: haced click sobre la imagen para acceder al artículo publicado en ultimONivel.

Estamos en la epoca del año en la que muchos juegos que se anunciaron al final fueron retrasados o cancelados. Sobretodo por el detalle del marketing, sin embargo en esta ocasión quiero mostrarles un trabajo que se ve prometedor y tal vez revolucione un poco el concepto de juegos cinematograficos. Me refiero a Darksiders: Wrath of War. El creativo el Sr. Joe Madureira se encargo de mucho de este concepto. Disfruten los videos y recuerden que el 5 de Enero se lanza al mercado.

“Ah, I’m so lazy this week.” – Billy Zonos

Instead of doing the usual coverage of my twice-monthly DCBS shipment, I thought I’d split my remaining reviews into separate Roundups divided by overall quality: The Groaners, The Mediocres and The Gooders. This, obviously, is The Groaners. For those that have read the following books, yes, I feel your pain. For those that have not, yes, you dodged a bullet and your wallet thanks you.

• Anna Mercury #2 (**): OH MY GOD. This one is awful. Forget every nice thing I said about the first issue. This series reads likes it’s based on an idea that’s 10 years old. You got me, Ellis. Oh, you bastard.

• Dreamwar #3 (**1/2): Things are not looking up. Finally, we get some kind of explanation… well, no. We get Superman crying after Batman is killed, “Hal… Ollie’s dead. Why didn’t it matter to us? What are we doing?” Yeah, I’d love the answer to that one too. Please? Thanks. Oh, wait… Zealot killed Batman:

• Justice League of America #22 (*): One. I hate the Amazo story from the opening arc. Two. I still hate it. Three. Why does every woman that Benes draws look like a total whore? Four. Black Canary serves it up fresh. Wait, that was awesome! Five. Red Tornado… don’t care!!!

• The Programme #12 (-): To be honest, I skimmed it and then read the end. Of what I read, I have no idea what this book was supposed to be about and I don’t really care to ever know.

• Runaways #30 (*1/2): It could have been worse. If you skip the first 15 or 16 pages, the wrap-up is kind of nice. My favorite/best part of this travesty? Finding out just how fucked up Nico has become.

• Amazing Spider-Man #563 (**1/2): Note to Bob Gale – Stop telling cheesy jokes. This has been a message from your readership.

• Superman #677 (*): Um, is this supposed to be in continuity? Superman talks like a fucking idiot! Misogyny? Check. Naiveté? Check. I mean, shit. The guy talks about his dog like a 7-year old would. How lame is this? I thought Robinson was this huge talent? And who the heck is this lame-ass Atlas character? GAH! I didn’t think it could get worse than the Busiek Superman run, but this one has shown me the error of my ways.

• Superman/Batman #49 (**1/2): I’m surprised how bad this was as compared to the other 5 parts of this story. The end just didn’t work for me. I don’t buy Lana Lang trying to poison the earth with Kryptonite in order to force Supes to leave, never mind the fact that she has been behind this plot the whole time. This is just ludicrous to me. This story is definitely out of continuity. I don’t see Johns or Robinson paying much attention to this particular change in the Clark/Lana dynamic. Oh, but I did like that final page (with Batman inside that vault filled with all types of Kryptonite): Yep, Bats is a douchebag.

• Trinity #3-4 (**): This book is boring. And ugly. Bagley doing DC characters just doesn’t look right. As much as I hate doing it, I’m dropping this book. Maybe if the plot picks up later, I’ll jump back in. For now, I’m just gonna ignore it. Sit it out like my pal, Superman.

• The Ultimates #4 (*): I don’t know what bugs me more? The awful plot or the “ripped straight from cheesy movie” dialogue? “Come with me if you want to live.” Really? REALLY?!?!

• Uncanny X-Men #499 (**1/2): I loved the first 4 parts… this was a jumbled mess. The A and B plot did not sync up well, every cutaway was painful, and the revelation that the mysterious hippie woman was Mastermind’s daughter was actually a non-event. Meanwhile, back in Russia… their faces: priceless.

• Wolverine #66 (*): MOST OVER-RATED BOOK OF THE YEAR. Everyone is literally jacking off into each other’s mouths over this one… I just don’t see it. This book is atrocious. So atrocious, someone needs to give it a red power ring. DING. I mean, BIG DEAL, Millar is adapting “Unforgiven” and using Wolverine to play the role of William Muny. I don’t care! Why!?!? Why is this a good idea? (And I like westerns…)

• X-Men: Legacy #213 (**): Are we ready for some super-retcons? So, let me break this one down: Mr. Sinister has a machine that in the event of his death will transfer his essence into the body of Professor X? 

And on that note… I’ll post The Mediocres tomorrow, maybe. Hey, it’s the Fourth of July, I may be busy. Like, drinking and stuff.

