Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag – Check out The Watch trailer

I love Assassin's Creed, so make no apology for posting this ad for the new game! Just check this out!

MANIAPLANET ARRIVES ON STEAM

Today, Ubisoft and Nadeo announced that ManiaPlanet games and services, including the upcoming multiplayer first-person shooter, ShootMania Storm, will be accessible via Valve’s Steam service. TrackMania² Stadium, the racing game phenomenon with more than 12 million registered users also makes its debuts on Steam. BothShootMania Storm and TrackMania² Stadium open betas can now be accessed via Steam. Steam users can also download the full TrackMania² Canyon game via Valve’s platform.

ShootMania Storm is currently in open beta, inviting gamers of all levels from around the world to have a try the fast-paced competitive shooter. The open beta will allow Nadeo to fine-tune and refine the experience thanks to the feedback of the open beta testers, as well as to test servers and progressively introduce additional features and possibilities. Several updates are already planned until ShootMania Storm reaches its final version on April 10, 2013.

“This partnership with Steam’s worldwide publishing platform allows us to introduce ShootMania Storm and all of theManiaPlanet games and services to an even wider audience of PC gamers in the world. As a matter of fact, it is key to us that as many players as possible join the actual growing community so that everybody gets maximum fun with the game” said Anne Blondel-Jouin, Nadeo Publishing Managing Director.

“Through Steam, we’ll make "competition for everyone" a dream come true for more gamers and map-and-mod makers who all create the user-generated content and activity that make ShootMania Storm so attractive and innovative on the FPS PC competitive field,” Anne Blondel-Jouin added. "I want to take the opportunity to thank whole-heartedly the players who have already joined ShootMania Storm frenzyness and to welcome warmly the new comers: we're looking forward to seeing all of them on the servers."

Both ShootMania Storm and TrackMania² Stadium are now available to pre-order on Steam with a 10% discount until release, as well as on the official website of the ManiaPlanet platform: ManiaPlanet.com.  The games can also be downloaded and played right away in their Open Beta versions on http://www.ManiaPlanet.com/download

Developed by Ubisoft’s Nadeo studio, ShootMania Storm is a fast-paced, multiplayer first-person shooter designed from the ground up for online and eSports competition.  With multiple game modes and diverse play styles, ShootMania Storm is an innovative twist on familiar multiplayer gameplay that focuses on skill, speed and strategy.  The game also offers stout community support and interaction, with an easy-to-use map-maker and sharing elements that to date have produced more than 15 player-made game modes as well as more than 20,000 player-made maps.

ShootMania Storm, TrackMania² Stadium and TrackMania² Canyon are part of the ManiaPlanet system and follow in the footsteps of TrackMania^TM, Nadeo’s successful arcade racing game.  ManiaPlanet is a flexible and robust development, gaming and community platform that pushes cutting-edge graphics, enables limitless game types, and encourages incredible community participation and user-made content.  

New from Commando!

The info on the latest issues from the award winning Commando comic have been released. These issues are on sale 28^th February 2013

Commando No 4579 – The Regimental Spoon

Soldiers’ lucky charms and mascots come in all shapes and sizes — from medallions to pet goats and all things in between. But surely one of the oddest objects to become a talisman of good fortune was a spoon. Yes, that’s right, a humble spoon.

   Don’t believe it? Well, between these covers is the story of how this kitchen utensil went to war with generations of the same family — and returned home safely every time.

   Make up your own mind if the tale is true.

Story: Mac MacDonald

Art: Keith Page

Cover: Keith Page

Commando No 4580 – Burma Vengeance

In the dense Burmese jungle, British troops were being driven back towards India, their spirits sapped by a series of defeats at the hands of the advancing Japanese.

   Corporal Dan Farley had been left in command of a group of fearful survivors. They expected to be killed at any moment…but then a grizzled veteran Sergeant – ruthless and tough – came of out of nowhere to save their skins.

   Dan wanted to be like this lethal newcomer, but the mysterious NCO was on a mission of his own. He had a score to settle with a brutal Japanese Colonel. This quest was personal and it could only end in death…but whose?

