*A lot of them were articulated in Kotaku's comment section, but I'll list them anyway:

1. It could be generic crap.
2. It may be more like the movie than the comic. As cool as that potentially sounds, I'd prefer something more like source material than the adaptation. If only because an adaptation of an adaptation is like a xerox of xerox, you know? Speaking of which there's:
2a. Most video games based on movies suck.
2b. What? Most video games based on movies suck.
3. On the flip side, it could be so awesome that my head will explode.

Hopefully it will wind up somewhere in the middle. Although really, as long as it's playable and features some call backs to the comics, I'll buy it. I mean, I purchased this, which is both pretty mediocre and means Alan Moore will probably murder me should we ever meet, and that will be considered justifiable homicide.

9 Comments

• At July 28, 2009, Dave wrote:

  You forgot "4. Ubisoft makes bad games targeted at people who are probably dumb enough to eat their own controllers ...

• At July 28, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  Most video games based on movies suck, but the one's that don't, like Goldeneye, Spiderman 2 and The Warriors are ...

• At July 28, 2009, Nitz the Bloody wrote:

  On the plus side, if it's an 8-bit style side scroller that doesn't try to dick around with multiple genres ...

• At July 28, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  I reckon the art style of an 8/16-bit game, but an rpg or something.

  I mean, that pic on the back ...

• At July 28, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  (whispering 'I love you' that is)

• At July 29, 2009, Gavin wrote:

  Marvel Ultimate Alliance was pretty nifty if you ask me...it came with my 360 but I would have bought it ...

• At July 29, 2009, T. wrote:

  It may be more like the movie than the comic. As cool as that potentially sounds, I’d prefer something more ...

• At July 29, 2009, AW wrote:

  You forgot “4. Ubisoft makes bad games targeted at people who are probably dumb enough to eat their own controllers ...

• At July 29, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  .

  Given that Michael Cera, who is unattractive, has a warbly unpleasant voice and the charisma ...

Tsui mentioned that there are plenty of no-brainers, like surfing and snowboarding, but that there are also opportunities for Silver Surfer and Hobgoblin games in the future

So, really, what are the injury projections if either of those get made? That said, a good Silver Surfer game of any kind is not something I'd turn down.

*As opposed to the Tony Hawk civic planning game. Which, knowing Activision, may be in the works.

**Screw subtlty, I'm gonna come out and say it; a Hobgoblin game? Seriously?

10 Comments

• At July 2, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  It couldn't be any more frustrating than the Surfer game for NES, where I die, every time, on the first ...

• At July 2, 2009, Stephen wrote:

  "It couldn’t be any more frustrating than the Surfer game for NES, where I die, every time, on the first ...

• At July 2, 2009, Adam wrote:

  That SS game was a lot more fun if you found the hidden cheat code that made you invincible. ...

• At July 2, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  What's so hard to believe about a Hobgoblin game using a balance board? I'd say it's only unlikely because ...

• At July 3, 2009, Ellis Wyatt wrote:

  I'd buy a system just to play a hypothetical Hobgoblin game.,

• At July 3, 2009, MCM wrote:

  I'd love a Hobgoblin (or Green Goblin) game. Who wouldn't want to chase Spider-Pansy around and heave pumpkin bombs at ...

• At July 3, 2009, John Cage wrote:

  "I’d love a Hobgoblin (or Green Goblin) game. Who wouldn’t want to chase Spider-Pansy around and heave pumpkin bombs at ...

• At July 3, 2009, rhod wrote:

  I too would happily buy a Hobgoblin game.

• At July 3, 2009, bad trotsky wrote:

  I would buy a good Green/Hobgoblin game. The more I think about it he is better suited for a video ...

• At July 7, 2009, tk. wrote:

  For that matter, I would buy a Hobgoblin comic book...

  I miss Hobby.

Spoiler Disclaimer: I'm gonna go ahead and talk about certain plot details from this comic run that is almost exactly as old as I am. So, if you haven't read it yet (I can't act all that snobby, since I just started reading it last week), you may want to sit this one out.

I like Beta Ray Bill as much as the next hammer wielding space horse afficionado, which is quite a bit in case you didn't guess. That said, I wonder how many people would consider him a "Mary Sue" were he introduced today? He beats Thor in combat twice (although under mitigating circumstances) and Odin and Sif develop crushes on him almost immediately after meeting him.

Hell, I wonder how many people were up in arms over him at the time? I know that one of the reviewers in Amazing Heroes hated him, going by the Watchmen special issue I got off ebay, but what about the rest of fandom? Most of the token complaint letters they've printed so far are more about people not liking Walt's art.

Speaking of those letter, it was pretty funny that even before the internet became the place for comic fandom discourse, people would make melodramatic proclamations that a new creative team had ruined their favorite comic, and that they were dropping it forever after having followed it for decades. Nice to see some things are timeless!

Anyway, I think Simonson stays on the good side of making his pet character shine at the expense of everyone else in the cast, but I can see people not agreeing.