Jeph Loeb, (Writer) Joe Madureira, (Artwork) and Christian Lichtner (Digital Paints)

To be honest, this one doesn’t deserve any more space than it is getting. If it wasn’t for the awesome (its a love or hate thing I know) artwork by Joe Mad and Christian Lichtner I would have dropped this one after the first issue. The storyline is a mess featuring too many characters, Jeph Loeb’s dialogue is hilariously cliché, campy, and one-note, and I am fairly certain characters are acting wildly out of character. This is easily one of the worst things I have read since getting back into comics. If the artwork wasn’t so fun to look at, I would have to consider this a complete and utter failure at every level. (Grade: D)

-Kyle Posluszny

A Second Opinion

I have no idea where this book is going anymore. And to think it’s going to wrap up next issue is just unthinkable. The only thing I can make a wager on is that it’s going to say, “To be continued in Ultimatum” at the end of issue #5. There’s just too many subplots and dangling threads (that have been randomly conjured up, no less) to be wrapped up in another 22 pages of story. This series has done nothing but sullen The Ultimates brand and lower the integrity of the creative team. Joe Mad’s art is the only reason why people are buying this turd, because the story is a convoluted mess and the coloring is still too dark. Why he would want to be associated with a piece of garbage like this is beyond me. At least with Hulk, I know that Jeph Loeb is purposely writing a bad story for the hell of it. Here, there’s just no excuse. Even the cover sucks. (Grade: F+)

- J. Montes

Greetings, Earthling readers. I am What-oh! The Comics Daily Watcher. Once in a while, a comic comes along so horrible that it gives everyone who reads it a stomach ulcer. Titans #1, for instance. However, once in a cosmic lifetime, this happens twice in the same week. This week, for instance. The simultaneous release of Ultimates 3 #4 and Hulk #4 has brought me forth from my lunar hideout to witness two of the most amazingly stupid comics ever published, and record the event for all history to see.

No-one here on the moon is quite sure what Jeph Loeb is thinking, but one thing is certain: he’s releasing some of the most error-prone and unreadable comics that Marvel have published for years, and he’s using two of their biggest properties to do it. While I am pledged never to interfere with human events, I can at least rely on the Comics Daily guys to do it for me. What follows is a double-shot examination of the comics in question, starting with a deconstruction of Ultimates v3 #4, by Seb Patrick:

Page 1 –

Oh, that’s a hell of a caption to get us started. So you can be specific (and, er, wrong, as we’ll see) about the location, but not the date? What, exactly, is the point in saying “Years ago”? The page is GREY. Grey is comics shorthand for “years ago”. Way to labour the point, Loeb. Oh, wait, sorry, forgot who I was talking to, there. Keep labouring.

Ignoring yet another instance of misspelling “Erik”, why are they going to Australia? Is that famously-uninhabited island going to be the new home of the mutant race?

Page 2 –
So the plane crashes in the Savage Land. It’s nice, that, the way Erik and Chuck discover the place at the same time. It’s a good job Mark Millar didn’t already write an issue of Ultimate X-Men in which Mags discovered the place on his own and subsequently brought Charlie there, eh?

Remember, kids, Marvel trust Jeph Loeb so much they’re letting him bring about the end of a universe about which he has never read a single comic!

Page 4 –

Baby Ka-Zar and Shanna is such a fucking ridiculous image that I can’t even muster the energy to talk about it.

Page 6 –

Another helpful caption, there, just in case we thought the switch back to colour and the presence of some sabre-toothed tigers made us believe we were in 1980s Brooklyn.

… and here we have the first instance (no, it won’t be the last) of Loeb clearly shoehorning in a line that addresses some of the criticism aimed at his earlier issues. What, you think there’s another reason why this issue was so badly delayed? “Look, everyone, there’s a reason why Thor isn’t using Mjolnir! He just chose to use a different one from the many he has available!” Oh, well. That’s alright, then.

Page 7 –

So Captain America, who doesn’t like swearing or revealing outfits or anything about the world post-1950, is a fan of Terminator 2. Great. Don’t worry, though. This line will be explained later. You’ll love the explanation. Trust me. Incidentally, notice how yet again a woman can’t do anything without being rescued by a man.

Page 8 –

Incidentally, notice how yet again a woman can’t do anything without being rescued by a man.

Yes, folks, Cap was really a robot! One robot killed another robot in order to try and do exactly the same thing! You know what this reminded me of? That Red Dwarf episode, “Psirens”. So yes, Cap quoted a famous movie about a murderous robot because he himself was a murderous robot! I love this book so much. I’m also looking forward to the explanation for why Wolverine wasn’t able to smell the fact that these guys were fakes. Because I know an explanation is coming! It’s Loeb!

In between miraculously recovering from drugs overdoses and escaping ankle-tagging house arrest (explanation : “That’s not important right now”) Hank Pym still finds time to wish for the death of America’s greatest super-hero. So hey, one aspect of Ultimates characterisation IS still intact!

