As much deserved credit as Rocksteady gets for reinvigorating not just the Batman video game franchise, but superhero video games as well, recent findings show they weren’t the first developer to take comic book heroes seriously. In 2008, Factor 5 was secretly working on a Superman video game. The studio closed before the game was finished, but concept art from the game has surfaced, and it gives a glimpse into what could have been an amazing Superman video game.

Siliconera came across the works of Daveed Kaplan, who was working on character models for the game in 2008. Codenamed “Blue Steel,” Factor 5′s unreleased Superman game was to be published by Brash Entertainment, but after Brash’s investors stopped, well, investing in the company, they were forced to close down. You might remember that Brash was also hoping to publish a video game based on DC’s Flash, but that game also never made it beyond the early development stages.

The shame of never getting to see Factor 5′s Superman game is that the most recent Man of Steel video game was based on the mediocre Superman Returns, and featured a final boss fight against… a tornado. Factor 5 had a pretty dense rogues gallery lined up featuring the always available Lex Luthor, Superman’s longtime enemy, Kryptonian zealot Zod, and the ruler of Apokoplips, Darkseid. Throwing down with any of those three big bads would have been a million times better than facing off against a natural disaster.

You can check out all the concept art over on Siliconera, and hope that one day some developer comes along to give us the Superman game that we, and Kal-El, deserve.

[Siliconera]

As anyone who plays video games knows, Apple’s iPad and tablet technology has been something of a game changer in the way people play and experience video games. With its interactive touch technology, the player can become more a part of the story than ever before. And now Kendall Davis, one of the producers for Halo 4, is going to push that limit even further with The Last Sleeper.

Davis looks at The Last Sleeper as more of an interactive story than a game, as the player will make every decision that moves the story forward. It is a game that has been designed specifically for iPad and tablets and will take full advantage of the technology.

From The Last Sleeper’s Kickstarter website:

Millennia ago, Queen Valasca unleashed an ancient evil upon the people of the Ephos. Known only as the Shadow, it feeds off their fear and misery to prolong her unnaturally long life, creating hollow shells of empty existence.

A young woman named Fera was born with the gift to harness the last vestiges of Ephos’s Light: the only power that can defeat the Shadow. As Fera blossoms into a powerful warrior, she is marked for death by the Queen.

We experience the story as Adam, an amnesiac soldier who awakens in the famine-stricken forests of Ephos. As Adam wanders in the forest in search of purpose, he discovers that he too can wield the Light.

The Last Sleeper has already met its goal on its Kickstarter page, but you still have time to be a backer if you want. It looks to be the kind of experience that we as gamers only dreamed about up until a few years ago. You can look forward to finding out for yourself in Spring /Summer 2012 when The Last Sleeper launches for iPad and Tablets.

The Last Sleeper Kickstarter page:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/78728598/the-last-sleeper-episode-1

Check out our behind the scenes photos from our latest video short, Angry Birds.

Archaia is BRINGING IT with its Free Comic Book 2012 offering, a 48-page hardcover featuring stories from Mouse Guard, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth (!!!), and more. Read on for more details.

Yes, you read that right: Archaia is coming to Free Comic Book Day 2012 with a 48-page color graphic novel hardcover, officially titled Mouse Guard, Labyrinth, and Other Stories. The tales within are original, not reprints or excerpts from other books, and you’ll also find stories from Cursed Pirate Girl, Rust, Cow Boy, and Dapper Men.

First of all, I’ve been waiting to hear more about Archaia’s take on Labyrinth since the publisher’s partnership with The Jim Henson Company was revealed, so that alone is reason to celebrate. Combine that with the fact that Mouse Guard is consistently amazing, and this is already the FCBD offering I’m most excited about. With so many publishers giving a taste of their offerings every Free Comic Book Day, it’s easy for books from smaller companies to get lost in the shuffle. Having a high-quality graphic novel like this is a smart move on Archaia’s part, and should really make them stand out in 2012.

I can’t wait to see more, but in the meantime, here’s the cover image and full press release.

ARCHAIA ANNOUNCES AN ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL HARDCOVER FOR FREE COMIC BOOK DAY IN 2012

48-PAGE, FULL-COLOR BOOK CONTAINING ORIGINAL MATERIAL FROM ‘MOUSE GUARD,’ ‘JIM HENSON’S LABYRINTH,’ ‘CURSED PIRATE GIRL, ‘RUST,’ ‘COW BOY’ AND ‘DAPPER MEN’ TO BE OFFERED COMPLETELY FOR FREE

Los Angeles, CA (December 2, 2011) – On May 5, 2012, Free Comic Book Day Gold Sponsor Archaia Entertainment will make history when it offers an all-ages, original graphic novel hardcover completely for free to fans who flock to their local comic book stores. The 6” x 9”, 48-page, full-color book will contain all-original stories—not reprints or excerpts from upcoming releases—from Mouse Guard, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, Cursed Pirate Girl, Rust, Cow Boy and Dapper Men, announced Archaia President and CEO PJ Bickett.