Story: Alan Hebden

Art: Vila

Cover: Janek Matysiak

Commando No 4581 – Hero From Hollywood

Almost every man has a hero…the one bloke in all the world he’d give his right arm to be like. Corporal Joe Brent’s number one he-man was the big, granite-fisted American film-star – Chet Marvin.

   In the days before the war, Joe queued up to see every movie he made, and marvelled at the sheer guts of the man.

   Then, one day in 1941, against a background of exploding German bombs and throbbing aero-engines, Corporal Joe Brent and his celluloid hero met face to face. It should have been the greatest day in Joe’s life.

   But this was no Hollywood film set. This was war! And when the shot and shell are no longer blanks, it’s easy to sort out the men from the boys…

Introduction

A little bit of “conspiracy theory” never goes amiss in Commando and author Eric Hebden takes full advantage here with his invasion that never was. The main thrust of the story, though, is a hero with feet of clay — or a bad case of the jitters — and he manages that with equal aplomb.

   The art is strong, inside and outside, by two men who handle the drawing of horses with the same skill as Hebden handles the story. And horses, as the best of artists will tell you, are tricky beasts to capture.

   Giddy-up and get reading!

Calum Laird, Editor

Hero From Hollywood originally Commando No84 (August 1963), re-issued as No559 (June 1971)

Story: Eric Hebden

Art: Jones

Cover: Alvaro

Commando No 4582 – The Secret Tanks

The French Char-B tank was one of the best fighting vehicles of the Second World War. But France had surrendered in 1940 so why were there a lot of them in the desert in 1943? And why did they have enemy markings? It was a secret which the Germans were determined to hide but which the Allies were equally determined to uncover.

Introduction

This solid tale features a story-telling device that works well in Commando – the linking of World War II with the Great War which had ended a little over twenty years previously. Here, the connection is a fighting father and son, and the dependable sergeant that served alongside them both.

   Then, of course, throw into the mix the “Secret Tanks” of the title – great, clanking French Char Bs – and we have a classic in the making.

   Commando legend Gordon Livingstone’s art is up to his usual high standard here, and shows his versatility in drawing action and adventure, whatever the conflict.

Scott Montgomery, Deputy Editor

The Secret Tanks, originally Commando no 2210 (August 1988), re-issued as No 3708 (April 2004)

Story: David Heptonstall

Art: Gordon Livingstone

Cover: Jeff Bevan

The Family Troll Uses Sketches To Reach New Heights

I think I must be getting soft in my old age... this is two posts in a row about Kickstarter appeals..!

The Family Troll is a heart warming tale of an abandoned young troll who blesses the lives of a young couple in the most amazing way!

The Family Troll is a story book written by Jill Kirkham and drawn by Tyler Kirkham (DC comics' Green Lantern Corps, New Guardians, Red Hood) and is on Kickstarter with only 16 days left to go:http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1561924987/the-family-troll-picture-book

In order to raise both awareness of this truly unique venture as well as trying to reach new targets in funding, Tyler Kirkham has promised a Custom Sketch for ALL Current Pledgers who will add either $50 (for a torso) or $100 (for a full body) to their current pledges. This is a true feat since normally Tyler will only sketch at conventions and is now enabling this new opportunity to fans of his artwork!

The Family Troll is loosely based on Tyler and Jill's real life experiences as they struggle to have a child of their own. The Family Troll takes place in a fantasy world, and follows the lives of a young couple as they experience that very same struggle, albeit in a different surrounding. 

They choose to consult a wizard in the hopes of receiving a magic spell or potion to solve their problem. The Wizard agrees, but only if they will watch over his newly rescued, adopted baby troll. The Wizard must travel the land to gather the ingredients for the spell and cannot take care of this infant troll himself.

The couple raises the troll over the course of a year and grow very close to him. He blesses their lives in numerous ways, and also ends up helping the couple forget their worries and live life to the fullest.

This blissfull year eventually leads the couple to even have a child of their own!

They end up adopting the troll and live happily ever after!
The story of The Family Troll seems simple, but it surely is more then just that, just based on the endeavors of the Kirkham's themselves.

Lavishly illustrated in between Kirkham's full-time DC Comics exclusive, this fantasy tale is surely to touch the hearts of both children and adults alike.

