Deep down, in some way or another, we all like superheroes. Whether they wear tights, spandex, or sport the all metal cyborg look, superheroes and superheroines let us all break away from the regular routine of our lives and put us in a more dramatic world where there is less chance of being hurt. Oh dear..has something fallen under the couch? No worries; I'll just lift it with my mind. You get the idea.
Video games have, of course, already offered many of us the chance to live the exciting and apparently highly dangerous lives of these big and buff individuals, but for many of us the idea of making our own superhero characters is far beyond our grasp. City of Heroes and City of Villains helped to bridge the gap between being a superhero and creating the stories ourselves, but still the ultimate dream of having our own superhero series seemed just out of reach.
Well, that gap is rapidly shrinking. On July 17th, at the San Diego Comic Con(Booth No.719 to be exact) Virgin Comics and Planetwide Games debuted it's latest product: The Virgin Comics Comic Book Creator and the following Virgin Comics Digital Content Packs. I know you're all wondering "Well, so what?", so just relax and I will explain.
Basically this program is a nifty piece of software that also serves as a marketing device for Virgin Comics, an Indian and New York based company, so that purchasers of the software can make their own comics based on Virgin Comics characters and designs. The software is evidently very user friendly and will allow end users to combine a variety of pre included templates and features into their very own comic book. Pretty neat, huh? If you want more information on this product just go to http://www.virgincomics.com or http://www.planetwidegames.com
Ah, but that's not that all that was going on at good old booth 719 during that comic fest, no no. Marvel Comics and Planetwide Games entered into a partnership to produce a similar software package for Marvel Comics. According to the press release Planetwide Games has the right to create and market a comic book creator along with several add on packages that feature some of the most well known comic book characters we know: Spider Man, Captain America, The Avengers, etc all of whom you will be allowed to play with.
Sound good so far? Let's hear what the big wigs from both sides had to say about their product. First we'll go with Virgin Comics.
"We are excited about offering the Virgin Comics fans in the US, UK, India and around the world the ability to create their own unique Virgin Comics" said Kevin Donovan, President of Planetwide Games. "Virgin Comics content and style are incredibly unique and will open creative minds to an important cultural Indian base of stories much like the recent phenomena of Anime and Manga. We believe in what Virgin Comics represents and through our interactive Virgin Comics Book Creator software we will empower the next generation of comic book fans with a new social and cultural understanding of India."
And now it's Marvel's turn…
Paul Gitter, who is the Senior vice president of consumer products, Marvel Entertainment, offered these comments "We see ‘Comic Book Creator' interactive entertainment software as an exciting and original way to extend the Marvel brand experience for the consumer. Many of these heroes are very near and dear to our fans. They feel a personal connection to them, and ‘Comic Book Creator' allows users to explore team-ups, battles and storylines that until now only existed in their imaginations."
Just a few more things to say. Planetwide Games will eventually be establishing www.ComicBookSociety.net where owners of the game can come to share their comics, engage in competitions, and participate in various online events. In the meantime, though, more info can be found at http://www.mycomicbookcreator.com/marvelheroes So, it seems we'll have a lot to look forward to in the future. Like the man said "Let joy be unconfined."
-Nick McCavitt.