Pages 9 to… oh, God, I don’t know, this goes on for ages

So now we’re treated to a whole bunch of pages of the Ultimates fighting the Brotherhood of Mutants. I’m not quite sure why this is happening, to be honest. As far as I can see, Wanda was murdered, and her body taken by Magneto and Pietro. I think the Ultimates think Magneto did it, although I don’t know why they think they’re more qualified to comment than Pietro. Anyway, their response to this is to go to the Savage Land and FIGHT MUTANTS, rather than letting two men grieve the loss of their daughter/sister.

Anyway, Hawkeye acts like a dick, Sabretooth fights tigers (DO YOU SEE BECAUSE THEY ARE SABRE TOOTHED TIGERS), Shanna does nothing but call Ka-Zarr “lover”, the Juggernaut shows up, Wolverine says “@#$%” a lot, and Valkyrie is made to wonder if her life as a hero is real or imaginary, even though Millar already did THAT EXACT SAME PLOT WITH THOR.

Oh, and Pyro, last seen in Ultimate X-Men as one of the, er, X-Men, appears to have turned into Doctor Light.

Page 20 –

“Apart from being all kinds of dead, yeah”

Oh, wait, this might be another attempt at foreshadowing. Like the fact that we suddenly don’t know where Captain America is, and yet we still haven’t heard Black Panther speak. Whoooooh.

Page 21 –

“Er, because I’m not mincing around fretting about things?

Er, Jan. Read Secret Invasion. Or watch any film ever where someone has had to prove to someone else who they really are. Incidentally, female characters in this series so far : whiny moaning Wanda, boobs-hanging-out Valley girl Valkyrie, boobs-hanging-out cavegirl Shanna, and Jan the Thicko. Well played, Loeb!

Fractionalize. Verb. 1. To appear in a Matt Fraction comic. Usage example : “Tony Stark was so much better when he was Fractionalized, rather than Loebotomized.”

Also, did Loeb really just use the word “poo”? Really?

Page 22 -

Dude, you’re an extremely lifelike humanoid robot masquerading as a superhero in a plot ripped off from Secret Invasion, Battlestar Galactica or a combination of the two. Odds are, nobody’s ever thought of you as a toaster. The only things that people think of as toasters are… you know… toasters. And combination grills, at a pinch. Also, ignoring the “hur hur hur, SEX!!!1″ nature of the line, I don’t know about you, but I can think of far worse things to be than a vibrator.

Such as Jeph Loeb, for one.

Bad reviews make Hulk angry, I believe, but at least I’m safe from any attacks. After all, with my non-interference pledge, I can be assured that, like Switzerland during World War 2, I remain a neutral, safe and overflowing with Nazi gold. Unlike that fool Uatu, who just has to be on the front line every time Galactus wants a light snack. When will he ever learn?

Next up is James’ take on Hulk #4:

Previously…
THE RED HULK IS ON THE LOOSE AND HE’S A TOTAL @#$%ING BADASS. HE SHOT THE ABOMINATION! HE BEAT UP THE OTHER, RICK “A-BOMB” JONES ABOMINATION, WHO IS NOW BLUE. CAN ANYONE STOP THIS WALKING PILE OF AWESOME? MAYBE, BECAUSE THE GREEN HULK JUST SHOWED UP!

The issue opens with the FIGHT OF THE CENTURY:

That right. The Hulk punches out the Watcher. Why? BECAUSE RED HULK IS THE KEWLEST ONE THERE IS, THAT’S WHY.

We then return to your regularly scheduled “plot” as the Green Hulk, last seen confronting the Red Hulk in the cliffhanger to #3 shows up from wherever he was while Red Hulk was beating up the Watcher.

“After all, it’s been like 2 solid months since the last issue.”

Anyway, the fight we’ve been waiting to see finally begins! Naturally, the Red Hulk’s going to win, because he’s a COMPLETE BADASS. And how do we know? Because there’s LOTS OF THAT FAKE SWEARING GOING ON:

Seriously, what the hell? If you REALLY think a character needs to swear, let them swear. If not, don’t bother with this half-way house bollocks. Everyone reading @#$% knows what it means, even the kids. Okay, yes, you don’t want swearing in a Marvel all-ages comic. That’s fine, but that means that you SHOULDN’T DO THIS EITHER. The worst crime, though? It’s not even INTERESTING to read. At least when Bendis does the fake swearing, it’s to add texture to character’s individual speech patterns. Here, Loeb is using it purely in the absence of any dialogue that’s actually interesting or witty, to illustrate just how @#$%ING COOL THE MOTHER@#$%ING RED HULK IS. He would totally @#$% your @#$% up, then probably @#$% your sister in her [Volkswagen --ed] just to prove he’s the baddest @#$%er around. You @#$%head.

