Pads & Panels

Title: Wayne of Gotham

Author: Tracy Hickman

Publisher: It Books, HarperCollins Publishers

Rating:

Review by: Jon DePaolis

How much do we really know about our past?

The very set of memories that are supposed to define and determine our present and future selves tend to be the set of memories that are least reliable. How much can we truly remember about our lives after years have gone by — distancing us from those memories to the point where it is as if those memories were actually scenes from a movie instead of vignettes of reality?

Tracy Hickman’s Wayne of Gotham attempts to answer the question of how fragile and disconnected our own memories are. In order to achieve that end, Hickman crafts two stories. The first has a son trying to piece together shattered memories of his parents after a villain puts in motion a complicated maze of crime. The second, set approximately 50 years earlier, sees a young adult rebelling against his abusive father, in turn making questionable decisions in the name of morality. (more…)

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Title: Exotique 6: The World’s Most Beautiful CG Characters

Publisher: Ballistic Publishing

Edited by: Daniel P. Wade

Review by: Eric Stuckart

Having published the art books for both Uncharted 2 and God of War III, Ballistic Publishing knows how to throw together a classy art book, and Exotique 6, the latest edition in a series of books devoted to showcasing the world’s greatest digital artists and their creations, is no exception.

Featuring a plethora of different styles and genres, the artwork is quite breathtaking, and it is really hard to believe that some of these were done digitally. The amount of attention to detail and composition is impressive, as many of the pieces contained herein look as though they were painted on canvas. (more…)

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Title: The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade      (The 11½ Anniversary Edition)

Publisher: Del Rey, Ballantine Books

Commentary by: Mike Krahulik, Jerry Holkins, Chris Baker, Kristin Lindsay, Robert Khoo, Kiko Villaseñor

Review by: Bill Jones

For the video game fanatic, Penny Arcade’s Tycho and Gabe (or Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik) have been the go-to commentators for more than a decade. The duo started posting webcomics (or as they somewhat coldly refer to them as, jpegs) in 1998, at the same time satirizing and displaying their undying love for the gaming medium in often brilliant three-panel work that has become a standard for webcomic publishing. They’ve never shied away from any topic (or person), and while busy capturing the attention of gamers with their sense of humor, they’ve also managed to start a children’s charity and two gaming fan expos.

The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade sees them working with the publisher of their webcomic collections, Del Rey, to produce a retrospective of the last 11½ years, or as anyone who slips off the dustcover will find it referred to, “nearly 12 years of bullshit.” (more…)

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Title: Rouge Leaders: The Story of LucasArts

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Writer: Rob Smith

Review by: Kevin Haverty

As a child I spent countless hours playing through the adventure games. I felt as if I suffered from OCD trying to read/hear every possible line of dialog by trying to give each item in my inventory to every character I met and selecting every dialog option.

My childhood came flashing back to me when I saw Guybrush and Purple Tentacle (with Darth Vader and Lego Indiana Jones) on the lenticular cover of Rouge Leaders: The Story of LucasArts. (more…)

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