Officially titled Mouse Guard, Labyrinth and Other Stories, the offering will be a shining example of Archaia’s commitment to produce high-quality graphic novels, despite its free price tag.

“We’ve offered single issues for past Free Comic Book Days but Archaia’s specialty is producing beautiful, hardbound collections,” said Bickett. “Offering a hardcover book for Free Comic Book Day is our way of helping to drive more potential customers to comic book stores on what has historically been their busiest sales day of the year. But it’s also a way to educate readers on what Archaia is all about: high-quality graphic novel collections of stories they can’t get anywhere else.

“On Free Comic Book Day, be sure to get to your local comic book shop early because this special book is guaranteed to run out fast and become an instant collector’s item!” said Archaia Marketing Manager Mel Caylo.

MOUSE GUARD, LABYRINTH AND OTHER STORIES
Original Graphic Novel Hardcover
2012 Free Comic Book Day
Retail Price: Free
Page Count: 48 pages
Format: Hardcover with no dust jacket (paper over board), 6” x 9”, full color
UPC: 811514010689 00311
Country: U.S.

Written by Jeremy Bastian, Nate Cosby, Royden Lepp, Jim McCann, Ted Naifeh and David Petersen
Illustrated by Jeremy Bastian, Chris Eliopoulos, Cory Godbey, Janet Lee, Royden Lepp and David Petersen
Cover by David Petersen

This Free Comic Book Day, Archaia offers readers the chance to experience history in the making with a FREE, gorgeous, 48-page, 6” x 9” full color hardcover original graphic novel featuring all-new material! David Petersen returns with an all-new Mouse Guard tale that’s guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings! Lose yourself once again in Jim Henson’s amazing world of Labyrinth, featuring a fantastical story from Eisner Award nominee Ted Naifeh (Courtney Crumrin) and Cory Godbey (Fraggle Rock). Get a new perspective on Jet Jones in Royden Lepp’s critically acclaimed Rust, with a short story seen through the eyes of younger brother Oswald Taylor. Jeremy Bastian’s acclaimed Cursed Pirate Girl hits the high seas in this whimsical, swashbuckling tale of wonderland journeys and unimaginable dangers. Nate Cosby (Pigs) and Chris Eliopoulos (Franklin Richards) present Cow Boy, a comedy/western that tells the tale of a young bounty hunter determined to send his entire outlaw family to jail. And Jim McCann and Janet Lee follow up their Eisner Award-winning Return of the Dapper Men with an all-new short story that leads into the upcoming sequel, Time of the Dapper Men. Witness the origin of a new, major character! And…the return of 41?!

About Archaia Entertainment

Archaia Entertainment is a multi-award-winning graphic novel publisher with more than 50 renowned publishing brands, including such domestic and international hits as Mouse Guard, Return of the Dapper Men, Gunnerkrigg Court, Awakening, The Killer, Days Missing, Tumor, Syndrome, Artesia, The Engineer, and an entire line of The Jim Henson Company graphic novels, including Tale of Sand, which is based on an unproduced screenplay discovered in the Henson Archives. Archaia has built an unparalleled reputation for producing meaningful content that perpetually transforms minds, building one of the industry’s most visually stunning and eclectic slates of graphic novels. Archaia was named Graphic Novel Publisher of the Year according to Ain’t it Cool News, Graphic Policy, and Comic Related, and was honored with nine 2011 Eisner Awards nominations. Archaia has also successfully emerged as a prolific storyteller in all facets of the entertainment industry, extending their popular brands into film, television, gaming, and branded digital media.

Our favorite toy manufacturer and yours, NECA, will be making Hunger Games action figures to tie into the upcoming films. The line officially starts behind us for the first Katniss Everdeen figure.

There are few licenses out there that doesn’t at least have a few products produced by NECA. Whether it’s their line of video game weaponry and action figures based on Gears of War, classic film franchises like Gremlins and Nightmare on Elm Street, or music icons like Iggy Pop and Iron Maiden, you can bet NECA’s got something cool based on the property. Though they already do make a small line of Hunger Games products, the line has been based so far on the original trilogy of books. News came today that NECA will be making action figures based on the upcoming film adaptation. Via Twitter, NECA responded to a fan asking if there would be figures for the Hunger Games. Their response? An emphatic “Yes!”