Coming soon: Nemesis the Warlock. The Deviant Edition

2000 AD is to collect the extremely rare coloured Nemesis the Warlock stories for the first time in September.
This special limited-edition hardback is the first ever collection of the Eagle Comics editions, with Kevin O’Neill (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) colouring his original artwork. It will also include the very hard-to-find Nemesis Poster Prog strip, The Tomb of Torquemada.
Written by 2000 AD creator Pat Mills (Marshal Law) and also featuring artwork by Jesus Redondo (Star Trek: Voyager), the collection will be available in two editions - ‘Deviant’ and ‘Termight’, with the latter only available through the 2000ADonline.com online shop.
In the far future, Earth is known as Termight and it sits at the heart of a cruel galactic empire, its citizens living deep in the bowels of the Earth and in constant fear of their leader - the diabolically evil Torquemada. Determined to rid the universe of all ‘deviation’, the Grand Master and his army of Terminators slaughter alien life across the galaxy. But one being leads the resistance to Torquemada’s despotic rule - the legendary alien freedom fighter, Nemesis the Warlock.
Insane, visceral, mind-blowingly imaginative, political, satirical, and unlike any comic before or since - Nemesis the Warlock is one of 2000 AD’s most successful and famous characters by two of its greatest
creators.
Black-and-white bestsellers for decades, this colour limited-edition collection of the original Nemesis stories is an absolute must for new and old fans alike.

THE LAST RIDE OF HENRY HOLDEN

 This is the latest release for the brilliant independent publisher Time Bomb Comics. They always put out superb products, and we have no hesitation in recommending this one too!

THE LAST RIDE OF HENRY HOLDEN

ISBN 978-0-9561822-6-5

Writer: Alex De-Gruchy

Artists: Gorgio Iannotti & Mike Bunt

56 pages, US format, perfect bound, full colour cover, full colour interior.

Retail price £6.99/$10.99

Since 2007, Time Bomb Comics has regularly been publishing an eclectic range of one-shots and graphic novels from both brand new and established comic creators. 

Their latest release “The Last Ride Of Henry Holden” is a grim tale of Old West redemption set in the year 1871, written by Alex De-Gruchy with artwork by Giorgio Iannotti and Mike Bunt, colouring by Owen Watts and lettering by Nikki Foxrobot.

A 56-page full-colour graphic novella, “The Last Ride Of Henry Holden” 

Is available to order in the the UK section of the current issue of Previews priced £6.99.

For more information on this and any other Time Bomb Comics please contact stevetanner@timebombcomics.com

www.timebombcomics.com

New from Commando!

Commando No 4567 – Collision Course

So how did Flight Lieutenant Kerrie Matheson, in his unarmed DH 86 transport, end up hurtling straight towards an enemy Bloch 220 Auvergne aircraft?

   Well, it had all started off as a routine secondment from his posting at Coastal Command. He became part of a mission to build a long distance air bridge, ferrying Allied planes from French-held Africa to Egypt.

   Then his routine flying duties took a deadly turn – with mystery, espionage and murder setting him on a

Collision Course.

Story: Alan Hebden

Art: Keith Page

Cover: Keith Page

Commando No 4568 – Eighty-Eight!

It’s not every day you see a German 88mm gun being operated by a group of “Fighting Kiwis” – New Zealanders from a British and Commonwealth Expeditionary Force battling in Greece, determined to hold back the German onslaught.

   But this was not an everyday story.

   Thanks to a bungling SS officer, the Kiwis were able to help themselves to the enemy artillery’s pride and joy. Having been relentlessly pounded by the very same guns, they decided to give the Jerries a taste of their own medicine!

Story: Alan Hebden

Art: Jaume Forns

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Commando No 4569 – Beach-Head!

Johnny Malloy was a little guy – five foot zero or thereabouts, but he wore the coveted Commando flash on his shoulders.

   He seemed lazy, good-for-nothing, a coward – yet every man in his platoon was ready to die for him when it came to the bit.

   Who was he then – this odd little Commando? Just about the most important guy in the British army, that’s all!

Introduction

   All the ingredients for a classic Commando story are here – a dicey but vital mission, a group of soldiers who don’t trust a comrade…and Gordon Livingstone’s inimitable artwork. I say inimitable with confidence as many have tried and none has succeeded.

