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Dark Horse Comics has announced two new books based on highly anticipated video games. Call of Duty and Lara Croft will join Mirror’s Edge: Exordium this fall as the publisher is quickly turning big video games into a full on line of comics.

Over on IGN, the publisher announced an official prequel comic to Activision’s upcoming Call of Duty Black Ops III game. Written by Larry Hama (G.I. Joe) with art by Marcelo Ferreira (Transformers, TMNT), Call of Duty: Black Ops III, the comic, will follow the story of an elite group of soldiers infiltrating a terrorist cell only to find something even more dangerous. A free mini-comic will be available to anyone attending SDCC next week at the Dark Horse booth and outside at the Activision experience. In addition to the free mini-comic, a full series is set to debut on November 4, just two days before the release of game.

Not to be outdone. Based in the same universe as the Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light games from Crystal Dynamics, Lara Croft and the Frozen Omen is a five issue miniseries written by Corrina Bechko (INVISIBLE REPUBLIC) and illustrated by Tomb Raider comics veteran Randy Green.

In this all-new adventure, Lara must stop a group of cultists from causing world-wide cataclysmic devastation, and ancient ivory artifacts hold the key to both salvation and destruction. The miniseries marks the return of impractical teal tank and dual pistols Lara Croft.

Lara Croft and the Frozen Omen will hit stores on Oct 7, 2015.

We now live in a post Star Wars trailer world, it’s a world where anything is possible including universally liking things. This week we’ll touch on new developments with Batman, Disney Interactive, and free Mortal Kombat X goodies.

In addition to seeing the first full trailer for The Force Awakens, fans at Celebration in Anaheim got a first look at Battlefield game series developer DICE’s plunge into the Star Wars universe with Battlefront. With the game set to be a November holiday release we can now start the anticipation build up. DICE has lit the match and started the fire by releasing a series of video diaries chronicling the game’s progress. Watch the first one below:

Star Wars: Battlefront comes to the PS4, Xbox One, and Origin PC on November 17, 2015.

While no official announcement has been made, Infinity Inquirer managed to get a leaked image  of possible characters for Disney Interactive 3.0. The image showcases a lineup of 11 new collectible toys which include Sam Flynn and Quarra from Tron Legacy, Olaf, and Mulan. Keep in mind Disney has neither confirmed or denied the image, but it has been taken down at the request of Disney from several sites.

With E3 approaching soon we should find out more details on the future of the franchise, including the possibility of incorporating figures from or to previous versions of the game.

Last week the Mortal Kombat franchise had it’s biggest launch in the game’s history. While no specific numbers are known it has been released that the PS4 version is outselling both Xbox One and PC. For a breakdown of sales, MKX sold 61% of its copies on PS4, 38% on Xbox One, and 1% on PC.

This week, to thank fans who’ve been part of this launch the latest game update will include a new free DLC skin for a classic character. Patch 1.02 improves online stability, adds a new move for Takeda, and includes general balancing tweaks. It’s most visible addition is the classic look of Sub-Zero seen here.

Destructoid has also reported that classic Mortal Kombat fatalities from the 90’s could be coming back in DLC form.

Now that we’ve played the game, it’ll be interesting to see how the DC Comics prequel series catches up to the game. As of now one of the game’s main four characters, Takeda, is a teen just starting his training under Scorpion. The series still has yet to do any significant story on the game’s main character Cassie Cage.

Halo 5: Guardians released a new trailer that showcases UNSC elite manhunter Spartan Locke taking out Covenant while in pursuit of Master Chief. If you check it out you’ll see new weapons and multiplayer abilities the game will have when it releases this October. Additionally it’s been announced anyone pre-ordering the shooter from GameStop in the US will get access to the Hunter-Class armor set.

Halo 5: Guardians releases for the Xbox One on 10-27-2015.

Batman: Arkham Knight draws closer and closer each week, yet the wait feels unbearable. The game’s director Sefton Hill isn’t making things easier. He teased fans on  twitter with talk of a new trailer, as if that wasn’t enough there’s also talk of new features Rocksteady has not yet disclosed.

He even went so far as to say, a familiar face from Arkham City would be appearing in the new trailer. With just about everyone in the Batman universe appearing during Arkham City, it’s anyone’s guess just who he’s referring to. We should know more about the trailer including a possible date in the next few days.

Batman: Arkham Knight is set to release on June 23, 2015 for the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Game Comics out 4/22:

Halo: Escalation #17 (Dark Horse Comics)

(W) Duffy Boudreau (A) Douglas Franchin, Rob Lean (CA) Sparth                                               “The Glass Horizon” part 1: An action-packed survival tale on the treacherous and barren glasslands of a Covenant-ravaged colony world . . . and a Spartan-IV’s mysterious origin revealed.

