Comic Book Reviews for January 27, 2016
January wrapped up with a number of major comic book releases. DC delivered a stellar new issue of Omega Men and kicked off a new Suicide Squad mini-series, while Marvel finally launched the long-awaited Old Man Logan ongoing series and new issues of Extraordinary X-Men and All-New, All-Different Avengers. Meanwhile, IDW kicked off their latest Ghostbusters comic and Valiant gave plus-sized heroine Faith her own solo series. But Image was the publisher to beat this week, what between the launch of Cry Havoc and memorable new installments of Saga, Southern Bastards, Jupiter's Circle and Deadly Class.
Scroll down to check out our reviews for these and many other new comic book releases. And be sure to let us know your favorite books of the week in the comments below.
Team17 Signs Teenager-Made Game Way to the Woods to Its Label
Team17 has announced a partnership with 16-year-old Anthony Tan to publish his game Way to the Woods.
The Melbourne-based student founded his own studio, Studio Happy Bee, and has been working on Way to the Woods. It's a game where you "play as a deer and her fawn, exploring a strange world filled with surreal imagery."
“Way to the Woods is an absolutely beautiful, unique looking game and upon speaking with Anthony, we could not have been more impressed," said Debbie Bestwick, CEO of Team17. "He’s an incredibly mature person for his age with a very bright future ahead of him and it’s mind blowing what he’s achieved thus far. Team17 is helping nurture a number of studios around the world and I personally can’t wait to help Anthony achieve his goals. We’re extremely excited to be here to share this journey with him."
World of Tomorrow: The Best Film at This Year’s Oscars
There are eight films nominated for Best Picture at this year's Oscars, the race pitting big-budget blockbusters like The Martian and Mad Max: Fury Road against the thought-provoking drama of Spotlight, The Big Short, Brooklyn, and Bridge of Spies. The gut-wrenching Room is a good outside bet, while the smart money is on The Revenant sweeping the board.
But in my opinion, the best film of 2015 wasn't a live-action feature, but rather an animated short; namely Don Hertzfeldt’s World of Tomorrow.
The writer-director has been up for an animated Oscar before – with Rejected receiving a nomination in 2000 – but that was when Don was working with what he calls “paper, pencils, 33mm film, rocks, and fire.” World of Tomorrow is Hertzfeldt’s first foray into digital animation, and it’s the best thing he’s crafted yet.
Stunning Dark Souls 3 Screens Show More of the World
Bandai Namco has released a host of HD Dark Souls III screenshots.
The screenshots show a Pyromancer in action, a new look Firelink Shrine, and a peek at The High Wall of Lothric.
There’s no mention of which format the HD screens were captured on, so feel free to take them with a pinch of salt while viewing them.
Dark Souls III is due for release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on April 12, 2016. Also coming in April is a Dark Souls comic-book, as well as several different collector’s editions, some of which have already sold out.
UK Deals – Tom Clancy’s The Division under £23
Super Mario Maker Maintenance Ends Today
For those of you trying to access Super Mario Maker’s online modes, be aware the service is currently undergoing maintenance.
According to the Super Mario Maker website, the reason for the downtime is to fix a bug in the game’s Create mode. Once fixed, a patch will be issued that should, hopefully, remedy whatever the problem was.
Nintendo expects the maintenance to be complete later today.
Did you know, Super Mario Maker is the sixth Wii U game to sell through a million copies in the US? The other five, in case you’re wondering, are Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros., Super Mario 3D World, New Super Mario Bros. U, and the paint-‘em-up, Splatoon.
7 Hours With Valve VR: IGN’s Live Updates
We're spending seven hours with 12 Valve VR games today.
IGN is attending an all-day Valve VR event in Seattle, WA, where we're spending it with Valve, VR developers, and the incredible Vive headset. We'll be updating this page live with various impressions of each game throughout the day, alongside interesting developer quotes and more.
Have questions? Leave them in the comments and we'll follow up on what you want to know.
NickToons Movie From Napoleon Dynamite Director Will Unite Ren & Stimpy, Rugrats, and More
Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon have tapped director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) to helm NickToons, reports Deadline.
With Who Framed Roger Rabbit? cited as an example, NickToons will blend live action with character appearances from numerous ’90s Nickelodeon series, including The Ren and Stimpy Show, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Rugrats.
Further details are scarce but according to Deadline Hess will also write the script with his wife and frequent co-writer, Jerusha Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre).
Unlocked: Burnout Returns…As a Golf Game…Sort of…
DOWNLOAD UNLOCKED 230 (Audio version)
On this week's Xbox show, we celebrate the very Burnout-y new golf game (yes, golf game!) from the original creators of Burnout. Plus: praise for the word-of-mouth hit ARK: Survival Evolved and the awesome adventure that is Oxenfree. We also discuss the potential awesomeness of PlatinumGames's just-announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, share what you're getting for your $50 season pass in Star Wars Battlefront, lament Mighty No. 9's latest delay, and tell you how you can attend E3 with EA.
Arrow: David Ramsey on A.R.G.U.S., Diggle’s New Helmet and The Flash Crossover
Full spoilers for Arrow's Season 4 episode "A.W.O.L." continue below.
Big changes happened for John Diggle's (David Ramsey) storyline this week on Arrow, both good and bad. On the good side, Diggle finally resolved some of his ongoing issues with his estranged (and, until recently, presumed dead) brother Andy (Eugene Byrd). On the not so good side, agents of Shadowspire killed Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and left A.R.G.U.S. without a leader.
Add on to that the ongoing issues with Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough), Felicity's (Emily Bett Rickards) paralysis the drama unfolding in the past on Lian Yu -- plus the mystery person who's buried in that grave in the near future -- and there's a lot to be concerned about on Arrow.