Anyway, the Red and Green Hulk fight. This takes up 8 pages, mostly of the Red Hulk spewing dialogue about how he is the most awesomest Hulk of the available choices. Green Hulk is finally strangled into unconsciousness, a fate that unfortunately eludes the readers of this comic.

Meanwhile, back at the latest trashed SHIELD Helicarrier, Iron Man and Maria Hill are trying to figure out what happened, when they discover a ripped coat:

Saturated with Gamma radiation, is it? Sounds like the field officers are playing a practical joke on you there, Ms. Hill. Wikipedia describes Gamma Radiation as “the most dangerous form of radiation emitted by a nuclear explosion because of the difficulty in shielding it.” Probably going to need a little more than those tongs to keep you safe. Lucky SHIELD’s no place for kids, because her chances of having any just dropped off the scale.

That’s right. Tony Stark, the Marvel Universe’s premiere futurologist can’t figure out that someone’s Gamma-saturated, shredded coat that tore when the person wearing it GREW suggests that it might belong to THE GAMMA-EMITTING RED HULK THAT DESTROYED THEIR HELICARRIER FROM THE INSIDE. You know, the one they’ve been TRYING TO TRACK DOWN FOR 4 ISSUES.

Elsewhere, the Green Hulk wakes up, and the Red Hulk has a gun stuck right in his mouth! He delivers a big monologue about how difficult it was to keep Hulk Hulked-out while he was unconscious, which he wanted, because…

The main question here, then, is WHY DID YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE HULK TO WAKE UP TO KILL HIM? If you wanted him dead, AND he was the Hulk while you were bringing him to this bridge for no reason, WHY NOT JUST SHOOT HIM BEFORE HE WAKES UP? You’ll notice the Hulk has a gun in his mouth, so it’s not like Red Hulk is after a fair fight here.

Luckily, the Green Hulk bites the gun in half and escapes by falling off the bridge into a river. Red Hulk declares himself the strongest one there is, thanks to victory by default! DE-FAULT! DE-FAULT! THE TWO GREATEST WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

But wait! It’s not over! WHO SHOULD SHOW UP BUT THOR? What’s this? Are we in for our third straight issue of Red Hulk Vs. Someone who loses so we know that he’s the most badass punching man in all of Marvel?! I BELIEVE SO! The cliffhanger declares, VERILY:

At which point, my ears actually began to bleed. CONTINUEDETH? Leaving aside the fact that Straczynski’s Thor doesn’t even talk in King James English, STAN LEE HIMSELF WOULDN’T HAVE MANGLED THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE THAT POORLY.

The issue ends with a one-pager by Audrey Loeb and Chris Giarusso, which is far superior to anything on the previous 22 pages.

In summation: Don’t buy Hulk #4. Just don’t. It is VERY BAD.

SPOILERS!!!

Whew! The wait is over! Ok, so it wasn’t that bad of a wait because there are much better comics to keep you satisfied, but the wait is over all the same. Well this is the other Jeph Loeb title coming out now so of course this is another title getting lots of flak. Jeph Loeb is the comic aficionado’s whipping boy. However, unlike Hulk, I can kind of board that Loeb hating bandwagon on this one. The main theme of this comic for me was-what?

The story opens in a black and white flashback scene with Magneto, Professor X, and little Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Aren’t they cute? They crash-land into the Savage Land. We get to see little Ka-Zar and little Shanna, ok these little versions of characters are cute.

We travel back to the present and the now adult Ka-Zar and Shanna talk about how Magneto slaughtered half their tribe including their parents. They’ve waited for years to overthrow him. We then take a look at Tony Stark’s mansion and Iron Man is choking Wasp. Captain America bashes Iron Man in the mouth and he’s a robot? Cap is a robot too? What the hell? Hank Pym shows up and tells Wasp that there is a conspiracy everywhere and he thinks he is to blame.

Back to the savage land and Hawkeye shoots some people. Sabretooth attacks Clint, and Ka-Zar’s pals start taking chunks out of Sabretooth. There is some more mystery with Black Panther. Juggernaut pops out of nowhere and punches Wolverine in the back. Isn’t Juggernaut supposed to be dead? Valkyrie is flying around, oh wait it’s all been a dream, she isn’t really special? No, that is just Mastermind. Ok, that’s cool, but why is Pyro standing there with Mastermind and talking about basically raping her before he kills her. First off, man that is fucked up, and two, isn’t Pyro a good guy? That’s what he was in Kirkman’s X-Men run right?

Thor is kicking some ass, ok that’s cool. He beats the shit out of Unus and I think he bashes his head in with his hammer. That’s what it looks like he did. Man this is a graphic comic. Magneto shows up and starts screwing with mjolnir. Ok, I don’t like that idea, but Magneto has done that before even way back in the Stan Lee Thor, so you can’t blame that on Loeb. Quicksilver shows up wearing almost a copy of Magneto’s costume, um ok. Magneto asks him if his sister is safe. So, she didn’t die then. This whole mystery murder thing meant nothing? I hope not.

