Issue #5: Batman: Dark Tomorrow (With Special Guest Scott Peterson)

03/26/16 • 87 min

In our fifth issue, Comics on Consoles heads into grim territory by examining one of the most infamously reviled examples of comics-based video games: 2003’s Batman: Dark Tomorrow! While the game itself is appropriately remembered as nearly unplayable due to terrible controls and awful camera angles, there is an exceptional element to its story: the idea that, as host Chris Clow tells it, the story, score, cinematic presentation, and tone were all very much ahead of their time, and exemplary considering the era in which the game was released. Listen as Chris tries to reconcile the idea of how an excellent pre-Nolan, non-comics Batman story is buried by shoddy gameplay and frustrating missions.
Then, in the discussion portion, the special co-host is SCOTT PETERSON, a former DC Comics editor and successful comics and prose writer who penned the great story featured in Dark Tomorrow. How did he get the job in the first place? What motivated him? Did he see the disastrous critical reception coming? How does he feel about the game now? All these and more await you in Comics on Consoles issue #5!
Plus, Chris announces the subject of issue #6!
Music by BenSound.com. Game music samples composed by Tot Taylor and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Previous Episode

Issue #4: Deadpool (2013)

NSFW WARNING: This issue of Comics on Consoles contains audio clips from a game rated M for Mature by the ESRB, which includes foul language.
It's February of 2016, which means that Marvel's Merc With a Mouth has burst onto the scene in movie theaters across the world. So, Comics on Consoles is celebrating by exploring his only solo video game adventure from 2013, High Moon Studios' Deadpool!
Released in 2013, Deadpool unleashed Wade Wilson into an uncensored adventure outside of the comics first, and is just as raunchy and vulgar as you've likely come to expect from the foul-mouthed mutate. Still, it likely has one of the most memorable and quirky personalities of any comics-based video game, which it earned through its script (written by longtime Deadpool comics writer Daniel Way), and its lead actor (Nolan North of Uncharted fame). Is personality enough to save a game that may not have gameplay mechanics to match its solid wit? Host Chris Clow explores the character, his comics, and the game from development to release (to re-release) in order to try and find an answer.
Plus, Chris announces the subject of issue #5...and it's going to be a doozy.
Music by BenSound.com.

Next Episode

Issue #6: The Punisher (2005)

It's not vengeance. No, not vengeance...punishment.
In issue #6 of Comics on Consoles, we examine perhaps one of the most shocking and violent comics-based games ever made in the form of 2005's The Punisher, developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ. Find out how the Punisher rode a roller coaster of popularity and decline before arriving at this unique entry in the entire Punisher franchise, since it fits in as many things simultaneously: a semi-sequel to the 2004 film, an adaptation of one of the character's most influential comic book stories, as well as a companion to the guy we all know and love in the Marvel Comics Universe. Also, listen as host Chris Clow recounts why it's okay to enjoy the Punisher with a "clear conscience," as explained in the words of one of the character's best writers: the incomparable Garth Ennis.
Then, in the discussion portion, Chris' Batman-On-Film colleague and Flickering Myth writer Ricky Church joins the fray to talk about the game's legacy, and just what continues to make it such a memorable experience over ten years after it was first released.
Plus, Chris announces the subject of issue #7!
Music by BenSound.com. Game music composed by Christopher Lennertz and Timothy Michael Wynn.