While the case could be made that NECA wasn’t talking about figures based on the way the characters would be portrayed in the movies, it’s highly unlikely. With the success of the Harry Potter and Twilight lines based on the films, it’s a pretty safe assumption that NECA’s line will indeed be based on the likenesses of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark. Outside of those two major players, we can only hope to see figures based on Rue and Gale, along with further lines focused on the sequels. Our fingers are crossed for a Finnick figure. What? He’s awesome.

We’ll keep you posted when more about NECA’s Hunger Games figures becomes available. In the meantime, you can follow their Twitter for more constant updates on what’s new with the toymaker.

Nintendo has teamed up with the creative team from the popular Penny Arcade online comic strip to create a special comic in celebration of the Nov. 20 launch of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii console.

Starting today, the first of five weekly comic panels will appear on http://www.zelda.com/skywardsword/comic. The comics include characters and themes from the new game, and are drawn in a style that combines the game’s distinctive new look and Penny Arcade’s signature style.

“I was 14 when I first played The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past,” said Penny Arcade artist Mike Krahulik. “That was 20 years ago, and today I am introducing my son to The Legend of Zelda. The opportunity to work with Nintendo to create a Zelda comic is not only an incredible honor, but quite literally a childhood dream come true.”

For more information about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, visit http://www.zelda.com/skywardsword.

From the people who brought you God of War (Indie Movie) and the seminal 80s film The Legend of Zelda, comes the first original production from The Quarter Bin: Castlevania – The First Few Minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iSpJ2sl6GY

Darkness has spread across Europe. Dracula has risen once more, and there is nothing to stand in his way but one man: Belmont. The latest in a long lineage of vampire hunters, he must put all of his cunning and training to use to stop Dracula from taking over the world before it’s too late.

‘The First Few Minutes’ is a new fan film series where we show what a series or movie would look like if we developed it.

Starring:

Belmont – Nick Grock
Elizabeth – Aleksandra Svetlichnaya
Opehlia – Beverly Rivera
James – Don Manigly

Directed by: Nick Murphy
Written by: Nick Murphy and Josh Henderson

Executive Producers:
Luke Brown
Nick Murphy
Josh Henderson

Co-produced by: Rachel Marie Smith

Cinematographers:
Nick Murphy
Shawn Caple
Josh Henderson

Costumes by: David Crowley

Music by: Jake Mattera

Edited by: Nick Murphy

Sound Design: Keith Santiago

Boom Operators:
Keith Santiago
Michael Sadorf

Color Correction by: Rebecca Murphy

Gaffers:
Paul Bruno
Lucas Ozarowski

Key Grip: Brian Jerardi

Best Boy: Ian Gillies

Set Photographer: Rachel Marie Smith

Production Assistant: John Sabbatelli

Pre-Production Producers:
Mike Sadorf
Zane Bauer

Based on the video game Castlevania, created by Konami

Special Thanks to:
Machinima
Bucks County Community College
Christopher Romano
The County Theater
Cyborg One
Baked on Main
40 Love

Yesterday IDW got together with a small group of comics journalists to discuss their Transformers line, and how every comic in the line has been leading to this single moment – The Death of Optimus Prime.

“In order to save the universe, Galvatron is seeking to destroy Cybertron,” stated senior editor John Barber. “That’s basically the impetus for the story ‘Chaos’ that’s begun now.” Catching us up with what’s currently happening in Transformers, Barber laid out some current plot points. The Decepticons have returned to Cybertron to confront Galvatron and his Sweeps. The Autobots are questioning their human allies on Earth after an investigation into Spike Witwicky. All of “Chaos” is leading up to the final fate of Cybertron, and Barber promises it won’t be what people are expecting.

“The Autobots will be utterly betrayed by the humans, and leave the Earth,” Barber says. It’s not called “The Last Story on Earth” for nothing apparently. This is all leading to the reason for the press conference, the story Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime. Coming out of “Chaos” the lives of all the Transformers are going to be drastically changed. Barber related that TDoOP would be a great entry point that also bridges the gap between where the IDW comics came from, and where they’ll be heading next year. Though Barber was tight-lipped about what exactly would be happening to Optimus Prime in The Death of Optimus Prime, he made sure to enforce the point that the comic universe was much different than the movie universe. “When Batman goes back in time,” Barber started. “Christopher Nolan doesn’t have to deal with that in Batman 3.”

At the conclusion of “Chaos,” the war between the Decepticons and Autobots will be over. Optimus Prime has always been a leader during wartime, and in TDoOP, he questions whether or not he’s the right leader for all the Transformers in times of peace. Complicating things further is the return of thousands of Transformers who fled Cybertron during the war between Autobots and Decepticons. Barber was quick to point out that these returning Transformers don’t view the Autobots as good, or the Decepticons as evil. The two factions are merely opposing races, and many of those refugees are pretty fed up with both sides. “They don’t differentiate between Prime and Megatron,” Barber says of these homeward bound robots.