The use of "Doom!" during the build up of the Surtur storyline is highly reminiscent of Hellboy, even if Mignola uses it in a different way. John Workman's lettering on this book in general is a sight to behold. I'm not usually a lettering fetishist (not that there's anything wrong with that), but Workman's right up there Ken Bruzenak and Todd Klein as someone who adds something to every comic they work on with their lettering.*

As Harvey Jerkwater pointed out, part of Simonson's appeal is that he does not hesitate to put a cap in a plot's ass. His two examples are great, and you can see even some of that tendency in the early stages of his Thor. That said, I would have loved it if he'd dragged out Thor drinking Lorelei's Golden Mead for months, mainly because it amused me that she kept getting cock blocked by Thor running of to fight monsters for a couple issues. So, yes, I am saying that he should have played it more like a sitcom. That would have mixed well with Norse mythology and Marvel Comics bravura, right?

This isn't comics related, but man, there were a lot of ads for video games in these comics. It's quite an eye opener to see that, especially the ad for Super Mario Bros. on the Atari. I think I knew that existed and stored it as a bit of trivia that I buried somewhere deep in my subconscious along with the names of the characters on C.O.P.S. and most of my college education. It's kind of hard to believe there were so many consoles before the NES (and that Frogger was made for all of them). It's really a trip to be reminded that Nintendo's mascot appeared on someone else's console.** It's like Tucker Stone says; you miss out on these kinds of details when you buy old comics in trades.

I am kind of regretting not doing that, though. Although the comics are in great shape for their age, but the visual quality can vary pretty wildly. Also, there's the space and aesthetic reasons to get the trades (or just wait for the eventual Omnibus). That said, the guy who sold them to me on ebay did send them in two large shopping bags, and there's something very cool about grabbing another issue of them after I've finished one. And there are the ads and letter pages; those are nice extras.

One of the few things that didn't work for me is the joke about Nick Fury giving Thor glasses when he asked him to hook him up with a new secret identity. I'm not sure if that's because I've seen a lot of those jokes before, though, and I honestly don't know if Thor bumping in to Clark and Lois just to drive the point home made it funnier or lamer. Is it possible to find something half funny, half whince inducing?

And hey, did Simonson ever draw a SHIELD story? If not, why the hell not?

Bemusement at Superman allusions aside, that's pretty much it as far as complaints so far. When you have to go to the throwaway gag well to find something bad to say about a comic, I'd say it lives up to its reputation. Also, given that I wanted Simonson to make a running gag out of Lorelei's love potion, I probably shouldn't be picking on anyone's comedic chops, especially since Dr. McNinja*** is a part of his legacy.

*Stan Sakai and Dave Sim would be part of that list if I'd read enough of Usagi Yojimbo and Cerebus. Oh, and Chris Ware's pretty okay at it, too.

**Well, beyond CDI, but I like to pretend that never happened. Just like Nintendo. And all sensible people, really. And Donkey Kong also muddles things there.

***You really need to read the alt text to get the reference there. Or know that Walt Simonson was Chris Hastings' professor in art school.

22 Comments

• At June 29, 2009, Chris Jones wrote:

  I tried to read Walt Simonson's Thor once, since I heard it was really good. Pretty much every time Thor ...

• At June 29, 2009, Jeff Parker wrote:

  It's my all time favorite superhero run, I crack it open every few years and enjoy it all again. The ...

• At June 30, 2009, Bernard the Poet wrote:

  "I wonder how many people were up in arms over him at the time? "

  Near the end of Simonson's run, ...

• At June 30, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  Insoasmuch as I love Simonson's run on Thor, I really liked his Starslammers series.

  I was wondering about his Fantastic Four ...

• At June 30, 2009, tucker Stone wrote:

  I haven't read much of Simonson's Thor stuff, but what I have i've loved. I'm a big fan of the ...

• At June 30, 2009, The Dude wrote:

  I agree!

  This is the greatest superhero run ever. It's chock full of those "Fuck Yeah!" moments that reminds you why ...

• At June 30, 2009, mckracken wrote:

  read that like five years ago. cant relate to all the praise though.

  except for the thor "horse" idea, fairly run ...

• At June 30, 2009, Roquefort Raider wrote:

  Hey Brad,

  The "bump into Clark Kent" joke was a lot funnier back then, precisely because this comic is pretty old. ...

• At June 30, 2009, Adam wrote:

  Simonson's FF run had a lot to like about it, despite the fact that it didn't make a terribly significant ...

• At June 30, 2009, googum wrote:

  I was just thinking one of the smarter things Simonson did, was to ditch the vestigal Dr. Blake secret identity.

• At June 30, 2009, Beta Ray Steve wrote:

  To really appreciate Simonson's Thor run you'd have to wade through years of shitty Thor comics..and not with trades either, ...

• At June 30, 2009, Elegance Liberty / Mek wrote:

  Clearly, I openly admit to being biased in favor of Beta Ray Bill.

  However, I myself have wondered that exact same ...