Tomb Raider #15 (Dark Horse Comics)

(W) Rhianna Pratchett (A) Derliz Santacruz, Andy Owens (CA) Andy Park

While using the cover of a fake documentary about the legendary Chupacabra, Lara and her friends are drawn into a missing-child case while hunting the organization holding their friend hostage!

Batman: Arkham Knight #3 (DC Comics) (Print ed)    

 (W) Peter J. Tomasi (A) Viktor Bogdanovic & Various (CA) Dan Panosian

The Arkham Knight’s shadow spreads across the city as Batman digs deeper into the murders of villains – and it will soon put him on a collision course with the most dangerous enemy he’s ever faced!

(W) Various, Paul Tobin (A) Various, Stefano Intini (CA) Paco Rodriques

The pigs decide to build the “ultimate” fortress but can they muster up enough brainpower to find new ways to stop the Angry Birds?

Skylanders #8: Return of Dragon King (IDW Publishing)

(W) Ron Marz, David Rodriguez (A/CA) Fico Ossio

RETURN OF THE DRAGON KING CONTINUES! CLASSIFIED is back! Only Spryo, Hex, and Cynder have the knowledge needed to defeat this arch-nemesis!

Sonic Universe #75 (Archie Comics)

(W) Ian Flynn (A) Jim Amash & Various (CA) Patrick Spaz Spaziante

Sonic Universe has reached 75 thrilling issues, and we’re celebrating in style! “Fury”: The race is on as Sonic chases down Metal Sonic for one of the sought-after Chaos Emeralds!

Are you excited for Star Wars Battlefront? How much more Batman teasing can you take? Did Mortal Kombat X deliver for you? What video game inspired comics do you read? These are the questions we’d love to ask all your faces.

Dark Horse leads the way in transporting videogames into the comic world.

By: Nick Eskey

Art has gone hand in hand with videogames almost since the beginning. Oh yes, the earliest games were either text-based adventures, or pixilated jumbles; Not really “artistic.” But the boxes they were packaged in were usually masterpieces of fantasies. It wasn’t that developers didn’t feel games were worthy of art as part of their game play, but the technology wasn’t there. Now, with high density pixel displays and fast processors, we find ourselves capable of things never thought possible with gaming. We’ve seen some of the best games ever released in the last few years. Typically they involve large, detailed worlds and characters that people can’t help but explore.

Various artists and designers that were part of huge titles like Tomb Raider, Halo, Mass Effect, Witcher, Plants Vs. Zombies, and The Last of Us were present at San Diego Comic Con to discuss the art of the games. “We are seeing fans want to explore more of the world, more of the characters that they were introduced to.” This has led to a good number of games getting their own comic book adaption. Not necessarily retelling the game itself, but “following storylines or characters that no one had thought of before.” Both The Last of Us and Tomb Raider have comics that are set to come out sometime within the year, both being published by Dark Horse. With Tomb Raider, we are promised to follow Lara Croft after the videogame finding out more of what she is.

The Witcher will also be seeing a comic, again by Dark Horse, entitled “House of Glass.” “The series will be a standalone story. It will add to the Witcher universe, and will introduce new characters and show monsters from the Witcher 3 game.” Other games like Halo and Mass Effect will be seeing comics too. Halo: The Next 72 Hours will take place after the 4th game, following the events that happen with Master chief. For Mass Effect, it will follow the main antagonist from the last DLC from Mass Effect 3. “It’s going to be a last adventure to go on with the characters of the original Mass Effect.”

Aside from comics, there’s other mediums like art books that show the full breadth of artistry that goes into game development. “Most often we only see three quarters of the artwork that goes into a game being used. There’s also the evolution of characters… That’s why art books are so great. They give a sneak peek into what didn’t make it in… what changed.”

With comics though, publishers and artists are very concerned with not letting the fans down. Because of this, even though they are different mediums, publishers try to make sure that the artists from the games are the ones that will also be the writers for the comics. This allows the stories and characters to be as connected as possible. “Sometimes it doesn’t work [though], especially when telling a side story. It then becomes a sand box experience. Here it becomes important to work with and trust a creative team.”

Videogames have become a platform for new forms of art, and they have taken a while to get to this point. Now that fans are eager to immerse themselves more in the worlds they introduce, their presence in comics and graphic novels will grow more and more, fleshing out worlds that perhaps even their writers didn’t know would come to be.

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