Comics reviews on a video game website? Comics get made into video games all the time, but the titles on this particular list aren’t likely to appear on a game system in the near future. This column is dedicated to comics which stand as examples of the heights to which the graphic novel form of storytelling can ascend. If you’re one of those people who think that comics are just for kids and can’t tell deep, thought-provoking stories, I challenge you to pick up and read through any of the titles mentioned below. And if you’re a comics fan who has somehow managed to miss these books, run, right now, to your local comic shop and pick one or more up right away. This stuff is too good not to read.

Watchmen

DC Trade Paperback, 1986

Alan Moore – writer, Dave Gibbons – artist

Watchmen is simply one of the greatest stories ever told in comics. Alan Moore, of course, has written many great stories, but for me, Watchmen is the pinnacle of his career. Moore introduces us to a disbanded group of superheroes in a world where "costumed vigilantism" has been made illegal. Only one superhero, the radioactively-enhanced Dr. Manhattan, is allowed to operate as a government agent. The U.S. uses Manhattan to win the Vietnam war and keep the Soviet Union at bay in the wake of threatened nuclear war.

Against this backdrop several stories unfold, following the lives of former costumed vigilantes as they try to unravel the mysterious death of a former comrade called The Comedian. As is the case with the best mysteries, revelations about the murder lead to a spiraling series of events that ends with one of the best, most shocking twists I’ve ever read. Moore’s writing is superb, carrying the multiple storylines briskly through the twelve-chapter book. Gibbons’ artwork is clinically excellent, and brings through the emotions of the characters. A must read.

Video Game Tie-ins? None, but a movie is said to be in the works and getting closer to actual development, and, if handled well, would surely lead to a game.

Epic Comics, 1988-1995

Katsuhiro Otomo

You’ve probably seen the movie. You probably haven’t read the comic series. Would you want to read it if I told you that the movie contains only about 20% of the content in the comic? That the characters are much more fully realized and the series of events makes so much more sense in the actual context of the storyline? That the epic explosion of Akira which takes place at the finale of the movie happens at roughly 1/3 of the way into the comic series… and continues from there?

Unfortunately, Akira has never to my knowledge been released in any sort of trade paperback, meaning that to read the entire series you’ll have to shell out for all 30+ individual issues, with some of the earlier ones not only being difficult to locate, but pricey as well. That, or you could beg me to loan them to you.

At any rate, after reading Akira, I firmly believe that Katsuhiro Otomo is one of the top three names in comics, ever. Otomo is both writer and artist, which is not unusual for a Japanese creator, but is rarely seen in mainstream American comics. Otomo’s art is not what you’d expect when you hear the word Manga, either. Like the style of the movie, he opts for a more realistic approach as opposed to the popular "anime look" with big eyes, freaky hair and Japanese characters who look nothing like Japanese people.

Two aspects of the American release that are amazing are the translation and the fact that it is in color. The translation is superb, one of the best examples I can think of when citing Japanese to English crossovers. In Japan, Akira was originally released in black and white, as many comics are. When Epic brought the series to the U.S., Otomo hand-picked colorist Steve Oliff for the job, and provided detailed color charts so the world of Akira could make the transition from black and white to color accurately.

For fans of the movie, this is a must-read comic series. Fans of Japanese animation and Manga would do well to broaden their horizons with this great series.

Video Game Tie-ins? No, but THQ did show Akira games for various platforms in 1994. I played them, and, luckily, they were scrapped.

Vertigo, 1995

Garth Ennis – writer, Steve Dillon – artist

It’s noteworthy to begin this review by saying that Preacher recently ended its five-year run, so the entire series can be read at your leisure, and has been collected into several handy trade paperbacks.

Preacher spins the story of one Jesse Custer, a disenchanted reverend who is joined by Genesis, a powerful entity born of the unholy union of demon and angel. Genesis gives Jesse the ability to speak with the Word of God, which forces those who hear its commands to obey. God himself, however, has left heaven and is hiding out on earth, possibly because he fears that Genesis may be more powerful than even He.

Jesse sets out to find and confront God. Along the way he hooks up with ex-girlfriend Tulip, a gun-toting, strong willed woman with a hard past, and Cassidy, an Irish vampire. Together, they face challenges like the Saint of Killers, an unstoppable killing machine bent on Custer’s death, and the Grail, an organization determined to jump-start Armageddon.

While this may not seem like anything special, it’s Ennis’ writing and Dillon’s art that bring the story to life. Every character is interesting, and every storyline is guaranteed to shock you in some way. Preacher has more twists than a corkscrew, and it never lets up. It is ultra-violent, often hilarious, often grimly offensive, but always entertaining.

