About a week ago, we caught a glimpse of the covers to the 36th issue Archie's Mega Man comic book series, thanks to Destructoid. However, they didn't post a complete solicitation, leaving us to scratch our chins about specific plot points. But now, thanks to Mega Man Monthly, we've got it in full:
"On the eve of the MEGA MAN/MEGA MAN X Crossover comes the TWISTED tale that could only be called “A Chance at Redemption”! Dr. Wily is a free man, cleared of wrongdoing, and it’s all thanks to–Mega Man?! Can even an evil villain like himself live with a lie of that magnitude? Can he enjoy a life of robotics research next to his “frenemy” Dr. Light? Will the promise of power in Gamma be far too tempting? The answer to all your burning questions lie in this mega-fun issue!
Plus, be sure to pick up both regular and variant editions to read both SHOCKING “post-credits” alternate endings! Includes cover art by Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante and a stunning “TRIAL OF DR. WILY” variant cover from rising MEGA-star Brent McCarthy! Script: Ian Flynn Art: POWREE, Gary Martin, John Workman and Matt Herms Cover: Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante Trial of Dr. Wily Variant Cover: Brent McCarthy Shipping Date: 4/2 On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 4/16 32-page, full color comic"
Yup; it sounds like we're finally approaching a Mega Man 3 adaption. Finally. This should be interesting!
Credit: Mega Man Monthly
Finally? No way, this slomo approach of adapting the series is awesome! Assuming the comic continues to be a huge success, we will need stuff to look forward to years down the road. Personally, I love it. The Archie comics are amazing.
ReplyDeleteThey're really loving these crossovers, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteAlmost makes you think there's some truth to the notion that they don't want to/don't know how to write stories based on the source material of the core Megaman series alone.
Fight 8 robots, get their weapons, take on Wily's fortress, beat Wily, rinse, repeat.
DeleteI sure can sure see the gripping story to be gleaned from these epic plot points alone. Surely any adaption expansion is completely out of the question, especially if it has anything to do with the overarching themes held by the Megaman franchise as a whole. Who would want to read that?
So I assume you think Mega Man Megamix and Gigamix are bad for being different from the games, right? After all, MM7 and Battle & Chase happens in the same day, the Stardroids appears after the MM7 event, despite Slash Man being based on Pluto, the Copy Robot appears in MM6, among other things.
DeleteIkehara's manga must be better for you, as it follows the games... Wait, what's this!? Centaur Man is a woman!? Bass helping Mega Man in Junk Man's stage? Mega Man trying to kill Wily? And one original story? This manga series is also bad?
Know what, you if want a story 100% true to the games, just play the games. The only way a printed media can be that close to games is by making a Choose Your Own Adventure gamebook.
I just get the feeling that by using Sonic the Hedgehog, Megaman X and Emerald Spears to force interest in the books, Archie doesn't think the classic Megaman series is interesting enough to stand on it's own merits.
DeleteSo my theory is that they think "fight 8 robots, get their weapons, etc. etc." doesn't lend itself well to the comic format, or they simply don't know how to adapt the concept without gimmicks, crossovers or story-crippling departures from the source material.
As an older fan, I just expected more than a mundane Megaman comic written by an egomaniacal Sonic fan-fiction writer. This kind of tripe is warmly accepted by kids with limited exposure who simply don't know any better.
I assumed that most fans of classic Megaman were my age (seeing as how the series was at it's peak when I was a kid). I guess I was wrong.
And there's your problem, thinking that "fight 8 robots, get their weapons, etc. etc" does lend itself to comic book format. Spoiler alert, IT DOESN'T!
DeleteVideo games have always had skimpy stories. That's why old media based off of them were always so screwy in terms of quality. The best video game adaptations take the world, characters, and ideas offered by the game, and then expand on them in ways that a game simply can't do. That's what Megaman comics do, and that's why I and many others like them.
Your raging envy- I mean hatred of Ian only hurts your cause even more. I already know you don't like the man, but coming right out and saying it only proves that you've got a preset vendetta against the series, despite what it's quality might be.