   Flipping open the Ken Barr cover in 1963, you’d be met with a script and art which neatly capture all the fine details of service life, thanks to a generation that lived through a world war and National Service. There’s a priceless authenticity about this. And you can have it for only £1.50. What a bargain!

Calum Laird, Editor

Beach-Head originally Commando No 54 (January 1963)

Story: Parsons

Art: Gordon Livingstone

Cover: Ken Barr

Commando 4570 – Arctic Victory

After a few weeks in a certain squadron of the RAF Regiment, Phil Adamson was beginning to wonder if this unit really was just for the defence of airfields. What with unarmed combat instruction, learning about explosives and a mock-raid on a local flying school, it was more like training for a crack Commando squad.

   He didn’t know how right he was!

Introduction

Although it first appeared in the Spring of 1988, it somehow seems fitting to republish author David Heptonstall’s icy tale in mid-January, the chill of winter still in the air.

   Artist Terry Patrick’s rendering of Arctic Scandinavia – especially on pages 26 and 27 – is very effective and, as always, cover legend Ian Kennedy does Commando proud.

   The story seemingly starts as an air yarn but then changes gear, morphing into a “men-on-a-mission” adventure with a hint of espionage. It’s a little bit different.

Scott Montgomery, Deputy Editor

Arctic Victory, originally Commando No 2177 (April 1988)

Story: David Heptonstall

Art: Terry Patrick

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Keegan Jask: Tales from Heaven-11

Straight from the pages of critically acclaimed science fiction annual ‘Omnivistascope’ comes

the collected tales of Keegan Jask in: Tales from the Heaven-11 written by Paul von Scott with art

by Leigh Shepherd

Keegan Jask is a space adventurer and raconteur operating from the Omega Bar of the Heaven-11 galactic

service station. There he recounts his incredible adventures, which are almost too good to be true...

Tales from the Heaven-11 is a 134 page paperback collection. It features all 8 stories from Omnivistascope plus an all new adventure, ‘Down among the Dead Men’. 

The book includes nearly 50 pages of extras! Including introductions from author, artist and Keegan Jask himself, Telling Tales - The Making of Keegan Jask, a 4 page sketchbook, Officer Flojag’s service logs, a

16-page ‘Jasklopaedia’ with over 300 entries on the world of Jask, the board game and 2-page role-playing game.

Keegan Jask - Tales from Heaven -11 launches at Bristol Comics Expo and is available on sale on Saturday 12th of May, marking ten years since the creators first appearance at the Bristol train sheds with the National Comic Award winning Solar Wind.

Thereafter the comic is available for £9.99 plus postage from: www.omnivistascope.com. Contact

the author via e-mail: paulvonscott@yahoo.co.uk, or by post: Paul Scott, 13 Kiln Crescent, Bishop

Middleham, Ferryhill, County Durham, DL17 9AP. United Kingdom.

Acclaim for Omnivistascope

SFX Fanzine of the Month - (5 Times)

“What’s that you say? You didn’t know fanzines came this professional looking? No, neither did we, hence why we’re so impressed with Omnivistascope.”

Silver Bullet Comics – 4 Bullets out of 5!

“Omnivistascope is a highly polished and highly professional book, and is well worth a look by any fan of science fiction” – Kelvin Green

Down the Tubes -

Pick of the Week!

“It’s a great collection…featuring some great strips and art” – John Freeman

Comics International- 10 out of 10! 

“Resplendent self-published Sci-Fi Anthology”

Ubisoft Ignites the American Revolution with Assassin’s Creed III

Well, colour me unbelievably excited about this game!

 Assassin’s Creed III will hit store shelves on October 31, 2012, encouraging gamers to experience the American Revolutionary War not written about in history books.  The largest project in Ubisoft’s history also introduces a brand new hero.

With a development cycle of over three years and twice the production capacity of any previous Ubisoft game, Assassin’s Creed III is set to release on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation3 computer entertainment system, Windows PC and is also in development for Wii U from Nintendo. Assassin’s Creed III is developed by Ubisoft Montreal in collaboration with six other Ubisoft studios.