Back at Tony’s mansion we get a nice moment with Wasp and Hank Pym. See? That’s something good. The issue ends with a group of Ultimates robots surrounded by a Yellowjacket looking character with red eyes. Hank Pym tells Wasp that this is their son. So, Ultron I guess?

Ok, as much as I’d like to, I can’t really defend this one. I’ve read every single Ultimate comic ever published (that’s right I read Ultimate Adventures) and there are still continuity issues that confused me in here. Since when was Pyro evil? When did Juggernaut come back? There seems to be a mystery on almost every page. Which I guess is innovative, but without many answers, it’s beginning to wear thin.

On the plus side, there is some cool action in here. I’m still loving Joe Mad’s art. I’ve heard people say that they don’t like his look on this book, but this isn’t Ultimates 2. Loeb is going for something new and for what he is going for, the art works really well.

Also, this ultra macho dialogue has completely worn out its welcome. I mean I realize this is a comic but c’mon. Maybe it’s still the transition between Ultimates 2 and Ultimates 3 that is highlighting everything. This comic is extremely different from Ultimates 2 and it’s still hard to get used to the change. Or maybe it’s because of the extreme lateness of this issue which never helps. Who knows? When everything is tied together and you read it in trade it may all make sense and be good. I hope so.

2 stars out of four

Pra quem quiser ver em tamanho maior, basta acessar o meu Deviant ^^
magmard.deviantart.com

Desenho finalizado em 24h (não direto O.o. oloko!) Deu um trampinho, mas o resutado ficou bem legal! ^^
Bom… é isso por enquanto.

Agora mãos na massa para finalizar o resto dos trampinhos aqui =P

Abrax

Here are some videos I found of American Comic Art masters.

Adam Hughes

Leinil  Francis  Yu

Joe Madureira

J. Scott Campbell

Jim Lee

The Ultimates 3 #3 (Marvel Comics)

Writer: Jeph Loeb Art: Joe Madureira

The writing is terrible. The way the characters speak is just beyond cheesy. Loeb has this habit of having violence erupt for no real reason, almost just to serve the artist and opportunity for a solid page eating panel of them striking at each other. In the also Loeb written Hulk #1 we had Doc Samson lashing out at the Winter Guard for barely any reason and in this issue of Ultimates we’ve got Hawkeye and Wolverine just erupting into violence after a really unnecessarily harsh exchange that seemed totally baseless. I enjoy Madureira’s artwork, its fun to flip through the pages and see him drawing these characters. But honestly if I didn’t already have a subscription to this title I would’ve left it on the shelf after issue #1. This issue continues to focus on the murder of the Scarlet Witch, with Wolverine coming along to assist the Ultimates in solving her murder after relaying the affair he had with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s mother. It seems the Ultimate universe is going to follow the 616 universes tradition of having Wolverine every where and every when.

Thor #6 (Marvel Comics)

Writer: J.M. Straczynski, Penciler: Olivier Coipel

This series is going kind of slow for me… it’s like the Seinfeld show of comic books. It’s a comic book about nothing, some stuff happens but it isn’t really much of a story. The Asgardians and the middle America citizens of the area where Asgard resides are adjusting to one another. The Asgardians attend the town meetings, Donald Blake hears stories about the encounters some of the town folk have had with Asgardians, and then Thor makes some decisions about the revival of the rest of the lost Asgardians which makes for a cool cliffhanger. I enjoyed the art and writing, I guess I’m just getting a little impatient with the pace of things.

Fantastic Four #554

Writer: Mark Millar, Art: Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary

I dug everything about this Fantastic Four issue. I laughed at the beginning when we watch as Reed has to rescue the family from a failed time traveling vacation. I enjoyed Millar’s grasp of all the characters from the way Reed and Ben interacted throughout and our going back to a Johnny Storm character who is seeking different avenues for taking advantage of his celebrity. Bryan Hitch’s artwork is always incredible, I enjoyed his work on the Ultimates and I’m glad to be able to see his work so soon. Paul Neary, who I’m a long time fan of both his inks and penciling does a great job as always with Hitch’s pencils. The slight redesign of their costumes is a nice touch, especially the tweak of the “4″. Also the magazine format of the cover design and layout was entertaining, I’m curious if that is going to be a layout choice that sticks in future issues, I hope so.

Technorati Tags: comic books superheroes Marvel Thor Ultimates Joe Madureira Fantastic Four Human Torch

This page proves Joe Madureira knew what Thor and Iron Man were suppose to look like:

Click to Enlarge

Not like this:

Click to Enlarge

Though I will admit his Captain America is bitchin’ in this image.