Video games don't translate well to other media, that's undeniably true.
DeleteBut Super Mario Bros. got a decent Valiant comic and a very good NP manga. Zelda got an "okay" Valiant comic and a decent NP manga. The Sonic comics were one of the highlights of my 90's childhood, mostly because many of them were written by Mike Gallagher and drawn by Scott Shaw!. Whereas the Street Fighter, Double Dragon and Mortal Kombat comics stunk to high Hell.
The deciding factor? The right people for the right job. And, yes, Ken Penders wrote for the Valiant Zelda comics, but they didn't fall into the category of "funny books", which is a misleading title, but it differentiates it from comics that should, by nature, be more serious in tone.
When fanboys start writing comics, they start projecting their "ideal visions" of what THEY would like the subject matter to be, and that's not always a bad thing. But you have to first have a love and appreciation for it (and Flynn doesn't, he admits he can't play Megaman games) and you need writing talent (he doesn't have that either, how could he? His style is uniform and he doesn't allow criticism so there's no room to grow as a writer).
And I don't know where you get this idea I'm envious of Flynn. I'm not. Imagine the pressure of having to write three comics per month (all with tightly-knit continuity), for a domineering publisher like Archie, all for a salary that's probably less than I make in a year.
But maybe I DO place too much blame on Flynn, if his attention weren't divided among three monthly titles, he might be able to do a better job on one. Maybe it's also Archie's fault for being too cheap to hire three writers for three books.
I wouldn't trade places with him for anything, even the chance to improve the Megaman comic, which I probably couldn't because (like Flynn) I'm not a writer.
"But you have to first have a love and appreciation for it (and Flynn doesn't, he admits he can't play Megaman games)"
DeleteNot even getting into the false assumption that Ian doesn't care about the games, it's entirely possible to be a fan of a game series you haven't played. You can still enjoy the settings they create and all the world-building going on; you can still appreciate the writing, however sparse it may be; you can still be impressed by the art direction. There's a particular series I'm a huge fan of, but it wasn't localized at the time, so I had to rely on a Let's Play; it didn't stop me from being immersed in the story.
This arbitrary barrier of entry in annoying and elitist, and besides, I don't think Ian had the time to play the entire damn series before writing a single line of the first issue. He even explicitly stated that even though he couldn't play the games, he still did his research; that doesn't come across as something that a person who didn't care about the series would do.
And it's hard not to conclude that you're envious of Ian in some manner when you (pointlessly) devote this much time and effort into whinging about him and the comic he works on.
All I get is that you hate Ian and therefore the Megaman comics he works on. And I'm still not convinced that you don't envy the fandom and career he's made out of his "cheap fanfic writing." Your sheer persistence in naysaying the comic shows that you've got a "thing" for it, and Ian by association. (Your association. You're always the one who brings the poor man up.)
DeleteIn any case, we get it. Now grow some maturity and move on. We don't need you to tell us fifty different times how much you hate the comic and Mr. Flynn.
Oh, by the way, if you're going to try and turn the tables on me and complain that I'm pathetic for always telling you off, I'll freely admit that I've developed a thing against you over the course of our debates. You're elitist, you're hypocritical, (complaining about MML girls being fap fodder when you've got home-drawn, half-naked girls all over your DA. Really?) Your own writings and comics are crude and mean-spirited, and you insult people who enjoy what you hate. In short, you're the worst kind of stereotypical nerd, and you make the rest of us look bad. Just about the only nice thing I can say about you is that I admire your ability to draw and ink consistently on model. It's more than I can do.
Unrelated, but this gotta be the worst Mega Man game I ever played:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.edimagic.com.br/novo/megaman/
From the little I found in the web, this site is from the Brazilian publisher of the MegaMan NT Warrior TCG.
There was also a short-lived NT Warrior magazine in Brazil:
http://www.forumnow.com.br/vip/mensagens.asp?forum=83607&topico=2868307