dark-horse posts

There hasn't been much news lately on the status of Alice: Madness Returns, the upcoming sequel to the 2000 action game American McGee's Alice. However this week comic book publisher Dark Horse Comics announced plans to release a hardcover book that shows off the art designs for the sequel.

The book, The Art of Alice: Madness Returns, will be a 184 page tome that will be filled with the behind-the-scenes production art that will serve as the basis for the look of the still unreleased game. The $34.99 book is now available for pre-order and is scheduled to ship from Dark Horse on May 11, 2011. There is still no specific release date for the game which is being developed by McGee's studio Spicy Horse.

The Collector's Edition of Fallout: New Vegas will contain, among other things, an original comic book called All Roads that acts as a prequel to the storyline in the upcoming RPG. But could we see more Fallout-based comics in the future. Maybe, if fans demand it.

That's the word from Chris Avellone, the senior designer of Fallout: New Vegas at Obsidian Entertainment. He also wrote the All Roads prequel comic and has written Star Wars-themed comics for publisher Dark Horse. And it's clear that Avellone wants to do more Fallout comics. In a chat with Comic Book Resources he states, "If there's enough fan interest, I hope that might be enough of a push for a regular series. If readers would be interested in seeing more stories in the Fallout universe outside of DLC and 'New Vegas,' say the word on forums." In the meantime Fallout: New Vegas is due for release on October 19.

Gallery: Fallout New Vegas Screenshots

There's been near universal praise for BioWare's latest game Mass Effect 2 as well as high sales. The same is happening with Mass Effect Redemption, the Dark Horse-published comic book series that serves as a prequel to the events in the sci-fi RPG sequel. Now comes word that the first two issues of the comic have sold out.

Comic Book Resources reports that the first issue, released in January, sold out three weeks after its release. The second issue, released earlier this month, dissapeared from comic book shops even quicker as it sold out six days after its release. Comic Book Resources chats with the comic books's writer John Jackson Miller and artist Omar Francia about the comic and also offers up a five page preview of the third issue due out in March.

There's no doubt that Electronic Arts is going to sell a lot of copies of Mass Effect 2. The sci-fi RPG sequel from developer BioWare is getting excellent reviews all around and this week the publisher said that the game has "sold-in" over two million copies worldwide already. Before you go nuts, that term doesn't mean "sold to customers" but rather "shipped to stores". It's still impressive but not quite what you might think it is.

In related news, Dark Horse Comics has announced that their first issue of their Mass Effect Redemption comic book series will be released on the iPhone on February 3. Even cooler is that the iPhone version will be free for a brief period of time before going up to its normal 99 cent price.

Last summer Dark Horse Comics announced plans to release Mass Effect: Redemption, a four-issue comic based on BioWare's sci-fi RPG series. Now the Comic Book Resources web site has secured the first six pages of the first issue for everyone to check out.

Co-written by BioWare's own Mac Walters, the first issue of the monthly four issue mini-series ships to stores in January 2010 As we reported on earlier this month, BioWare's other big RPG game, Dragon Age: Origins, will also be getting a comic book series in January via IDW Publishing. The regular monthly comic is scheduled to be written by Orson Scott Card.

Gallery: Mass Effect 2 Screenshots

The comic book announcements this week keep on coming thanks to the San Diego Comic Con. Today Electronic Arts announced that Dark Horse Comics will release a four issue mini-series titles Mass Effect: Redemption that ties into the upcoming sci-fi RPG sequel Mass Effect 2.

The comic's storyline is written by Mac Walters, BioWare's lead scriptwriter for Mass Effect 2. The script will be written by comic book veteran John Jackson Miller and drawn by Omar Francia. According to EA, the comic's storyline deals with events after " . . . Commander Shepard disappears and is left without the support of the crew on the Normandy in the lawless Terminus Systems. Shepard must fight for survival, and will be assisted by close companion, Dr. Liara T'Soni, to come home alive. "

The first issue of the comic book will be released by Dark Horse on January 2010. Walters and Francia will be signing an exclusive Mass Effect card at Dark Horse's booth during Comic-Con on July 24 from 4-5 pm.