Set against the backdrop of the American Revolution in the late 18th century, Assassin’s Creed III introduces a new hero,Ratohnaké:ton, of Native American and English heritage. Adopting the name Connor, he becomes the new voice for justice in the ancient war between the Assassins and Templars. Players become an Assassin in the war for liberty against ruthless tyranny in the most stylized and fluid combat experiences in the franchise to date. Assassin’s Creed III spans the Revolutionary War, taking gamers from the vibrant, untamed frontier to bustling colonial towns and the intense, chaotic battlefields where George Washington’s Continental Army clashed with the imposing British Army.

Assassin’s Creed III is powered by Ubisoft-AnvilNext, a revolutionary new game engine that delivers breakthroughs in visual quality, character models and artificial intelligence. Assassin’s Creed III will feature a ground-breaking level of stunning graphics that bring Colonial America to life.

“Assassin’s Creed III features the franchise’s most expansive setting so far, along with an exciting new hero and exponentially more gameplay,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “Whether you’re a longtime fan of Assassin’s Creed or if you’re new to the franchise, you’re going to be blown away by the scale and marvel of Assassin’s Creed III.”

Assassin’s Creed III also can be pre-ordered at UBIShop by visiting: http://shop.ubi.com/assassinscreed3

Additional Assassin’s Creed III details can be found in exclusive cover features in the next issues of Official Xbox Magazine (20^thMarch), Official Playstation Magazine (20^th March) and Nintendo Gamer (23^rd March).

New artwork from Assassin’s Creed III also will be featured in Assassin’s Creed Recollection, the real-time board game for the iPad.

For more information on Assassin’s Creed, please visit the Assassin’s Creed Official Website (www.assassinscreed.com) andfacebook.com/assassinscreed.

New Aliens: Colonial Marines trailer unleashed!

Oh this looks great, but we have to wait until the Autumn!?
And double points for using the music from Moon.

The latest from Commando!

The latest releases from Commando have just been announced.

Commando No 4463 — The Improbable Mission

Second-Lieutenant Clement Cleveley of the Army Educational corps was a real boffin. A research student before the war, his mathematical speciality was probability theory…which didn’t really fit with anything in service life.

   As it turned out, that wasn’t quite the case which was how, instead of peacefully working at a classroom blackboard, Clement ended up charging around the desert dodging bullets with a bunch of crack SAS men.

Script: Alan Hebden

Art: Manuel Benet

Cover: Manuel Benet

Commando 4464 — Night And Fog

In Occupied Europe during the Second World War, dawn raids and midnight arrests became regular occurrences. They were feared by all the occupied peoples but soon they began to lose their ability to invoke terror.

   That’s when an evil Nazi scientist decided that it wasn’t enough just to arrest people. He wanted to make them disappear into the…

Night and Fog

Script: Alan Hebden

Art: Morahin

Cover: Janek Matysiak (Not Ian Kennedy as it says in the credits grenade!)

Commando 4465 — Terror Zone

It started as a routine training patrol to test five top Aussie recruits — until their radio packed in and their NCO was killed in an accident.

   Then the dense New Guinea jungle became a terror zone as a bullet flew from out of the shadows. Someone — or something — was trying to kill them…but there wasn’t supposed to be an enemy for thousands of miles!

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

Commando fans have always held Carlos Pino’s artwork in high regard, and rightly so. Here he brings the clammy jungle and a band of dishevelled Japanese to life in a few strokes of the pen and brush.

   He’s giving form to a story by another long-serving Commando regular, Mike Knowles, whose plots have entertained for long enough to earn him a long-service medal and a well-deserved retirement.

   Phil Gascoine did a limited number of Commando covers, but every one was a little gem — even when he had to show an all but invisible figure in the background.

Terror Zone, originally Commando No 2673 (June 1993)

Script: Mike Knowles

Art: Carlos Pino

Cover: Phil Gascoine

Go and get them!

Opening The Throttle: A First Look At White Knuckle

Cy Dethan and Valia Kapadai have created a killer.

Forty years ago, Seth Rigal was a man to be feared – a serial strangler with a string of victims. Now nearly seventy and tormented by a lifetime of monstrous violence, Rigal lives on the verge of poverty and quietly waits for the death he knows he deserves. Tortured and confused, still tormented by the drives that made him a killer in his youth, Rigal finds himself almost unconsciously stalking the daughter of his final victim – only to have his precious anonymity snatched from him when he accidentally saves her son’s life. Seth Rigal, formerly known as the Gripper, just became a local celebrity.