Hasbro’s Michael Kelly jumped in, and was elated about the artists currently working on “Chaos” and The Death of Optimus Prime, Livio Ramondelli and Nick Roche. Kelly pointed out there’s a level of excitement and freshness brought to the universe by these artists, and people who aren’t reading the books are missing out. Reiterating Barber’s idea of TDoOP being a great jumping on point for new readers, Kelly added, “Now’s the time. There’s always room for more.” Spinning out of TDoOp will be two new Transformers ongoing titles, Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye and Transformers: Robots in Disguise. Transfomers:MTMtE will be written by James Roberts, and drawn by Nick Roche. Transformers: RiD will be written by John Barber, with interior art from Andrew Griffith.

It appears IDW is excited about where the Transformers line is headed, but we’re still a few months away from finding out ourselves. Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime is due out this December, and both new titles will be kicking off in January. We’ll be keeping tabs on where all of this is heading, but what say you loyal Transformers fans? Can the franchise live without its most recognizable character? Or does the death of Optimus Prime mean the chance to tell new and different stories?

We’re giving away a few select items courtesy of NECA, including some San Diego Comic Con exclusives. Read on to find out how you can enter! UPDATED WITH WINNERS!

UPDATE:

After nearly a month of waiting, the moment you’ve all been waiting for is here. Using Random.Org, we picked our three winners.

Grand Prize: NECA Thrashball Cole statue from Gears of War 3 – Jordan Wineinger
First Prize: NECA SDCC Exclusive Gort Predator and Gizmo – Joe Knowlton
Second Prize: NECA Duke Nukem Forever Duke Nukem – Scooter

We had close to 90 entries, and we can’t thank all of you and NECA enough. Winners will be contacted shortly for mailing addresses.

The end of summer is approaching, and we’re feeling generous. NECA has been kind enough to supply us with a handful of their wonderful products, and we want to give them all away.

The prizes are:

1st: Gears of War 3 Thrashball Cole Resin Statue (Full Color)
2nd: San Digeo Comic Con Exclusive Gremlins Gizmo and Predator Gort Mask Predator
3rd: Duke Nukem Forever Duke Nukem Action Figure

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below about what action figure or action figure line you want NECA to make next. It can be from a license they already have like Harry Potter, Assassin’s Creed, or Nightmare on Elm Street, or something you’ve been dreaming about NECA getting the license to like Fallout or The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. It can even be something you don’t think will have the slightest chance in hell of getting made, like figures from Solarbabies or you and your cat. Whatever you can come up with, we want to hear it.

Three winners will be selected at random on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31 at 12PM EST. So you’ve got almost an entire month to enter.

This contest will only be open to residents of the US.

That’s it. These prizes are really awesome, and we want to see some really great ideas. So get commenting, and good luck!

You love Valve. You love NECA. You’ve heard about how NECA is bringing you all the Valve action figures and prop replicas you can handle. But you haven’t seen what they’ve got in store for you. Today, everything changes. And it starts with the most famous physicist in all the world: Gordon Freeman.

We’re proud to present to you today the very first images of NECA’s Gordon Freeman figure from Half-Life 2. When we visited with them a little more than two weeks ago, we had no idea that work had even started on one of the most requested licenses and figures in recent memory. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that lo and behold, sculpting on Gordon Freeman had just begun mere days before we arrived for our visit.

While what you’re viewing is still in the preliminary stages, seeing an action figure this early in the process fascinates me to no end. Since Gordon is just a few days old, his facial features have yet to be added in. You can get a real grasp of the HEV suit, and you can almost get an idea of the articulation the figure will have due to the way the armor is sculpted. None of Gordon’s trademark weaponry had been started yet, but based on how good NECA is about accessorizing figures, you can almost guarantee that he’ll be coming with a crowbar and gravity gun at the least. My fingers are crossed for a Lamarr pack-in.

It was really interesting for me to see that sculptor Alex Heinke (who previously sculpted both Duke Nukem and the Thrashball Cole statue) was working off a full 3D render much like the ones NECA uses for reference for more recent gaming licenses like Gears of War and Assassin’s Creed. Considering that Half-Life 2 hasn’t had a graphical upgrade on par with what the current generation consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360 can do, I was surprised and happy to see Valve was going all out to help NECA create the best possible figures they could.

Though the figure isn’t due out until 2012, there’s clearly plenty to be excited about now. NECA’s plan is to treat Valve like a line instead of the individual games. What that means is that we’ll see a great mix spread out throughout the year, instead of having to wait patiently for one particular franchise to get its turn. I’m excited by the prospect of what’s to come, and can’t wait to see what else NECA has in store for us with this license.

We’ll have more from NECA in the coming days, and don’t forget to stay tuned for a huge NECA giveaway that will be starting next week!

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