Altra intervista altra versione di Mira, il Mag-Network ha intervistato il colorista di GG STUDIO Andrea Errico, attualmente occupato con il fumetto di Pasquale Qualano “One” in uscita per l’estate 2009. Anche Andrea a fine intervista ha disegnato per noi una sua personalissima versione della guerriera Mira.

L’intervista è stata spostatanel sito di cartoonMag

This, despite the awfulness of the last four issues, was a fairly decent comic. In fact, without actually going back to reread the last four issues, I will tentatively say that issue #5 of the Ultimates 3 “mayhaps” redeems this mini-series, if not Jeph Loeb’s entire comic book writing career.

Whoa. Did you read that right? FYI, I also liked Hulk #6.

Ultimates 3 pays off story threads originally setup by Millar way back in Ultimates 1, namely the Ultron subplot. I love me some Ultron, perhaps that’s why I’m satisfied with the way this story ended… I just kind of wish he’d gotten to the point of it all 2-3 issues sooner. But, it’s a mystery and this is how these things go. Confusion follows confusion followed by more confusion and then BOOM! Startling revelations! I’ve been watching a ton of Thin Man lately. I know things.

To his credit, Loeb doesn’t make us wait until the end for the recap-revelations, he feeds it to us within the first couple of pages:

• Ultron replaced the Ultimates body snatcher style with android duplicates!
• The Scarlet Witch’s murder was a crime of passion… gross.
• The butler did it! (serious lol’ing right there folks.)
• Captain America was the Black Panther THE WHOLE TIME! (Well, this isn’t really explained but I’m sure Loeb’ll get to it in the forthcoming Ultimate Captain America Annual.)
• Dr. Doom was behind it all?!? (Does this mean Doom is involved in Ultimatum? I may have to revise my Celestial theory.)
• Somehow, The Wasp stopped being Asian!!!

Plain and simple, this was a fantastically enjoyable read. We got answers and they were satisfying. To me, at least. Oh, there’s War Machine! And Quicksilver dies! That was sweet. And Hank redeems himself! Okay, sort of. Cap still hates him but apparently the Wasp is ready to get remarried to the schizophrenic wife-beater. Crazy broad…

…why is Janet always written this way? Why can’t she be a real person? This sexist “ditzy dame” garbage just doesn’t cut it anymore, Marvel writers. Maybe you guys could learn a thing or two from the guys over at DC who know how to write female leads. Strong women are WAY sexier than damsels. Anyway…

How does this story sync up with Ultimatum? I don’t know, but all of a sudden I’m excited about it! Also, does anyone else think that the planned/cancelled/rescheduled Ultimates 4 is actually Ultimatum in disguise? Or was this announced somewhere already? Am I behind the curve?

Just about the only thing that still bugs me about this version of the Ultimates (my problem with Janet doesn’t count since she’s written that way in ALL versions of the Avengers) is the characterization of Hawkeye. LAME. I understand the guy has a death wish. Fine. But Loeb has him acting more like a spoiled brat than a man on the edge. Make him desperate, but not too desperate. Cut the melodrama, dude. It’s unnecessary.

Oh, and the art looks better. But the coloring still sucks. DCBS sent me the “Ultron Variant”, which I have to say as a fan of all things Sci-Fi/Horror kicks the crap out of the regular cover. “Terminator” Cap is the complete filth, do you not agree?

Ultimates 3 was lame and stupid most of the time, and in no way lives up to the epics that preceded it, but it was also fun. It was the “ultimate” funnybook. I think that above all else (including pretentious pretendering) shouldn’t comics be fun?

Ultimates 3 #5 (***1/2)

Yes, I liked this issue. I’m not so sure about the rest of this series since the first issue came out in December, but I think even the haters should give this a try. The March On Ultimatum tag has been on Ultimate books for a long time. Until recently, I didn’t have a clue what that event was going to be about. In this issue however, you can actually see what’s going down. If you were annoyed by all the Loeb mysteries, you’ll be pleased to know they’re all wrapped up nicely here. I can’t remember enough to tell if these twists were predictable or not, but I was entertained. I was even impressed when some of this stuff goes back to Ultimates 2. I was about to complain about how long it took for this series to finish, but I remembered a few things. Ultimates 2 took even longer to come out and this is Joe Mad we’re talking about, it’s a miracle the book took less than a year to finish. Speaking of Joe Mad, I like his art and it’s nice to see his work on some interiors. Everything resolves, the art is pretty, it’s entertaining, and the stage is set for Ultimatum.

Ultimate Fantastic Four Ultimate X-Men Annual #1 (****)

The fun continues. The art isn’t as pretty as the first part, but Nguyen and Peterson create passable work. It’s interesting how many people worked on just two issues. Two writers and four artists, seems a bit packed but that’s how the story is. This would easily be a six issue arc in the hands of less talented writers. The story is entertaining, but we’ve seen it many times before. So it works as only two issues long. It’ll be interesting to see if we’re looking at the post-Ultimatum Ultimate universe in this book. The story concludes leaving that a possibility, but probably not kind of thing. These annuals have proved to be entertaining What If type reads with some in-continuity growth of the characters, what’s better than that?