The bodies won’t stay buried any longer.

Due for release in May 2012 White Knuckle is Cy Dethan’s latest graphic novel to be published by Markosia , and sees him teamed with internationally acclaimed Greek artist Valia Kapadai to create a complex and intense psychological thriller, distorting the ever-popular “retired gunslinger” motif into a rain-slick urban fantasy of murderous men and the needs that drive them.

Described as  "Unforgiven meets Harry Brown - and strangles him," you can read a preview of the first eleven pages at MyEbook.com

http://tinyurl.com/cdc6yu6

Pre-orders will officially open next year but if you want to put your name down on the list now (no payment required until they open) then email cy[AT]cydethan.com.

Why would you do this? Well, the first 20 people to do so will have the opportunity to be drawn into the book as part of the Gripper's case files, and everyone who pre-orders will have the chance to win a piece of original art by Valia Kapadai of the characters in the book.

All pre-orders get their copies signed by the whole team, of course.

We are hoping to be able to get some more goodies for those who pre-order as well - so watch this space for news!

Pre-order price will be £10 instead of £12.99 (+ postage of £2 UK, £4 rest of world or free to collect from the launch at Bristol Comics Convention in May 2012)

You can keep up to date on the latest news about the book at the White Knuckle Facebook Pagehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/White-Knuckle-Comic/  or at the creators’ websites www.cydethan.com or http://neurotic-elf.deviantart.com.

For review copies, artwork samples, more information or interview requests for any of the team, please contact cy[AT]cydethan.com in the first instance.

Doctor Who The Lost TV Episodes Vol 3 review pt6

In the final part of our review of this rather magnificent box set from AudioGo, we will have a look at The Moonbase.

The box set is rounded off with this story, which sees the return of an old foe…

Well, not really an old foe. As this is only their second outing, the Cybermen are still a novelty act. But such was their popularity in there debut story, The Tenth Planet, another adventure was quickly commissioned.

As entertaining as this is -  Cybermen are my favourite Who villains and I’m always happy to see them back – this is more or less a retread of the same ground covered in the previous tale, with an isolated base on the moon substituting for an isolated base in the Antarctic.

Of course this is not to say that it is not without merit. The story is a good one, and there is a wonderful sense of menace and claustrophobia to he had.

One cannot help but imagine how powerful the scenes of Cybermen sneaking into the sickbay to spirit away bodies would have been when first seen. And this sort of horror does somewhat put paid to the claims that ‘modern’ Who is becoming too scary for children. It has always been too scary for children (at least from an adult point of view, children will tell you different).

As with the previous missing adventures collections, it goes without saying that this one is all but essential for the Who fan as well, and I for one cannot wait until Volume 4!

New from Commando!

MERCY FOR NONE!

Sitting tensely together in the Dakota on their way to the night drop into Occupied Europe, ten hand-picked paratroopers jokingly nicknamed themselves the ten little soldier boys. Fate must have smiled, for it turned out to be a grim and deadly jest.

   One by one, at the hands of the Nazis, they were picked off. One by one, they died the death of heroes…

TUNNEL OF DOOM

Flat on his stomach on the railway line, Private Andy Morgan crawled forward grimly. It was up to him to stop a Nazi armoured train — and all he had to do it with was one single hand-grenade.

   And what made it even tougher for Andy was that the only two guys with him were the type who would pack up and run if things got dicey.

 What do you get if you send a marauding, aristocratic “Toffs Brigade” on a race against time to recover their stolen regimental silver?

   You get a rip-roaring adventure, that’s what!

   And if that’s not enough, don’t forget to add a battered but trusty Bedford QL lorry nicknamed “Queenie”…better known as the

PRIDE OF THE DESERT

KILLER CONDOR

“Relax, it’s one of ours.” So said the U-boat’s look out as the looming shape of a Focke-Wulf Condor appeared over them.

   Unfortunately the crew of the bomber didn’t seem to realise that the sub was on their side for its lethal payload was soon tumbling down to bring destruction and death to the men below.

   The Killer Condor had struck again but surely at the wrong target…