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 For our second installment of Sunday Funnies, I thought it might be fun to take a look at a few new comics I picked up this week -- specifically the long awaited second issue of Halo: Uprising, and the debut of Wildstorm's inaugural issue of World of Warcraft. So join me if you will for a little romp down my local comics aisle as I attempt to provide spoiler-free reviews of this months big gaming-related releases in the world of funnybooks.
Halo Uprising #2 For those of you unfamiliar, Halo Uprising is a 4-part limited series that bridges the gap between Halo 2 and Halo 3. Think Shadows of the Empire, but replace Tatooine with Cleveland. Follow me so far? Good. Before I ramble on about how much I'm enjoying this series, I think a major disclaimer is in order. If you're looking to pick this up to follow the continuing story of Master Chief you're going to be sorely disappointed. Rather than focusing on the front lines of the Covenant War, Uprising gives us a fascinating glimpse inside the war at home. Rather than follow the military madness that the Halo series is known for, Uprising follows the lives of two civilians attempting to survive as the luxury resort city of Cleveland (gotta love sci-fi) is being decimated by the Covenant as they search for the Key of Onsanalan. The key, though integral to the overall story, is really just background noise. This book is really about the lives and regrets of two individuals living at opposite ends of the economic spectrum, and coming to terms with these things in the face of certain death. Issue #2 further explores the back story of pop star Myras, the future equivalent of Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson, and her coming to terms with a life of corporate shillery and whoring herself out to pre-teens. We also start to see the first sparks of delusional romance between Myras and the stories other protagonist, hotel concierge Ruwan. Marvel really didn't skimp when it came to creative talent on this book, bringing in the pairing of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Previously the two have worked together on some of the finest character driven books of the past ten years, most noteably Daredevil and the underappreciated Alias. Whether you're a comics fan who has never touched a controller or a gamer that's never touched a comic, this is definitely worth a read. And yes -- there is some Master Chief in there. He has a bit of a secondary story running through the pages of this book, however it's much shorter and seems to lack the meat and potatoes of the main story. To be honest, it really feels like wasted space that could be spent on more of the good stuff. Regardless of this one stumble, this book is well worth picking up. 4 out of 5 World of Warcraft #1 Here at theBBPS our love for Warcraft knows no bounds -- but that doesn't mean we had a lot of faith in it making the jump from keyboard to comics. After all, the open-ended nature of an MMO doesn't necessarily lend itself to finite story telling. Judging by the first issue it seems that things may unfold in an anthology style, as the story they've started telling doesn't necessarily have the structure needed to continue these characters beyond the few issues this story is going to take. Luckily, the story they're telling is well worth giving a read. It's all about a human who washes up on the shores of Durotar and rather quickly finds himself being taken prisoner by an Orc who intends to add him ot his stable of gladiators. Definitely a smaller tale in the grand scheme of things, but exactly the sort of story you could imagine unfolding in Azeroth. Writing the story is Walt Simonson, something of a legends in comics for his work with Thor in the 1980's. He definitely has a good handle on the vibe of Warcraft, but at times tries a little too hard to incorporate WC buzzwords to make the book seem relevant. You get used to it soon enough, but at first it just feels awkward. On art is European artist Ludo Lullabi. I'm not familiar with any of his other work, but after seeing what's contained in here I intend to search it out. It has a very manga-inspired sense to it, not unlike Humberto Ramos. Visually, it's a great fit for the book. As well, the coloring in this one is top notch -- fantastic news considering the excellent use of color in WoW's landscaping. On the downside, Jim Lee's cover art leave a lot to be desired. Surprising, because it's Jim fucking Lee. Still though, I would have much rather dug a quality bookfront by Lullabi himself. Visually the book is solid, and with the exception of employed buzzwords, so is the writing. This isn't a triple-A title, but definitely readable. Fans of WoW won't be disappointed. 3 out of 5
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