Ultimate Spider-Man #126 (***)

Please Bendis, write better. It’s very uncomfortable when USM isn’t good. Mediocrity may be as common as dirt in a lot of comics, but when you have a series where 80% of the issues are good-excellent things seem a bit off. The majority of this issue is the symbiote fighting people while Peter screams inside. It works as an attempt to make the fight scenes seem unique for a few pages, but after the fifth or sixth “HUUUNNNGGRRYYY!” and “No! Please!” I was bored. When you have an issue that relies so heavily on combat, the art needs to be great. I’m not a big fan of Immonen but he does produce good work here. Sadly, it’s not enough. However, the ending is intriguing and the fights are mildly enjoyable so I do recommend it. I just hope this book returns to the level of excellence that I know it’s capable of.

Yes, Alex Garner, the super cool Comic book digital painter! He plays video games too! 

The guy is really cool and down to earth!  He is very humble about his fantastic art which was refreshing. I remember following his work in the late 90’s and his current stuff is simply mind blowing! Without further hold up on with the interview! 

Questions by me.   Answers and Eye candy by *AlexGarner! 

How did you break into the biz…do you remember your first published work? 

In late ‘92, I sent some work to Jim Lee for a talent contest he hosted in the back of WildCATS #2. I wasn’t very confident with my pencils at the time, so I only applied for an inking position. The four who succeeded in the contest were J.Scott.Campbell, Brett Booth, Sal Regla, and myself. I believe my first published inked work was on WildCATS #0 over Brett Booth’s pencils. And I did such an awful job on it that soon after, Brett kicked me to the curb which freed me to work with Campbell. Obviously, that turned out to be a very good thing for me as Campbell and I became a pretty successful penciller/inker team for the next 6 years on such series as Gen¹³ and Danger Girl.

What keeps you motivated to churn out fantastic colors on a regular basis…(I guess besides paying bills!) 

I hate to say it, but some of it is just 11th hour dumb luck. Honestly, I usually have to work very hard to get my palette working at all. There are those artists out there who have the innate ability to pick the perfect color scheme from the get-go, but not me. No, I have to constantly wrestle with Photoshop just to produce something that will function at a minimal level. So, this means I sometimes use bright and flashy colors to compensate for a lack of pre-visualization, which is odd because my personal preference really lies with much more desaturated, earthy palettes. But also, the characters I paint tend to wear pretty garish outfits, so it’s usually counter-intuitive to dial down the bright colors. These are super heroes after all. 

Has there ever been a project that you wished you could go back and press the re-do button? 

Sadly, almost every one. Only a very few times have I ever felt completely satisfied with a finished piece after it’s done. A vast majority of the time when I look back at my art, I wince in frustration at what might have been. But if there’s one good thing that comes from all my negativism, it’s that I have a constant and obsessive need to improve.

(Awesome piece here by the way…at least I think so!)

What are some challenges you face with deadlines. (Or to put better -do you have problems with the many deadlines you face?)

Usually the challenge for me is in the beginning stages of a painting. If I’m not “on” and in-the-groove, then I’m just scratching and clawing to put together any sort of functional composition. That’s when I usually lose a lot of project time and then the stress sets in. But generally, I’m pretty good at not over-booking myself with too many deadlines. I believe it’s really important to be able to deliver a product when you say you will. Otherwise, you develop a professional reputation for flakiness that’s really hard to shake.

How long have you been a gamer? What games do you currently play? Favorite Game ever? 

When I play, I’m mostly on World of Warcaft with my friends. I usually don’t have time for a lot of other gaming. However, I did recently finish Bioshock, which was really excellent. Off the top of my head, my all-time favorite games are Diablo II, Resident Evil 4, and Zelda: Ocarina of Time. For me, those were three timeless gaming experiences.

What artist do you admire? 

These days, I really gravitate toward Craig Mullins. In my opinion (and many others), he’s the gold standard for digital painting and speed-painting. Adam Hughes  is also a tremendous influence on me as well. A truly gifted and great guy.

What makes a good illustration to you? 

You know, that’s a tough question to answer. When I look at any good illustration, I tend to focus on what strong elements were brought to the table and I try to dissect the artist’s thought processes behind them. It’s such a case-by-case basis for me. For instance, I really like the artwork of bothMike Mignola and Joe Madureira, but they couldn’t be more stylistically different in their approaches.

Is there a dream project out there right now that you wish you could work on? 

Nothing specific at this time. My primary focus is just to become a better illustrator and then go from there. I’ve only been painting for over a year, so I still have a lot to learn.

Favorite character to illustrate? 