• At June 30, 2009, Tuomas wrote:

  I thought Beta Ray Bill was an interesting character at first, because the process that created him had made him ...

• At June 30, 2009, dhole wrote:

  I just read this run beginning-to-end for the first time a couple of years ago and really, really enjoyed it. ...

• At June 30, 2009, Adam wrote:

  Starts in FF #350. IIRC, #351 was a filler issue that had nothing to do with the story. #352 ...

• At June 30, 2009, Sijo wrote:

  I've always been a fan of Simonson's work and I enjoyed his Thor run. That said, there were a few ...

• At June 30, 2009, Nick Marino wrote:

  i am all about buying up cheap runs of back issues and reading them that way instead of buying trades. ...

• At June 30, 2009, Ben Herman wrote:

  But then I always spend the last ten minutes of CSI shouting at the screen – “Demand to see a ...

• At June 30, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  I bought the whole run off ebay as well! Man, that was money well spent. Walt strolled onto the Thor ...

• At June 30, 2009, Brad Curran wrote:

  One thing that colors my reading of the book is that I have very little experience with Thor as a ...

• At June 30, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  Oh, yes. In the DeFalco run which immediately follows Simonson's, the dialogue immediately goes back to pseudo-lofty Stan Lee verbiage. ...

• At July 10, 2009, Dean wrote:

  I am old enough to have read Simonson's THOR as it was coming out. My memory was that there ...

They talk about how they used Marko Djurdjevic’s Thunderbolts covers as inspiration for her look and other comic book reference material they used in the process of creating her character model and how her powers would look in motion. Sure, I'm pandering to the powerful video game player/Songbird fan consortium, but this is still pretty interesting if you've played these games as much as I have and want to know how the process of making comic characters playable in a video game, especially one as obscure as Songbird is; she's not even in the Avengers!

6 Comments

• At March 18, 2009, Matt D wrote:

  Given the way costumes worked in the first game, this means you'll almost certainly be able to play Screaming Mimi ...

• At March 18, 2009, Tijmen wrote:

  Next up: Cardiac.

• At March 18, 2009, Ken Raining wrote:

  Yes she is-- in the future!

• At March 19, 2009, Anonymous wrote:

  in avengers forever series she was an avenger for the series..it was also stated that she would go on to ...

• At March 19, 2009, Stephen wrote:

  This game's supposedly based on Civil War (sadly tossing out the "you really pissed off Galactus, and now he's coming ...

• At March 19, 2009, JdRavnos wrote:

  The Galactus cliffhanger really didn't do much for me. You already fought Galactus in the first game, and you beat ...

I've been playing a lot of Fallout 3 lately. It's a role playing game set in post apocalyptic America, where, after leaving the safety of Vault 101, you roam the irradiated wasteland. Theoretically, you're looking for your missing father, but once you're out in the world, you have the freedom to explore what's left of the greater Washington, D.C. area and see where that takes you. During the course of the game, you encounter a lot of mutated animals.

During a particularly boring moment at work today, an idea occured to me; all of these elements have a lot in common with those of everyone's favorite cutoffs wearing last boy on Earth. If you replaced some of the surly, paranoid people with surly, paranoid apes, you're in pretty similar territory.

Sure, I could create a character named Kamandi in the game with the character creation feature who looks like him (feathered hair!) and has the same characteristics. Given all the clothes you can scavenge, I could probably even find a nice pair of cut off shorts. It's just not the same without the apes, man. Although their may be a bunch of humanoid apes in Fallout 3; it's a massive game, so I have yet to see half of it, most likely, due to having to do things like work and sleep. And there's always downloadable content. They may have an ape expansion pack some day.

Of course, even if I was able to use Fallout 3's framework, it wouldn't quite be Kamandi without the Kirby aesthetics, would it? This game nailed it in a '60s Marvel pastiche, so you could probably transition in to what he did in the '70s fairly easily with that art team. Or hire any five comic book artists who've read a Kirby comic ever.

So, what I'm saying is, I want Bethesda and Irrational Games to team up and create a video game based on an obscure DC Comics property. Then again, he is appearing on Cartoon Network this weekend, so you never know.

7 Comments

• At January 14, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  I'd play it.

• At January 15, 2009, Andy wrote:

  There are lots of cool things you could do with adapting certain characters to video games. Unfortunately we probably won't ...

• At January 15, 2009, googum wrote:

  This comes from being a guy that loves crossovers, and keeps toys from different lines on the same shelves; but ...

• At January 15, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Ummm ... what are video games? (Keep in mind that I'm also unacquainted with non-dial-up internet at home, cell phones, ...

• At January 15, 2009, Cully C wrote:

  I'm sure if it was made someone would figure out a way to screw the Kirby estate...again

• At January 15, 2009, Grant wrote:

  I want some more Kammandi reprints. Give it the Omnibus treatment!

• At January 15, 2009, Aaron King wrote:

  I got Fallout 1 & 2 at the same time and got to play them back-to-back. I named my character ...