However, if you feel strongly about religion and are against subject matter that would easily be called blasphemous, stay away from Preacher. The series deals with many staples of Christianity, and often not in the most pleasant manner, especially the "saw it coming but didn’t really think Ennis would do it" ending. Preacher is a blast, and highly recommended for open-minded, mature readers.

Video Game Tie-ins? Not f#@%ing likely.

DC, 1986

Frank Miller

Frank Miller is a well-known figure in American comics, and his body of work is incredibly diverse and always entertaining. You’ll see his name pop up in this column more than once.

The Dark Knight Returns is a standalone Batman story set years after the caped crusader vanished from Gotham City. Crime is on the upswing, and Gotham seems like a town without hope, until one rainy night when an aging Bruce Wayne, who long ago swore off the cowl of the Bat, is forced by his own tortured conscience to return to the life of crimefighting he left behind.

You know that great animated Batman series that airs on the WB? You have this book to thank for the darkly grim vision of Batman and his Gotham. Animated series creators Paul Dini and Bruce Timm cite Dark Knight Returns as a major influence on both the look and feel of their creation.

This dark tale throws a young, female Robin into the mix and pits Batman against street gangs, Two-Face, the Joker and a government-controlled Superman. Miller’s trademark grittiness shows in every aspect of the book – Gotham is a city perpetually blanketed by darkness, and Batman is a grim, hulking figure, whose constant struggle with age and his past haunts him throughout the story.

This is another must read, especially now – Miller’s next project is a sequel to Dark Knight Returns, slated to start sometime next year, which picks up where DKR ends. I can’t wait.

Video Game Tie-ins? There have been loads of Batman games, but nobody’s done a game based on this particular story. Probably because then it might be a good game that people would want to play.

Epic, 1982

Alexandro Jodorowsky – writer, Moebius – artist

This is a French sci-fi story collected into three volumes and available at all better comic shops, along with scads of other excellent stuff by that Moebius dude.

The Incal is really an incredible tale, another one of those multi-layered stories that has pretty much everything you’d want out of an action sci-fi piece. It follows John DiFool, private investigator and hard-luck case, as he comes into possession of mystical crystal-like entity called The Incal. It seems that everyone and their president is after this thing, which grants DiFool crazy, uncontrollable powers, and gives his pet bird the ability to talk.

DiFool embarks on a quest to save the world, and in the process he confronts himself and does some serious soul-searching. But don’t worry – this is all hidden between lots of action-filled encounters with interesting characters and beautiful women. And there’s a super-cool guy called the Meta-Baron, a legendary warrior, who has his own path to walk as he goes from wanting to kill DiFool to becoming his friend.

All of Moebius’ work comes highly recommended, but The Incal remains a personal favorite, for simply being a damn fine piece of storytelling.

Video Game Tie-ins? Nope. But Moebius was involved with storyboards and design for The Fifth Element, which did get made into a video game. He also worked on Dune and The Abyss, the first of which got a game, while the second did not.

Dark Horse, 1994 (first series)

Frank Miller

See, I told you Frank’d show up again, and here he is. Sin City encompasses several individual series, all of which are now available as trade paperbacks (well, the latest, entitled Hell and Back, should be out in TP soon), and all of which are ripping good yarns.

Miller has created a modern hard-boiled pulp fiction series with Sin City. Each series (to date there have been five major series, with several one-shots scattered throughout) focuses on a central character and his personal vendetta against someone or something. They generally start out with the major event that leads to the quest (Marv wakes up next to a dead hooker in the first series, and vows to punish her killer, for example) and then move headlong into practically non-stop action and dramatic Miller narrative until the (generally incredibly blood-splattered) finale.

The true genius of Sin City is how Miller weaves the stories in and out of each other. Characters and events from one book will pick up or expand in another, and reading several Sin City stories in a row gives one the feeling of piecing together an elaborate jigsaw puzzle, in which some parts are still missing. Think the movie Pulp Fiction’s apartment scene, and how it’s played out twice, the second time revealing a little more of the story and you’ve got an idea of Miller’s plot devices with Sin City. Each series is complete on its own, but it’s the little tie-in strands to other stories that will make you re-read these books and see new things every time.

Video Game Tie-ins? No way.

Marvel Knights

Garth Ennis – writer, Steve Dillon – artist

The creative team behind Preacher does their take on Marvel’s gun-toting vigilante, and it’s one hell of a ride. The Punisher is a limited series, and it’s currently on issue 8. Back issues are pretty easy to find, or you can wait a year for the inevitable trade paperback and get the whole story in one inexpensive volume. This is how the Punisher was meant to be, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

Video Game Tie-ins? Capcom did up a pretty cool Punisher arcade game a few years ago, but I can’t think of a good home game based on the character. I personally feel that Punisher deserved a spot in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 much, much more than Cable or Marrow. But then again, I’m still trying to figure out why Daredevil hasn’t been in any of the Marvel fighting games yet, either.