I’ve been illustrating Illyria from Angel so much lately, I guess it’s her for now. Rogue and Ms. Marvel have been fun recently too.

Big thanks to the man himself AlexGarner! The guy went from inker to digital painter!  Gotta love that! 

Attraverso l’ultima edizione della newsletter Panini Comics, la casa editrice modenese annuncia le novità che esibirà in anteprima allo stand lucchese. Pur mancando grossi volumi, eccetto la nuova edizione di Marvels, la Panini punta sugli albi spillati, grazie alla concomitanza di diversi eventi come il debutto del nuovo Capitan America, la conclusione del cross-over mutante “Messiah Complex”, l’arrivo di Mark Millar e Bryan Hitch su Fantastici Quattro e di Jeph Loeb e Joe Madureira su Ultimates.

Vi ricordiamo che per il mese di novembre sono stati annunciati anche 100% Marvel: Battlin’ Jack Murdock di Zeb Wells e Carmine di Giandomenico e 100% Marvel Best: Uomo Ragno – Conseguenze Inattese, che prosegue la ristampa delle storie di J. M. Straczinsky. La newsletter conferma anche la presenza di John Romita Jr. a Lucca Comics, come vi avevamo già anticipato in anteprima, e l’uscita di un volume incentrato sull’artista di origine italiana, oltre alla realizzazione di una variant per Spider-Man #497.

STEVE ROGERS È MORTO MA… CAPITAN AMERICA VIVE ANCORA!
CHI È IL NUOVO CAPITAN AMERICA?
THOR N. 116
17×26, S., 96 pp., col. Euro 3,80 – Super-Speciale Capitan America!
Un nuovo eroe a stelle e strisce raccoglie lo scudo di Cap e si erge a simbolo vivente della Nazione Americana! Una leggenda rinasce! Di Brubaker/Epting con la partecipazione di Alex Ross! La gang di super-criminali di Hood porta la battaglia dritta davanti alla porta dei Nuovi Vendicatori! Una doppia avventura by B.M. Bendis e C. Pagulayan.

ULTIMATES, LA TERZA STAGIONE BY JEPH LOEB & JOE MADUREIRA!
L’INIZIO DELLA FINE DELL’ULTIMATE UNIVERSE COME LO CONOSCETE!
ULTIMATES N. 37
17×26, S., 52 pp., col. Euro 2,80
Arrivano gli Ultimates di Joe Madureira e Jeph Loeb!
Eccovi il primo episodio della serie che è arrivata al top delle vendite negli Stati Uniti, con protagonisti Thor, Iron Man, Capitan America, Wasp, Quicksilver e i nuovi arrivi Pantera Nera e Valchiria. In appendice, la prima parte di “Ultimate Human”, di Warren Ellis e Cary Nord (“Conan”), che “mette insieme” Iron Man e Hulk…e ancora

Yes, the guy coloring Ulitmates with pencils by Joe Madureira.

Well let me start this post by saying a HUGE thanks goes out to Christian Lichtner for taking time out of his busy day to be interviewed…this interview was Very cool to say the least.  If you were a fan of comics in the past 10-12 years you could not know who this guy is.  Back in 1996 he partnered with Aron LUSEN.

 

I got some really positive feedback on some random colored pieces I did, and as soon as I submitted them to publishers, I got some offers. Keep in mind, that I tried getting work as a penciler for some time before that with limited success… (ie. no success) 

Favorite game ever… hmmmm… there’s a few, but I think Jak1, MGS1/MGS2, Team Fortress, Shadow of the Colossus, Counter-Strike, Final Fantasy XII, more recently Gears of War, and COD4… figures… not really ‘one’… thing is, each one of those was epic for me when it first came out… and even as I am typing this, I’m thinking of a bunch of other ones that I should put down… 

Lekabel, também conhecido por Fernando, é uma pessoa deprimente.

Apesar de falar muito dos seus amigos, é um fanboy de marca maior, reconhecido pela sua obsessão. Como pode ser notado em qualquer conversa sobre Hulk ou Justiceiro.

Hoje, ele sai caçando artwork,videos e Gameplay de Darksiders. Por que? Porque é coisa do Joe Madureira, simples assim, tudo bem, o jogo é meio Gears of Kratos, mas não importa, tem o Madureira.

Apesar disso,Fernando é um idiota, pois não tem videogames e tem que se contentar com o gametrailers, ocasionalmente se decepcionando.

Fanboy pobre nasceu é pra se foder mesmo.

Lekabel esperou por Exarch, Dragonkind e Dungeon Runners sem sucesso, leu Battle Chasers e continua acompanhando Ultimates Vol 3. Não importa o que digam, continuará acompanhando Joe Madureira em suas empreitadas sem sucesso, mas anda pendendo muito pra Ed Benes e Mike Deodato. E sonha um dia poder jogar esse monte de coisas que fica olhando por aí