"I'm incredibly excited about City of Heroes,' said Rick Dakan, writer of the comic book series. 'I was one of the original designers on City of Heroes and have worked for more than four years creating the background, setting and characters featured in the game. This comic book is a terrific opportunity for me to bring that world to life in a different medium adding yet another level of richness and depth to the City of Heroes experience."
City of Heroes is the first massively multiplayer online game featuring a modern, comic book-inspired setting. The game takes place in a virtual world where players create their own super-powered heroes and fight crime in the sprawling, villain-filled metropolis of Paragon City.
Michael Lewis, CEO of Cryptic Studios commented, "The City of Heroes comic is something totally unprecedented in both computer gaming and comic book publishing. Events in the game world and the game?s storyline will be reflected in the comic book, while characters from the pages of City of Heroes will make appearances in the online game. The comic book really is part of the game."
Everyone who plays City of Heroes online automatically receives a free subscription to the comic book. Every issue features a 22-page story detailing the adventures of three young heroes: War Witch, Apex, and Horus. In addition, each issue includes an eight-page City of Heroes online supplemental section, featuring special bonus material for and about the game's players.
NCsoft North America Vice President of Marketing Fred Schmidt said, "With software package sales of City of Heroes projected to soar well into six-digits by fall and with every subscriber to the game automatically being eligible to receive a copy, the City of Heroes comic may reach record levels of distribution. Add sales from comic book stores and the City Of Heroes comic book edition is quickly expected to become one of the top-circulation comic books of any kind in the country by year end."
Dakan added, "The hope, of course, is that those who enjoy the comic will also enjoy the game, and vice versa. However, our first priority is putting out a top-notch comic book every month. Even if you?ve never seen a computer in your life, you'll still enjoy City of Heroes. As avid comic book readers, we wanted to create an exciting and different take on the traditional comic book hero tale and something anyone can enjoy."
The City of Heroes comic features art by Brandon McKinney (Switchblade Honey, Planet of the Capes) and colors by Moose Bauman (Action Comics, Green Lantern).
The premiere issue of the City of Heroes comic ships in May. In addition to the issues received by the game's players, the comic book will also be available in comic book stores across the country. Starting in March 2004 it will be available to comic book retailers through Diamond Comic Book Distributors, the country's largest comic distributor. Blue King Studios also announced plans to collect every six issues of the comic into trade paperback books for sale in comic book stores and other retail outlets.
More information on the City of Heroes game can be found at http://www.cityofheroes.com.
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